None Dare Call It Capitalism

I’m seasoned enough to remember a book on my parents’ coffee table back in the early 1970s that blared out the provocative and mysteriously tantalizing title, “None Dare Call It Conspiracy.” In this book, authors Gary Allen and Larry Abraham argued that America was a nation ruled by a shadowy group of secret “power elites,” or “insiders” as the book referred to them. This group, according to the authors, manipulated global politics and economics to establish a “New World Order.”

Now, because I am blessed with the ability to never forget a book I’ve read, I recall the power of this work’s mystery-like warnings, even though I read it when I was around 10 years old. Yet what I took away most from this work is not the actual content (which is dubious in my view), but rather, when you have a powerful title, or article headline, people take notice.

So today, I am putting my own spin on this title to address an issue that is a conspiracy of sorts being conducted right out in the open. And given recent policy proclamations and certain Trump administration policies, I say, “None Dare Call It Capitalism.”

Let’s do a quick rundown of the ideas I’m referring to:

• The attempt to intimidate Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell with a Department of Justice investigation, one designed to presumably oust him before his term expires in May.

• The summoning of oil company executives to the White House to “persuade” them to invest in Venezuelan oil fields despite the politically unstable and economically unfriendly conditions in the oil patch.

• Demands that credit card companies implement a one-year, 10% interest rate cap, complete with a warning from the President of the United States that institutions failing to comply would be “in violation of the law.” Hey, just forget that the president lacks the unilateral authority to issue such a cap without an actual law passed by Congress.

• The banning of large institutional investors, including private equity firms, from buying single-family homes. The idea here is to make homes more affordable by keeping some buyers out; however, the government being able to restrict the right of certain people to own certain property is the kind of violation of individual rights we waged war on England to rectify some 250 years ago.

• An Executive Order (EO) directing the “Department of War” to identify defense contractors who are underperforming on contracts, have insufficient production speeds or do not adequately prioritize government work. Then, and here is the real issue, giving the government the authority to prohibit stock buybacks and dividend payments until performance issues are resolved. The EO also aims to cap executive base salaries and link incentive compensation to operational metrics such as “on-time delivery” and “increased production,” rather than financial metrics such as earnings per share.

• Finally, we have tariffs. Readers of this column know all about my opposition to tariffs, because tariffs are taxes on the American people that punish our freedom of choice, and that redirect capital from productive uses into government coffers.

I am very sorry to have to say this, but is there any capitalism in any of this?

Recall that last week, I criticized New York City’s newly elected Mayor Zohran Mamdani for his pro-socialist comments about the “warmth of collectivism.”

Yet, the above proclamations from the administration come very close to policies that would feel right at home in any collectivist regime. Indeed, “None Dare Call It Capitalism,” if I may be so honest.

But alas, all is not lost.

Deregulation and tax cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law, appropriately, on July 4, 2025, will make many of the 2017 tax cuts permanent. The law also introduces new tax deductions, including a higher standard tax deduction, and larger child tax credits.

For businesses, the law makes permanent several tax deductions, including a 100% bonus depreciation for qualifying new equipment, immediate expensing for domestic research & development costs, and a 20% deduction for qualified business income (QBI) for pass-through entities.

More of the latter here, please, and less of the pernicious, anti-capitalist, anti-freedom proclamations of the sort outlined here.

Perhaps then we could “Dare Call It Capitalism.”

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A Painful Societal Reality

“One of the painful things about our time is that those who feel certainty are stupid, and those with any imagination and understanding are filled with doubt and indecision.”

–Bertrand Russell

It’s called the Dunning-Kruger effect, and it’s the cognitive bias where individuals with limited knowledge or competence in a specific area tend to overestimate their own abilities. A cruder version of this description is that some people are just too stupid to know they are stupid. The converse here is that often, highly skilled individuals underestimate their relative competence, assuming tasks that are easy for them are easy for everyone.

This Dunning-Kruger effect can and does happen to us all, as no one is immune to the biases we harbor. So, the next time you are certain about anything, step back and question the reasons for your certainty. Are they good reasons? Will they hold up to scrutiny? Will they threaten your world view? I know it’s not easy to do this, but if you do, then you will be rewarded by the effort. Hey, if you care about truth, as you should, then questioning yourself will never be a threat.

Wisdom about money, investing and life can be found anywhere. If you have a good quote that you’d like me to share with your fellow readers, send it to me, along with any comments, questions and suggestions you have about my newsletters, seminars or anything else. Click here to ask Jim.

In the name of the best within us,

Jim Woods