The Congressional Budget Office reports the Iran war cost $38.1 billion through August 1st. That's $246 million per day. Every single day. Including weekends.
The Pentagon managed to burn through enough money in five months to buy every American citizen a decent dinner. Instead they bought explosions in a desert. Smart allocation of capital.
CBO projects another $2 billion to $3 billion per month going forward. That's the range. Billion with a B. The margin of error alone could fund a small nation's healthcare system but we're splitting hairs.
Retail traders spent the same five months convinced their $800 Robinhood account would make them rich if they just found the right biotech penny stock. They studied charts. They learned about RSI and MACD crossovers. They joined Discord servers with names like "Moon Boys Capital" and "Lamborghini Lifestyle Trading."
The U.S. government spent $246 million per day on a war and it didn't move the market. Not one bit. Defense stocks barely budged. Oil had a normal Tuesday. The Dow went up because a sandwich chain beat earnings by two cents.
Your technical analysis predicted a breakout based on volume patterns. The government lit $38.1 billion on fire in the Middle East and your trendline held perfectly. Because none of this matters. None of it ever mattered.
Some 19-year-old with $3,000 in student loan money is reading this right now, wondering if Lockheed Martin is a buy. He's checking the P/E ratio. He's looking at resistance levels. He thinks he's an investor.
The CBO will update these numbers in a few months. The total will be higher. It's always higher. And your portfolio will still be red because you bought calls on a company that sells flavored water to teenagers.
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