The Lonely Realist is a bridge across the partisan gap, raising questions and making pointed observations about politics, economics, international relations and the markets. Its goal is to raise awareness and inspire thought on controversial issues that impact America and Americans, highlighting issues that should be, but rarely are, the focus of bipartisan discussion.

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In seeking to promote dialogue, The Lonely Realist is not an advocate of conclusions or remedies. To the extent perceived biases leak into these pages, as they sometimes do, please ignore them. They are inadvertent missteps.

  • “Hope for the best, but plan for the worst.” – The Lonely RealistLoading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player... Today’s TLR continues to analyze the potential economic fallout from the Iran War by assessing the consequences of two “what if” possibilities: What if (1)...

  • “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” – attributed to Mark TwainLoading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player... TLR earlier this month addressed three possible outcomes for the Iran War. The first is the one sought by America and its allies: America and Israel...

  • “Wars are messy, their consequences unpredictable.” – The Lonely Realist “The implications of developments in the Middle East for the US economy are uncertain.” – Jerome Powell (March 18, 2026) Loading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player... History teaches that wars are disruptive. They...

  • “It’s about energy.” – The Lonely RealistLoading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player... Today’s TLR is a brief follow-up to this past Thursday’s “The Iran War”: One month ago, writing about whether the US Dollar might surrender its reserve currency status, TLR noted that...

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More by TLR

The Nuclear Dollar

“America has responded to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by detonating the Nuclear Dollar, a weapon of economic devastation. Wielding it creates long-term consequences for America.” – The Lonely RealistLoading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player… On May 3, 2019 (here) and again on September

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A Weaker US Dollar?*

A Weaker US Dollar?Loading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player… The July 19th TLR (“Be Careful What You Wish For”) mused about “Why President Trump wants a weaker US Dollar” and speculated about the potentially adverse consequences if he got his wish. More specifically,

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Permabear Defined

“The ‘Permabear interview’ is a challenge to Cassandra’s 2025 predictions.” – The Lonely RealistLoading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player… A year ago, Cassandra predicted that “the Fed will continue to follow an easing path and, although it will use tough-talk to temper over-exuberance,

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William (Bill) Natbony is The Lonely Realist, its author and originator. The opinions expressed in TLR are solely Bill’s opinions, have not been edited or reviewed, and do not reflect the views or opinions or any other person.