šØ THIS FEELS UNCOMFORTABLY FAMILIAR AND THATāS THE PROBLEM
Let me say this simply.
This doesnāt feel like politics anymore.
It feels like the moment right before something slips.
The U.S. government is days from a shutdown.
Leadership sounds reactive.
Confidence feels forced.
Thatās usually when systems crack.
The signs arenāt loud theyāre subtle:
Emergency repo usage is rising
Lenders are pulling back.
Thatās exactly how 2008 started.
Stocks vs. gold just broke a key level
The last time this happened was right before things unraveled.
Unemployment momentum is creeping up
Not enough to panic just enough to matter.
Under the surface, pressure is building:
Commercial real estate debt is coming due
And a lot of it canāt be refinanced cleanly.
Consumers are falling behind
Credit card and auto loan stress is rising.
Mid-sized businesses are struggling
And they donāt get bailouts.
This isnāt collapse yet.
Itās the quiet part before.
Iām not here to scare you.
Iām here to be honest.
Moments like this donāt feel dramatic in real time.
They feel uneasy.
And unease is usually the first real signal
that something is changing.