International Man: The midterm elections are now behind us. What impact do you expect the results to have on financial markets?

Doug Casey: It's unfortunate, but political outcomes now dominate financial and economic outcomes. Politics have always been important, but you have to remember that before World War I, the U.S. Government was a relatively trivial influence on both the country at large and individuals. Its sole source of funding was import duties and excise taxes. And that was adequate because it was quite small. Minuscule relative to its size today.

The answer to your question is that the Democrat sweep in the elections (and I'm writing this on Tuesday, before the results are in) will have an immense effect on the markets. On the one hand, they'll be prone to print even more fiat money than even Trump—who is profligate. That will tend to move asset prices up. But the Dems hate markets and what's left of capitalism, which is disastrous.

Government is a dead hand upon the economy as well as the society at large. The Dems will do their best to bury the markets under more bureaucracy. Let's hope for gridlock. It's our best-case scenario.

International Man: Wall Street has become addicted to easy money, government spending, and rising asset prices. In the wake of the midterms, do you expect any meaningful changes in economic policy, or will Washington continue down the same path?

Doug Casey: The only changes I expect are towards more taxes, more regulation, and more inflation. The U.S. reminds me of a man who's jumped off the top of a hundred-story building and, as he passes the ninety-fifth floor on the way down, says, "So far, so good."