Update July 24th, 2026

Bernie Sanders’ New AI Proposal Sparks Fears Over Your 401(k)

A USA Today opinion article by Tim Swarens argues that Sen. Bernie Sanders’ proposed AI ownership plan would require major artificial intelligence companies to give up 50% of their ownership to a government-managed fund. The author claims the proposal could negatively affect investors, retirement accounts, and private-sector innovation while expanding government involvement in the economy.

The article presents the plan as part of a broader debate over socialism, wealth redistribution, and the balance between public interests and private enterprise. It raises concerns about the potential economic impact of policies that increase government control over major industries.

Originally posted June 24th, 2026

We’re not talking burgers at Burger King, here. Lately, Bernie Sanders has been declaring that artificial intelligence software (yes, it was developed by tech companies) is “a public resource.”

Sandernista Pretensions

Sanders is using this whopper to justify his draft plan for the government to seize half the shares of what he deems “systemically important” AI companies, writes James Freeman in the WSJ.

Why, readers must wonder, does Bernie, if he believes his false claim, not demand the government seize all the shares? Evan Senator Sanders perhaps understands how worthless AI companies would be without the creative, hardworking people inside these companies. Total seizure, Bernie must understand, would cause everyone to flee.

In his draft legislation, the Vermont socialist treats the entrepreneurs and engineers developing the world’s most amazing technology as nothing but criminals.

A Misguided Bernie Sanders:

A small number of oligarchs have essentially stolen the creative work of hundreds of millions of people – writers, artists, musicians, journalists, teachers, scientists, and ordinary citizens – without permission, acknowledgment, or compensation in order to control the majority of economic value created by artificial intelligence…

Artificial intelligence is built on the collective knowledge of humanity and the wealth it generates must benefit humanity.

Bernie’s Despicable Deception

Now, who is trying to seize the work of others? Sen. Bernie looks to be trying to steal assets from their rightful owners. Undoubtedly, that’s why we have a court system, dear Bernie. No doubt there are plenty of lawyers eager to dig deeply into the deeper pockets of software developers.

As Mr. Freeman notes, Mr. Sanders is not trying to seize AI profits because, in general, “there aren’t any.” Investors, large and small, are pouring money into these ventures in the hope that engineers can create products so beneficial to consumers that someday the ventures will be highly profitable.

The government is contributing to this process through a series of threatening distractions. Washington has no right to seize these shareholder assets.

Another Bogus Claim from Bernie:

We can no longer sit back and allow oligarchs decide the future of AI with zero input from the American people.

Bernie’s game here seems to be acknowledging that the technology is amazing while ignoring that people worked hard to create it and deserve to be compensated for it.

In the NYT, Bernie Calls Out:

“Artificial intelligence will almost certainly be the most transformational technology in the history of the world,” he wrote recently in the New York Times.

Bernie even admits, “Artificial intelligence was not created out of thin air.”

Who created it? Instead, Bernie proceeds to his outrageous claims of theft and then details his plans for the government to do what he has just falsely accused others of doing.

Bernie also smears entrepreneurs with his dark forecasts of the technology’s impact on society. But if Bernie really saw only downside, he wouldn’t be calling it a “public resource” and trying to grab a piece. Wouldn’t he’d be trying to shut it down?

Might someone ask Sen. Sanders to explain why nobody ever creates transformational technologies in centrally planned economies with high levels of government ownership?

Mr. Freeman also mentions The Grumpy Economist. John Cochrane writes about his thoughts on plans to tax the wealth of people like Elon Musk:

Our billionaires, and now trillionaire, own wealth that is almost exclusively stock in companies they created. That wealth is almost entirely left reinvested in those companies. The companies produce great products, innovate, and employ thousands…

The wealthy do not swim in … pools of money that can be handed out. And even if they did, that money, redistributed, would swiftly drive up prices rather than feed everyone. Musk’s trillion is not the ready inventory of a huge grocery store that can be handed out to feed people. And if it were, once the store was empty, the poor would be hungrier again, and there would be no store to buy from.

Perhaps you think the government, by taxing Musk and demanding cash, can force Musk to sell his stock to others who won’t implode SpaceX’s value. But where do others get money to buy SpaceX stock? In the end, it must come from other companies’ earnings that won’t be invested in other companies.

Again, the economy reorients from investment to consumption. Tax the rich, feed the poor, till there are no businesses anymore.

Go Bernie!

Bernie’s Whoppers
Debbie Young

When I think about Fidelity Investments and you, I’m reminded that it’s a family business and how highly regarded it is in the industry. Not only by Wall Street and others, but more importantly, by past and current employees and customers. That’s a nice home for you.

