I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of living in fear. Tired of listening to the ludicrous fantasies of a madman in pursuit of absolute power. This administration has declared war on humanity, empathy and the pursuit of an equitable society. We have moved beyond Democratic and Republican values because, to me, both have chosen to represent corporate interests. For decades, the cancer of corporate influence has corrupted the political process to the point where we have no alternative but to vote for the lesser of two evils, and that, my friends, is an indictment of a broken society. It really doesn’t have to be this way, and there is a deep bench of Democratic lawmakers that can lead their party out of the corporate wilderness back to the people they were elected to represent
The thing about power and greed is that they consume and corrupt everything in their path. Having thought very carefully about where we are, there is no question that we have reached another inflexion point of the magnitude of the outbreak of the First World War. Now, bear with me on this because I’m going to go all history teacher on you. Such tectonic shocks as war force society to react; we can either surrender to the enemy or fight. Societal structures have always dictated that the rich find a way to use their wealth to protect themselves from the danger of being killed in the protection of that wealth. That’s exactly how Trump dodged the draft.
In the attritional First World War, the officer class were drawn from the wealthy. Becoming an officer was not about your ability as a military strategist or a leader of men; it was about family wealth and connections. Millions of young men were sent to their death, often by incompetent fools who sat safe behind front lines and never got to see the meat grinder first-hand, let alone experience the brutal consequences of poor strategy. Fast forward to 2025, and the generals are sitting clueless in the White House, while the bottom 90% are the millions being sacrificed at the altar of power and greed.
The draft system in the U.S. has historically sent the poor to war while allowing the wealthy to avoid service. Governments have always made subtle adjustments to protect the children of the elite. For example, in the Vietnam War, there were exemptions for college students. This allowed wealthier, middle-class men to postpone their military service. This led to a disproportionate number of poor and minority men being drafted at a time when the country treated the very men they were sending to war as second-class citizens. Wars declared by America have always been rich men’s wars, but poor men’s fights. The poor are ALWAYS the disposable cannon fodder sent over the top to face the enemy.
NOTHING HAS CHANGED. Trump has declared a trade war on the world, and the bottom 90% of the population is considered acceptable collateral damage as the rich build a fortress in the form of a formidable wealth gap. It’s time to splash some cold water on our face and understand what Trump and his benefactors are doing beyond the tsunami of deceit, distraction and misdirection.
Never in US history has so much political capital been spent on deliberate malign propaganda to defend the indefensible, promote racism, hate, misogyny and division. Karolyin’ Leavett makes Tokyo Rose look like a saint. No single person in this or any other administration has deliberately and shamelessly deceived the American people more than she. Her Eva Braun-type adoration of a monster is a chilling reminder of just how far America has fallen into the messaging septic tank that is now the face of the White House press room.
There is no question that from the day Trump walked into the Oval Office, those in the shadows for whom he is their useful idiot, were hellbent on changing America forever. The deluge of executive actions that followed were designed to fracture the very foundations of what they see as an impediment to absolute power, which has always been their ultimate objective.
The harsh reality is that the usual systems of political checks and balances have stumbled as the courts have struggled to keep pace with the willful destruction of government and agencies that are seen as holding little value to the wealthy. Whether consumer or environmental protection agencies, they all present an impediment to the maximisation of profit. Equally, the IRS impedes the rich from avoiding paying their fair share. Each year, they evade in the region of ONE TRILLION DOLLARS, and they are absolutely committed to maintaining that level of socioeconomic abandonment when it comes to paying the tax they owe under the law.
These gross acts of social negligence are their calling card, and tragically, the tentacles of corporate power are wrapped around BOTH political parties. As their influence grows like a cancer, it debilitates representative democracy. In a world where self-preservation rules, politicians use the golden ticket provided by special interests to take their seat in first class on the political gravy train. From this point forward, representation shifts from the people to those who have bought their loyalty. This results in the people becoming an afterthought until the next election.
If there were a legal solution to Trump's tyranny, he would never have been elected in the first place. He’s there because the system failed, and that same system is now allowing him to dismantle the government and attempt to subvert the electoral process to retain power. The fundamental problem is now two-fold. Firstly, Republicans are only just waking up to the fact that Trump is morphing into a lame duck president with a diminishing ability to affect their electoral chances. Indeed, he will grow increasingly toxic as we approach the midterms.
As the holiday season approaches, the affordability crisis will deepen. A winter of public discontent is already underway, as polls show Trump requiring a hyperbaric chamber; he’s so far underwater on the economy. This is made worse by the fact that 49.7% of current consumer spending comes from the top 10% of earners. A clear indictment of the wealth gap that has now become a chasm and not a gap.
As reported by the Wall Street Journal earlier in the year:
The top 10% of earners—households making about $250,000 a year or more—are splurging on everything from vacations to designer handbags, buoyed by big gains in stocks, real estate and other assets.
Those consumers now account for 49.7% of all spending, a record in data going back to 1989, according to an analysis by Moody’s Analytics. Three decades ago, they accounted for about 36%.
All the bottom 90% see is a ‘Let them eat cake’ attitude from the rich, and we know where that led to at the Place de la Révolution in Paris in 1793.
The critical consideration is that there is a breaking point when it comes to tyranny, and it’s just a question of when that breaking point arrives. We saw the first substantive cracks appear in the off-season elections, which, despite Trump’s claims to the contrary, did rattle him. His predictable response has been to deny the truth and blame Democrats. Sadly for him, that ship has long since sailed, and there’s nothing that stokes public anger more than a Charles Dickens Bob Cratchit Christmas, while Trump holds lavish banquets at Mar-a-Lago for the chosen few while the peasants eat grass.
All governments govern by consent, and once that consent disappears, the writing is on the wall. There is little doubt in my mind that we are creeping towards that tipping point. As Americans come out of what will likely be a scaled-back Christmas for millions, public anger will begin to spill into the political arena as we hit primary season for the midterms. I suspect that, at the same time, the real impact of tariffs will finally be reflected in the prices of imported consumer goods. In addition, we will begin to see energy prices rise further as energy companies borrow even more to meet demand from power-hungry AI data centres. All costs added to the already weighed-down shoulders of everyday Americans.
Healthcare premiums will skyrocket while social programs shrink and the working poor struggle to survive with diminishing access to SNAP and other critical benefits. Trump will try to sweeten the pill by offering a bribe of direct payments to ACA recipients. This will, however, be insufficient to cover the coverage previously enjoyed under the ACA. It will effectively serve as a healthcare redundancy payment, providing money people can't use for healthcare because they are already struggling to pay debt, which, for some, will be buy now, pay later, unregulated debt they have been forced to use to buy groceries. Everywhere, struggling families turn to stay afloat, the rich will be there with their hand out. It’s a never-ending spiral of extortion dressed as choice.
There is no question that Trump is taking the US to the edge of revolution. What’s unclear at this point is what form that revolution will take. The problem that Republicans face is that it’s decision time. If things continue down Trump’s current path of economic self-destruction, there will be an electoral cull that banishes them to the political wilderness, possibly for generations. There’s a good reason John Thune refuses Trump’s insistence on abolishing the filibuster: he can see the possibility that Republicans will likely be decimated in the midterms. If the filibuster is gone, then they will become as politically useful as a chocolate teapot.
It’s not a matter of if Republicans abandon Trump; it's a matter of when, and once they do, ketchup production will spike because the realisation that he is vulnerable to prosecution will be front and centre in Trump’s mind. If Republicans lose big in the midterms, the only way they will be able to stem the political arterial bleed in 2028 will be to join Democrats in impeaching and removing him from office. If truth be told, moderate Republicans would be well-advised to start breaking with Trump now and join Democrats in supporting ACA subsidies to show their willingness to cooperate.
Trump can’t rescue the economic damage he’s caused. What’s more, his inability to recognise the damage he’s causing will be reflected in the level of financial pain the American people will be forced to suffer when his economic fantasy finally explodes in his face. This won’t just hurt America; it may well lead to a global recession, and that prospect is terrifying. This, unfortunately, will be the price for the demise of a madman.
Next time, we’ll discuss the danger of the economic wasteland Trump will leave behind. This is where my optimism for the future comes into play: with the defeat of every tyrant comes opportunity. Those who returned from war were no longer prepared to tolerate the poverty and exploitation they had endured before they put their life on the line for their country. The aftermath of war brought social change for the better, but brick by brick, for the better part of a century, the rich have worked hard to foster the revival of modern-day feudalism. The time has come to learn the lessons of the past and build a better tomorrow unshackled from those who brought us to the brink of economic extinction in the service of greed and social Darwinism. This, my friends, is why I remain hopeful that together we can fix it.
Outstanding analysis. I'd only add that defining this as rich vs poor is less effective than drawing in the middle class. They, who have not seen themselves as victims until recently, have the numbers and are in positions to "revolt". All it takes is awakening them to the fact that this shit will/is targeting them directly.
For example, they are at risk of total bankruptcy if hit by an acute medical emergency.
Excellent thank you.