"Pain Is Coming"

Just over a month ago we wrote in depth that while many of the supposed smartest men in the room believe we are set for a muddle-through economy that will 'maintain' asset values with no tail-risk expectation, we believed there are only 'painful' ways out of this crisis [4]. Furthermore, we noted (and BCG agreed) that a tax-the-wealthy (and the wealth explicitly) haircut is coming. Today, the venerable Howard Marks of Oaktree, has his own inimitable take on the issue of taxing - and, just like us, sees that "Whatever action is taken now, it will not be pain-free. The unpayable debts run up in the past will have to be dealt with.". Marks sees three (simple and obvious) possibilities for our future:the promises will have to be scaled back, the tax burden will have to grow, and/or the deficits will have to be permitted to increase.

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