Just ask legendary portfolio manager Peter Lynch, and he’ll tell you how great Fidelity is and how fortunate he was to have been able to do what he did. At one point, according to Lynch, one out of a hundred Americans owned the Lynch run Magellan Fund. A number he did not take lightly. That’s a lot of pressure.

And I’m not sure he would have been able to do that at another company. Because being family-run, you tend to have a longer leash to let things play out rather than wearing a choke collar held by Wall Street wanting quarterly rewards.

I had the chance this week to spend a few minutes walking down memory lane, thinking about how fortunate Your Survival Guy was to work at Fidelity after graduating from Babson College.

Justin Baer wrote of Ned Johnson (who ran Fidelity when YSG worked there) after he died:

“Fidelity would have stagnated had Ned not come in and created a brand new company,” said Joshua Berman, a longtime legal adviser to Mr. Johnson.

Many of the initiatives also represent what may be Mr. Johnson’s most-enduring legacy, according to the executives who worked with him: “He wanted to take investment tools available to his social class and spread them across the middle class,” said Robert Pozen, a former Fidelity president.

Fidelity ended 2021 with $11.78 trillion in assets under administration, or what is in Fidelity accounts as well as Fidelity funds held by rivals’ clients. The firm’s assets under management, or the amount overseen by Fidelity’s funds, totaled $4.48 trillion, up from $3.8 trillion a year earlier.

Fidelity grew into a financial giant but remained, like Mr. Johnson himself, fiercely private. The Johnsons control 49% of FMR Corp., Fidelity’s parent.

Action Line: During his tenure as Fidelity’s leader, Johnson would write about “kaizen,” the Japanese philosophy of continuous incremental improvement, in company memos. That continuous incrementalism is similar to how compound interest works, building on previous growth, slowly but surely. When you want to talk about compound interest and your portfolio, email me at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com. And click here to subscribe to my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter.

P.S. Enjoy this video with Peter Lynch, who explains his time at Fidelity and what he learned along the way.

Originally posted on Your Survival Guy.

When I Think about Fidelity Investments and YOU
E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

President Trump took to Truth Social to explain that, to his knowledge, Russia and China are not selling Iran weapons (directly) and that if they did so, “It would be very bad for them.” He wrote:

President Xi, at our recent meeting in Beijing, China, told me that he would not, under any circumstances, give or sell Weapons to the Islamic Republic of Iran — And that statement included Chinese Companies. Considering our relationship, I take him at his word and, besides, l am doing him very big favors, also. Likewise, President Putin, despite the horrible War going on in Ukraine (The relationship remains, as it does with President Zelenskyy), told me that he would not sell Weapons to Iran. He understands that I do not sell Weapons to Ukraine, but to NATO Countries. They pay full price, and how those Weapons are distributed, I have no idea. Therefore, two major Countries that people speak of often in terms of Iran are, in my opinion, not participating. If they did, it would be very bad for them — Certainly not in their best interests. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP

“It Would Be Very Bad for Them”: Trump Warns Russians and Chinese
Richard C. Young

Anduril Industries demonstrated an integrated underwater defense system during the multinational Lanternfish exercise, showing how autonomous underwater threats can be detected, tracked, and reported to the US Navy in real time. Using its Seabed Sentry system, Lattice software platform, and Ultra Maritime’s Sea Spear sonar, Anduril successfully created an automated detection-to-alert process without requiring human intervention.

Dive-XL, Copperhead, and Seabed Sentry work together as a layered underwater defense system. Seabed Sentry uses sonar to detect and track underwater threats, sending the information to Anduril’s Lattice command-and-control platform for real-time monitoring. Dive-XL, a large autonomous underwater vehicle, can investigate suspicious contacts, while Copperhead serves as an autonomous interceptor that can respond to confirmed threats. Together, the systems provide continuous surveillance, rapid response, and protection for ports and other critical underwater infrastructure.

The demonstration showed that Anduril’s technology can integrate with the Navy’s existing command-and-control systems to improve harbor and coastal defense against small autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). The company said the exercise highlights the potential for faster, more effective protection of ports, pipelines, undersea cables, and other critical maritime infrastructure by extending its proven defense software from air operations to the underwater domain.

New Undersea Defense System Showcased at Lanternfish Exercise
Steve Schneider

Originally posted May 12, 2026.

Goodwill Industries? In the WSJ, Andy Kessler tells readers about Goodwill Industries and its role in society.

Steven Preston, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries, explains to Mr. Kessler how they help many.

Start at the Beginning

Goodwill was founded in 1902 by a Methodist Minister and his wife after they visited ” the poorest part of Boston

Its original mission was “to help every individual develop to their fullest potential.”

