- reverse pyromania
- Posts
- Wouldn't it Be Nice
Wouldn't it Be Nice
If Expertise Mattered (after all, stupidity isn't all it's cracked up to be)
Joe is Wypoxic
March 17, 2026
Two stories related not by their subject matter, but by the common “philosophy” underlying them.
STORY #1
This post might seem a bit “technical” in nature, but it is is absolutely frightening if you care a out the future of the United States” economy:
Tl:dr - one of the main reason the dollar is the “reserve currency” in the world is because it is used by almost all foreign countries to by oil, and oil is needed by every single country in the world.
__________________________________
First, for those who want a refresher, let’s define and understand what a “reserve currency” is and why it is important.
What is a “reserve currency”? Simply put, it is a foreign currency held in significant quantities by central banks and used globally for storing value, settling international trade, and stabilizing economies.
What are the characteristics of a reserve currency? 1) its widely accepted in global trade, 2) it comes from a country with a large, stable economy, 3) it has deep, liquid financial markets, and 4) it is considered safe and reliable in times of crisis.
What are the main uses of a reserve currency? Central banks hold reserve currencies to 1) back their own currency and maintain confidence, 2) intervene in foreign exchange markets, 3) pay for imports or service international debt, and 4) provide a safe store of value.
__________________________________
For those who may have been living under the Cone of Silence from Get Smart for their entire lives, the United States dollar is the world’s reserve currency.
Here is an excerpt from the article above:
If you want to understand the difference in the quality of strategic thinking between Washington and Tehran, consider the messages being sent out over the last three days:
Washington: The war is over. We’ve defeated Iran totally. If other countries don’t come in and help fight Iran they will regret it. Especially our terrible allies, like Great Britain. Please, President Xi, come help us re-open the Strait of Hormuz?
Tehran: We will continue to resist, however we are open to allowing oil transport in the strait that we control provided the product is sold in yuan and not dollars.
I have been saying since the beginning that America is playing checkers while Iran plays chess, but it’s worse than that. American leadership is utterly incoherent: We won, but we need help. We hate our allies; but will our adversaries please come bail us out?
Meanwhile Iranian leadership survived a transition of power in the midst of war, achieved its strategic objective in closing the strait, and is now looking to leverage China’s rising economic ambitions against the United States.
I cannot overstate how significant it would be if Iran and China reached an agreement to allow oil transport under condition of a switch from the dollar to the yuan,1 so here’s European Business:
The condition, if formalised, would represent the most significant challenge to the petrodollar system in its fifty-two-year history, striking at the financial architecture that underpins American global power rather than at US military assets. . . .
To understand why the yuan condition matters, it is necessary to understand what the petrodollar system actually is. Born from the Nixon shock of 1971 and formalised in 1974, the arrangement under which Saudi Arabia and the broader Gulf agreed to denominate all oil sales in US dollars created a self-reinforcing loop that has governed global finance ever since. Because oil—the world’s most traded commodity—must be purchased in dollars, every nation that imports energy must first acquire dollars. Every central bank holds dollar reserves for precisely this reason. The dollar’s status as the world’s primary reserve currency is not an abstract achievement; it flows directly and mechanically from oil. . . .
[Iran] is proposing that access to the world’s most critical energy chokepoint be conditional on currency denomination.
The practical consequence, if even partially adopted, would be a bifurcated global oil market: yuan-denominated barrels flowing through Hormuz for those willing to pay in China’s currency, dollar-denominated barrels rerouted at significant additional cost and time for those who are not. The war premium that Western energy importers are already absorbing would become structural rather than temporary.
I don’t know how to make people care about this except to say that if Iran and China made this deal it would absolutely be the beginning of the end of the dollar backstopping the global financial order. The long-term cost to America would be incalculable.
The fact that Iran is making this overture ought to scare the crap out of us because it’s another sign that America’s political leadership is completely out-classed. We have an illiterate madman tweeting contradictory bullshit every ten minutes. Meanwhile, the Iranian regime is calmly and methodically probing the structural weaknesses of the American-dominated global financial order.
If the dollar loses its reserve currency status, we become a larger version of Argentina, a country with enormous, unsustainable debt and a currency that needs to be devalued in order to “fix” the economy. Hyperinflation anyone?
Wouldn’t it be nice if we had some people in charge of key Departments like Treasury, Commerce and serving as key advisors who either a) weren’t toady sycophants and b) actually had some expertise and knowledge of international and macroeconomics?
__________________________________
STORY 2
This thread is from public health maven Elizabeth Jacobs (a great follow on Bluesky):
I’m sure by now many of you have heard that RFK Jr.’s vaccine advisory board has “leaked” a report claiming that there is a chronic condition, similar to LongCOVID, that is caused by the COVID19 vaccine. I wanted to take some time with it before I posted, and now I have, so here comes a thread.
— Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD (@elizabethjacobs.bsky.social)2026-03-16T17:55:47.098Z
Elizabeth says all that needs to be said on this in her thread.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we had some people in charge of key Departments like HHS (and at the CDC), and serving as key advisors like the Surgeon General who either a) weren’t toady sycophants and b) actually had some expertise and knowledge of public health, epidemiology and disease management?
__________________________________
The connection between the two threads is obvious. The Republican Party has become the modern equivalent of the Know Nothing Party of the 1840s and 1850s. The single most important qualification for anyone serving in government in this Admin is submission to the whims of the Dear Leader.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a President in charge of the Executive Branch who wasn’t an ignorant and uninformed pathologically lying malignant narcissist who craves attention and reverence more than he cares about, well, anything else (including his job and the people of the United States)?
Reply