4/1/25 Notes from Nagle

By Peter Nagle

​I read something very interesting today and a lot fell into place because of it:

“Authoritarian Regimes can take everything from you in material terms—your house, your job, your ability to speak and move freely [these things are actually happening now]. They cannot take away who you truly are… and that is your power. But to protect and wield this power, you need to know yourself—right now, before their methods permeate, before you accept the obscene and unthinkable as normal…. We are heading into dark times, and you need to be your own light. Do not accept brutality and cruelty as normal even if it is sanctioned. Protect the vulnerable and encourage the afraid. If you are brave, stand up for others. If you cannot be brave—and it is often hard to be brave—be kind. But most of all, never lose sight of who you are and what you value.”

[Sarah Kendzior, “We’re Heading into Dark Times. This Is How to Be Your Own Light in the Age of Trump,” The Correspondent (online news platform), November 18, 2016 and cited in R. Rohr’s Daily Meditation 3/31/25.]

These are shocking words, and all the way back to 2016, Trump’s 1st term. But they are even more true now. Way more true. They are a warning, from her and from me.

Right now, we have the best economy in the world. I’m bullish on the American Economy and American ingenuity. And markets usually follow economic activity. And maybe our economy is strong enough to overcome anything, we’ll see. But what the President is doing, with these tariffs especially, could mess it up. Starting a trade war, which he is doing, is playing with fire. It’s almost like he’s a Russian Agent - messing up our Democracy, messing up our economy, messing up our Alliances. I’m sure Putin is just fine with all of this.

There are 2 tracks here: the economy and our Democracy. He’s messing with both in very serious ways. 

What am I doing? Getting even more conservative. Looking for alternatives to stocks. Things that have more guarantees. Not getting out entirely, it’s always a balance. But this is rapidly becoming a time to be cautious and stay that way until we get more clarity on the impact of these policies, which could take awhile.

I provide financial advice to individuals in our Abiquiu community at no charge as a way of giving back. If you have questions in that area feel free to contact me. I’ll do the best I can to help you sort through the issues. 

Peter J Nagle
Thoughtful Income Advisory
Abiquiu, NM
505-423-5378 (mobile)
[email protected]