Mr. Preston sums up Goodwill’s original mission: “to help every individual develop to their fullest potential.” It was founded in 1902 after a Methodist minister and his wife were sent on a mission to the poorest part of Boston. “They started knocking on people’s doors to ask for clothing so they could give clothing to the poor,” Mr. Preston says. “And then they had this epiphany: ‘Wait, I could clean this clothing, repair it, sell it, turn it into an enterprise and give these people jobs so that they weren’t taking handouts. I could help them develop job skills.’ ”

Give Them Job Skills

“They started knocking on people’s doors to ask for clothing so they could give clothing to the poor,” Mr. Preston says.

“And then they had this epiphany: ‘Wait, I could clean this clothing, repair it, sell it, turn it into an enterprise and give these people jobs so that they weren’t taking handouts. I could help them develop job skills.’ ”

Since its founding, Mr. Preston says, “we’ve pivoted away from just being hands and feet for people in that place of need, to helping people with self-sufficiency and economic mobility to take care of themselves.”

The mission has not changed, but it sure has grown.

If you are like Mr. Kessler, you’re thinking Goodwill is where your mother made you drop off old clothing and battered furniture.

“People come out of prison with no money, no job, not always into a good community. Our re-entry program has a 5% recidivism rate—astoundingly low,” in the WSJ, Steven Preston, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries, told me about how they help former prisoners.

Mr. Preston says. “Stores threw off nearly a quarter of a billion dollars of profits to fund job centers”—about 650 of them, which are separate facilities. Another $830 million comes from corporate support, government programs, and philanthropy. One of its prison re-entry programs receives funds from the Labor Department.

Mr. Kessler has his own story:

“When I first met Mr. Preston at a conference, National Football League player Damar Hamlin joined the conversation, saying: “Growing up, Goodwill wasn’t just a place for help, it was a lifeline. My mom would always send me there when things were tough. Thank you.” Mr. Preston started to respond, and Mr. Hamlin interrupted: “Can we just hug it out?” Very emotional.”

“Mr. Preston sums it up,” writes the Journal.

The idea of seeing the dignity and potential of every human being, and helping them realize that for a better future, has always been what we do.” So should we all.

Goodwill Industries
Debbie Young

Your Survival Guy heard that the largest great white shark ever recorded is heading north towards the Cape, reported MSN.com:

The largest great white shark ever discovered in the Atlantic Ocean was spotted for the first time in months and is most likely heading toward Cape Cod and then the eastern coast of Canada, according to a group that researches the apex predators.

The 14-foot, 1,700-pound male shark named “Contender” was last spotted near the Outer Banks of North Carolina and is believed to be heading north towards the popular Massachusetts summer destination, according to OCEARCH’s shark tracker.

This got me thinking as I stood on the bow of our boat last weekend, considering going for a swim.

I know, the odds of getting attacked by a shark are about the same as being struck by lightning. But I know or have heard about a friend of a friend who’s been struck, and I’m sure you have too. So, thinking about the “odds” isn’t helpful to me.

I jumped in anyway, but I still couldn’t help thinking about what might be lurking below the surface. It’s hard not to.

Now, the largest great white I’ve ever seen attack a boat was in the movies. And it’s around this time of summer that I always watch parts of the movie Jaws. I don’t know why, I just do.

Action Line: When it comes to investing, we spend a lot of time worrying about stuff that’s lurking below the surface. Worried about stuff that may never happen. That’s the nature of the beast. When you want to take a bite out of your investing worries, let me know. Email me at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com.

Originally posted on Your Survival Guy.

Your Survival Guy and the Largest Great White
E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

The Senate is dragging its heels on passing the SAVE America Act, and President Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, has expressed the President’s disappointment on the matter to reporters. Watch:

.@PressSec: President Trump’s patience is running out. He wants to see as much of the SAVE America Act passed as possible by the August recess. He knows that’s what the American people want. The House did its job; the Senate needs to do its job, too. pic.twitter.com/Re3BBINUUx

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 23, 2026

Tump Pressure Senate to Pass the SAVE America Act
Richard C. Young

Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. congratulated the House of Representatives for passing the Kay Hagan Tick Reauthorization Act to fight Lyme disease.

I thank the House of Representatives for passing H.R. 4348, the Kay Hagan Tick Reauthorization Act. Tackling tick-borne illnesses like Lyme disease is a top priority for @HHSGov. Thank you to Rep. Chris Smith and everyone who championed this legislation. This bill strengthens our… https://t.co/uvwqNE6rkU

— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) July 23, 2026

HHS Renews Efforts to Fight Lyme Disease
The Editors

According to The War Zone, the USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) is expected to return to the US Navy fleet in September 2026 after years of modernization. The major overhaul will transform the stealth destroyer into the Navy’s first surface warship capable of launching Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) hypersonic missiles. The upgrade replaced the ship’s two unused 155mm Advanced Gun Systems with advanced missile launch modules, giving the Zumwalt a new long-range strike mission.

