Chris Thornberg: Overheating: $11T of Gov Spend Created an Asset Bubble & Massive Uncertainty

On this episode, Kevin chats with Dr. Christopher Thornberg, Founder of Beacon Economics, an uncommon economist equally at home with philosophy as the nuts-and-bolts of economics and forecasting. Chris was one of the few who called the collapse of the housing market alongside figures like Hank Paulson, and one of the few economists who can call it like it is with beliefs rooted in facts rather than opinion. The conversation explores big wisdoms worth learning and relearning, government spending where every dollar of COVID income loss was met with $2.60 in government spending, and how the current economic picture looks like 2005 with too much capital in the system. Chris discusses how political narratives are overtaking the utility of data and why nailing the facts before guiding policy is essential, his inflation outlook suggesting we need 20% more inflation to balance things based on M2/Nominal GDP ratios, and calling crypto a generational Ponzi scheme. They cover the appropriate role of government, the reality of class divides in the USA today, the value of uncertainty in a world of social media-induced isolation, the benefits of good business partners, and why knowing history matters—what's happening now has happened many times over the last 500 to 600 years.