“Relax… We are exactly on the trajectory of where we’ve always planned to be. Steady at the wheel, everybody. It’s gonna be fine. Our best days are ahead of us…”
— House Speaker Mike Johnson, as quoted by NBC news reporter Melanie Zanona, December 4, 2025.
I have to agree with Speaker Mike Johnson, but for different reasons. Different reasons for relaxing, I mean.
Speaker Johnson says we should relax because the Republican Party has everything under control. Regarding inflation and affordability issues.
In other areas, things seem less “steady at the wheel”. In fact, getting close to “out of control”. But in terms of affordability, we just need to relax, until all the provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill go into effect.
He says.
I don’t know Speaker Johnson personally, but on TV he always seems relaxed. Not a care in the world. Judging by the way he answers challenging questions from Lamestream Media reporters, you could easily think he was a well-heeled millionaire from Louisiana.
He is, in fact, from Louisiana, but Forbes estimates his net worth at around $350,000, making him the least-wealthy Speaker of the 21st century. For comparison, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s net worth has been pegged at nearly $250 million. But it’s more expensive to live in California.
Two other recent Republican Speakers, Paul Ryan and John Boehner, held investment assets worth millions of dollars while in office. (I’m not sure if Forbes includes bribes, when calculating net worth.)
You can have your own opinion, but to me, Mike Johnson seems a lot more relaxed than Nancy Pelosi, Paul Ryan and John Boehner ever seemed. So maybe holding investment assets worth millions isn’t what it’s cracked up to be.
Anyway, as I said, I don’t agree with Mike Johnson’s reasons for telling the NBC reporter to relax because, as he claimed: “It’s gonna be fine. Our best days are ahead of us…”
In terms of affordability, that is. Not necessarily other things. But affordability, at least.
Very funny, Mr. Speaker.
For one thing, has anyone looked at the stock market lately?
In February 1999, you could buy one share of NVIDIA stock for less than 4 cents. That same one share will now cost you over $180. Does Mr. Johnson expect the price to go down?
That’s just one tiny example of how unaffordable life has become in America.
That same month — February 1999 — an ounce of gold would set you back $287. Now that same ounce is priced at almost $4,200. Does this strike anyone as a good reason to brag about “the trajectory of where we’ve always planned to be”?
But Mike Johnson can say that with a smile, because he stays relaxed.
Affordability used to be an everyday occurrence, back in the day. For example, in March 1934, an ounce of gold was priced at $35.00. In July 1970 — 36 years later — an ounce of gold was priced at $35.29. People could talk about “affordability” in those days, and it really meant something. (NVIDIA shares didn’t exist in 1934, so we can’t make the same kind of comparison. I wish we could.)
This is not the first time Mike Johnson has been mistaken. And he is, indeed, mistaken in this case. The reason to relax is not because the Republicans have everything under control and we have our best days ahead of us.
The reason to relax because the whole country is going up in smoke and flames, and the Republicans just keep throwing gasoline on it.
When disaster is immanent, that’s exactly the time to avoid a panic attack. When people panic, they stop thinking rationally and start doing stupid things that merely make matters even worse.
Case in point: the federal government.
So… we all really, really need to relax. Like, immediately if not sooner.
Speaker Johnson is giving the right advice, but for the wrong reason.
Underrated writer Louis Cannon grew up in the vast American West, although his ex-wife, given the slightest opportunity, will deny that he ever grew up at all. You can read more stories on his Substack account.