The partisan gap widened further: Republicans stayed oddly upbeat, with nearly two-thirds betting on rate cuts, while independents were lukewarm and Democrats mostly braced for higher-for-longer—proof that even inflation expectations now wear party colors.

In short, Main Street feels a lot more like the Great Recession than the glossy picture painted by elites who’ve never wrestled with a grocery bill.

🤵 The Macro Butler Weekly Digest 🤵

🌐 Behold BRICS’ Gold Glory: As the dollar’s weapon turns to dust, a new dawn rises—with gold as the cornerstone of a reborn mercantilist world. 🌐

Read more here: https://themacrobutler.substack.com/p/brics-gold-glory-the-dawn-of-a-new

Sure, LinkedIn can keep patting itself on the back for “protecting the community” by censoring anyone who dares point out the Davos crew’s little depopulation project during the 'plandemic'.

But history has a funny way of outing the real criminals—no matter how many posts get deleted.

https://t.me/TheMacroButlerSubstack/367

At the end of the day, it’s always about a little “Jean Therapy” — even for the Wokes and their Malthusian cousins...

While Wall Street celebrates tech’s “infinite AI gains,” Main Street drowns in reality: U.S. household debt surged $185 billion in three months, now totaling $18.39 trillion, a stark reminder of who really pays the price.

Housing debt crept up $149B, mostly mortgages, while HELOCs added a measly $9B. Meanwhile, non-housing debt threw a party: credit cards +$27B, auto loans +$13B, student loans +$7B. New auto loans hit $188B, credit card limits +$78B, HELOC limits +$18B. Basically, Americans are maxing out everything except common sense.

Credit card balances jumped to $1.21T, up 5.87% YoY. Auto loans added $13B, hitting $1.66T, while other consumer loans stayed flat at $540B. Student loans inched up to $1.64T.

Credit quality decided to keep us on our toes: auto loans got a little riskier, with the median score slipping 6 points, while mortgages suddenly decided to play it safe, jumping 5 points at the median and a whopping 13 points at the tenth percentile.

About 53,000 new foreclosures hit credit reports—a slight dip—but no shock there: middle-class Americans are drowning in debt because, well, life’s expensive. The real kicker? Student loans. With the repayment moratorium gone, delinquencies remain “elevated,” with 4.4% of debt in trouble.

Almost all debt types managed to behave… except student loans. With the government ending sleepy Joe’s payment freeze, delinquency rates skyrocketed. Serious delinquencies (90+ days past due) for student loans hit 12.9%—the highest in 21 years—while autos, credit cards, mortgages, and HELOCs barely twitched, albeit already elevated.

The spike in delinquencies—especially among student loans—signals growing financial strain for American households amid high rates and weak hiring. Consumer spending already fell in H1 2025, before tariffs pushed prices higher. Meanwhile, the bankruptcy pipeline is swelling: 131,000 consumers saw new bankruptcy notations in Q2. Expect this number to skyrocket as delinquent student loans roll into defaults, bringing the student debt crisis fully into view.

As the US staggers from its inflationary boom straight into an inflationary bust, Main Street braces for more poverty while Wall Street throws a party, raking in cash from endless banker-driven wars and tightening their chokehold on the Washington swamp.
Survival of the fittest, or at least the richest

Listen to a summary of The Macro Butler weekly newsletter via podcast on Substack; YouTube; Rumble & TikTok.

https://themacrobutler.substack.com/p/brics-gold-glory-the-dawn-of-a-new-0ae

ALWAYS REMEMBER

You don’t need a PhD in the CPI (Corruption Perceptions Index) to figure out that Ukraine is basically running a masterclass in corruption—not just in Eurasia, but on a global scale.

https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2024/index/ukr

So it should shock absolutely no one that Ukraine’s illegitimate president—better known as a coke-addled heel-clicking performer turned NATO’s favorite marionette—has been busy wiring $50 million a month to the UAE.
Call it his little retirement nest egg, neatly laundered from the human meat-grinder he’s running, safely tucked away for the day he finally exits stage left, far from the battlefield.

https://x.com/RepLuna/status/1956813828639138250

Ukraine, like every other satellite state cheerleading for the Davos crowd and their grand depopulation fantasy, is destined to vanish from the map.

After all, there won’t be a single Malthusian left standing once the world finally wakes up to a new mercantilist era—one built on economic collaboration instead of the endless economic warfare they’ve been peddling.

As the war cycle turns once more, Europe trains its young for the battles of tomorrow. In Lithuania, children as young as eight are now taught to fly and build drones—tools of a conflict that will be fought by screens and circuits rather than rifles and bayonets. The state calls it “civil resistance training,” but in truth it is the quiet conscription of childhood into the machinery of perpetual war.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/13/lithuania-children-drone-training-russia-threat

In Russia, the same pattern unfolds under a different banner. Defence firms quietly scout teenagers whose video game reflexes can be weaponized for drone warfare.

A game called Berloga, launched in 2022, has drawn hundreds of thousands of children into its hive-like battles, where defending against swarms earns not only high scores but extra credit in school. From there, the most skilled are funneled into competitions where recruiters watch closely. Officially, it is all for “civilian applications,” yet insiders admit the truth: every child’s project must serve a dual purpose, every lesson a preparation for war.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/22/russia-using-children-design-test-military-drones-investigation-finds