The ship’s return has been delayed by challenges involving its advanced hybrid-electric power system and other technical issues encountered during modernization. Despite these setbacks, the upgrade represents a major shift in the Zumwalt class’s role, moving the ships from their original land-attack mission toward a future as advanced hypersonic strike platforms. Once operational, USS Zumwalt will support the testing and fielding of the Navy’s next-generation hypersonic weapons capability.

The Zumwalt modernization effort is part of a broader Department of Defense push to develop and deploy the Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) hypersonic weapon. A new US Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that the Pentagon lacks a unified strategy for managing the program, despite plans to invest more than $50 billion in Army and Navy hypersonic weapon development. GAO found that modernization of the Navy’s three Zumwalt-class destroyers is 24 months behind schedule, with flight testing delayed from 2025 to 2027 due to production, testing, and funding challenges.

Although the USS Zumwalt is expected to return as a hypersonic-capable destroyer, delays in Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) missile production and testing could leave the ship initially without an operational missile supply. The program also faces high costs, with each missile expected to cost nearly $70 million and more than $40 billion for 224 missiles. The report also found that while the Army and Navy share responsibility for developing and producing the hypersonic weapon, they make major investment decisions independently, creating inefficiencies and delays.

GAO recommends that the Pentagon establish a comprehensive modernization strategy to better coordinate ship upgrades, production, testing, and funding. A more integrated approach could help accelerate hypersonic weapon deployment while improving the modernization of the Zumwalt class and future Navy platforms.

America’s First Hypersonic Destroyer, But Where Are the Missiles?
Steve Schneider

On May 23, President Donald Trump issued four executive orders intended to speed up America’s nuclear renaissance. The orders were titled:

• Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base
• Reforming Nuclear Reactor Testing at the Department of Energy
• Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National Security

After applauding Trump’s progress on breaking the logjams that bedevil nuclear power in America, Christopher Ploch, a former appointee to the Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy, and Lucian Niemeyer, co-founder of UCAN Power, say there is still more Trump can do. The authors argue for a fifth executive order, writing:

The DOE’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing (EDF) should enforce this focused principle. EDF recently announced $17.5 billion in commitments to finance long-lead nuclear supply chain components for large-scale reactors—precisely the type of targeted financing the nation needs. But EDF’s nuclear priority shouldn’t stop with these legacy reactors. America must deploy fleets of new reactor designs across a range of sizes—the supply chain must be prepared before construction starts.

EDF should pick winners in the broader nuclear ecosystem, including fuel fabrication, conversion and enrichment, used nuclear fuel recycling, manufacturing, transportation infrastructure, and other deployment-critical components.

EDF leadership is critical, but it cannot carry the full weight of American nuclear deployment. A fifth executive order should direct agencies to use every available authority—not only financing—to prioritize nuclear supply chains, project development, permitting, procurement, transportation, workforce readiness, and other pathways that place more reactors onto the commercial grid.

The authors also believe a fifth executive order on nuclear power should “require federal agencies to measure the success of nuclear energy workforce efforts directed in previous executive orders,” and “establish a Critical Isotopes List to prioritize federal support, procurement tools, financing programs, and funding opportunities around the isotopes most important to the nation.”

The authors conclude:

Now is the moment for a fifth nuclear executive order—one that converts renewed momentum into deployment at speed and restores the United States as the world’s leading nuclear energy nation.

Action Line: America needs more energy generation to feed not only the buildout of artificial intelligence data centers, but to supply reliable, inexpensive power for generations to come. Click here to subscribe to my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter.

Read more about the nuclear renaissance here:

• America’s Nuclear Renaissance Is Being Driven by AI
• Could the Nuclear Renaissance Begin in Michigan?
• Alabama Could Be the Florence of the Nuclear Renaissance
• Will AI Cause a Nuclear Renaissance?
• Idaho National Lab Picking Low Hanging Nuclear Fruit
• What’s Slowing Down America’s Energy Renaissance?
• The Gas to Nuclear Waste Power Pipeline
• BREAKTHROUGH IN IDAHO FALLS: Is Safer Nuclear Power on the Horizon?
• Generators Working Hard to Revive Dormant Nuclear
• Is Google Pioneering the Future of Nuclear Power?
• New Nuclear Pact Signed
• Is America Poised for Next Gen Nuclear Power?
• The Push for Small Nuclear Reactors
• Is Nuclear Powered Tech the Future?

Originally posted on Your Survival Guy.

More Can Be Done for American Nuclear
E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy