Selling off the family silver in the dead of night

Like thieves in the night, Republicans will move to steal the healthcare and future prosperity of millions of hard-working Americans while they sleep

Before we begin an assessment of probably the most consequential twenty-four hours in a generation, I feel a deep sense of responsibility to get this right, not just for you, the reader of my daily ramblings, but also as a historical journal entry that I can reflect on if this nightmare ever ends. It isn't easy to know where to start at a moment in time when the pain and suffering of so many is being imposed upon them by so few in the dead of night

It’s important to understand from the outset that the imposition of economic pain being inflicted on the American people does not come from a mandate provided to Trump. He continually claims a “massive landslide victory” and “historic mandate” to reshape policy concerning taxation, federal social spending, immigration, energy production, family values, defence, etc. Mr President, if you have the mandate you claim, why is the Republican majority forced to use reconciliation to push an act of immeasurable suffering and cruelty upon millions of American families?

Would you like us to dispense with the made-for-TV version and look at the truth now? I think Mark Peterson, Professor at the Department of Public Policy at UCLA, nailed it when, in January, as part of a piece by Elizabeth Kivowitz, who quotes him as stating:

“Trump won only a plurality of the popular vote, with one of the slimmest margins in history and among the smallest electoral college wins, while the GOP’s majority in the House is among the thinnest in the past century and in the Senate well short of breaking a filibuster — all far short, too, of what Bill Clinton and Barack Obama experienced when they entered office”.

“Perhaps the only thing empirically historic about the Trump and Republican win is the gap between the mandate claims and the actual evidence.”

There is no question that in these dangerous times, we are living in a world of ‘alternative facts’. You’ll be encouraged to know that I won’t be adopting them for this piece.

As stated in The Hill by Mark Mellman on 29th January:

“Fewer than 50 percent of voters cast their ballot for him while his margin over Vice President Harris was less than 1.5 percentage points.”

“Only nine presidential elections out of the 49 for which we have popular counts were won with lesser margins. Nineteen presidential elections yielded true landslide victories of 10 points or more. Trump’s advantage was nowhere close to that.”

As Republicans attempt to pass the most regressive and punitive budget in modern American history, they are moving it forward in the dead of night with the smallest House majority since 1931. This act of calculated cruelty is being perpetrated on millions of hard-working Americans, whose only crime is to be a child, be disabled, a senior or a veteran struggling to make ends meet. It is state-sponsored street robbery. It is antithetical to the American values for which so many patriots fought and died on battlefields across the world. They fell defending their country from the same tyranny that this administration will attempt to move forward while they sleep tonight.

NOTHING about this bill makes economic sense. It is an egregious act of fiscal self-harm, designed to rob the poor to feed the rich. It represents the greatest act of budgetary mismanagement in recent history. Unfunded tax cuts for the rich have been a hallmark of Republican fiscal policy for decades. Time and time again, they create a false narrative of budgetary responsibility in opposition, only to then spend on tax cuts like drunken sailors when in power. An action that has led them to preside over eleven of the last twelve recessions.

If you owed a thousand dollars on your credit card, this government would be the first to tell you to cut your spending accordingly. Yet, here they are, happy to add an estimated $3.7 trillion to the existing $36 trillion national debt. The bill will explode the deficit (which, over the past 12 months, has been 6.9% of GDP). As already acknowledged, the 2017 Trump tax cuts for corporate America delivered little to no growth or prosperity for Americans; they facilitated stock buybacks and resulted in a loss to the US economy. On what planet do you then look to extend loss-making tax policy and juice it up when already carrying $36 trillion of debt? It is nothing short of economic lunacy driven by rabid greed.

Be in no doubt, even without Trump’s imbecilic tariff policy, the current level of debt would be unsustainable. This is an economic wet dream built on sand, and the tide is coming in. Trump is corporate America’s tax cut dealer; they are longstanding addicts that can’t survive without their trillion-dollar bags of fiscal crack. The problem is, when the crack house is washed away, they’ll sail off in their superyachts to find another enabler, while the shattered society they left behind clings to the wreckage that was once America.

Trump is incapable of seeing beyond today’s reality TV episode of ‘King Lear’. He’s the petulant king who wants his budget at any cost, and his hostages in the Republican Party are powerless to resist his demands, despite many of them knowing this will not end well for them. It’s textbook Stockholm syndrome.

America is currently facing the need to refinance $9 trillion of debt at a time when Moody’s has downgraded its credit rating and 30-year bond yields have reached 5%. As reported by the Peter G Peterson Foundation :

‘The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that interest payments will total $952 billion in fiscal year 2025 and rise rapidly throughout the next decade — climbing from $1 trillion in 2026 to $1.8 trillion in 2035. In total, net interest payments will total $13.8 trillion over the next decade. Relative to the size of the economy, interest costs in 2026 would exceed the post-World War II high of 3.2 percent from 1991. Such costs would rise to 4.1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in fiscal year 2035, if current law remains the same.’

Debt interest alone amounts to $2876 each year for every American. By 2035, that is estimated to double. In what world is that sustainable? The US spending on debt interest is the third-largest line item in the federal budget, and the country is running a debt-to-GDP ratio of 122%. In addition, it is running a $1.9 trillion deficit. If it were a public company, the board would likely face jail time for embezzlement and fiscal malpractice.

If you add Trump’s tariff debacle to the debt crisis and the 0.3% contraction of the economy at the last measure, the situation only gets worse. The government, far from spending less, is spending more. It’s just simple math; you can’t continue to take money out without putting it back in. The Republican theory is that the wealth of the bottom 90% is merely a slush fund to be plundered by the top 10%, as they continue to mine that gold seam without giving anything in return. The reason they couldn’t care less about social programs or a living wage is, in their world, they don’t need them, so why should they have to pay for them? In the case of a living wage, they view it as a barrier to further mining wealth from the bottom.

Trump faces a dilemma; his persistent tax cuts reduce government tax revenue, and without them, society can’t function. He’s faced with the prospect of having to raise taxes without saying he’s raising taxes. The answer? Tariffs. He paints them falsely as a tax on foreign trading partners, when in reality, he’s applying a sales tax to every item consumers buy. By their very nature, sales taxes are regressive. The rich pay the same tax as the poor, so tariffs disproportionately affect lower-income earners. If you take the tariff impact into account, Trump is applying an average of around 20% sales tax, which is an instant tax hike of up to 20%, depending on how much the retailer marks up their prices.

If you are wondering how I arrived at the 20%, I’m working on the principle that there are 30% tariffs on Chinese goods and 10% on all other global imports. It’s challenging to apply a truly accurate measure due to the numerous variables Trump has introduced, but it gives us a ballpark figure.

In addition to fleecing the population with tariffs, the second part of his strategy is to reduce spending so that the top 10% live in first-class splendour on the Good Ship Trump, while the rest live in steerage. The objective is to spend as little as possible on the slave labour to maximise the bottom line. In Trump’s social Darwinism, it’s more cost-effective for the weak to fall by the wayside. If you aren’t contributing to his wealth, you are surplus to requirements, and that’s EXACTLY what his big beautiful bill looks to address.

The plan doesn’t stop at emptying your bank account; it is intent on robbing you of your natural heritage, too. While he was searching for loose change in the government’s coat pockets and down the back of the sofa, he stumbled across the family silver in the form of federal lands.

In February, Trump signed another of his proclamations, this time to create a Sovereign Wealth Fund. What is a SWV, as they are called?

A sovereign wealth fund is a state-owned investment fund comprised of money generated by the government, often derived from a country's surplus reserves. SWFs provide a benefit for a country's economy and its citizens.

As described in Investopedia in an article updated on February 3rd :

The funding for a sovereign wealth fund can come from a variety of sources. Popular sources are surplus reserves from state-owned natural resource revenues, trade surpluses, bank reserves that may accumulate from budgeting excesses, foreign currency operations, money from privatizations, and governmental transfer payments.

In general, sovereign wealth funds usually have a targeted purpose. Some countries have sovereign wealth funds that can be similar to venture capital for the private sector.

Before we even get out of the gate, would you trust a wealth fund in the hands of a man who stole from his own charity, using it as a personal slush fund? A great example of a successful SWF is Norway’s. It is the world’s largest SWF. The Norwegian government describes the aim of the fund is:

“..to ensure a long-term management of revenue from Norway’s oil and gas resources, so that this wealth benefits both current and future generations. The fund’s formal name is the Government Pension Fund Global”

The Government Pension Fund Global is one of the world's largest funds. Investments are spread across most markets, countries and currencies to achieve broad exposure to global growth and value creation while ensuring good risk diversification. The fund invests only abroad so that the Norwegian economy does not overheat.

You will note that in Norway, the SWF is used to invest revenue generated from state interests in the oil and gas sector. The whole purpose of its existence is for the collective benefit of the people of Norway. Trump, I am certain, has no such plans. As things stand, the US has no surplus funds to invest; it is drowning in debt. Let’s be clear, looking back in history, the Republican Party NEVER and I mean NEVER returns a profit for the American people. It has ALWAYS seen any hint of a surplus as a signal to hand out tax cuts for its wealthy benefactors.

Trump’s asset-stripping mentality views federal land sales as a potential cash cow that could help dig him out of a hole and enrich him at the same time. The only problem is, this is YOUR land, it belongs to the American people, not The Donald Trump Snake Oil Fund. The administration has long had its eye on privatising public spaces and National Parks. He sees the sale of federal lands as a significant sign on bonus.

In a report by the Centre for American Progress on February 20th, it reported:

Doug Burgum, President Trump’s secretary of the interior, explained that the nation’s parks, public lands, and natural resources—including timber, fossil fuels, and minerals—are assets on “the nation’s balance sheet.” Burgum speculated in his confirmation hearing that federal lands could be worth as much as $200 trillion.

It goes on to say:

Land sell-off and the privatization of public lands to this extent would deprive Americans and local economies of the access to nature and resources that sustain them. Giving money managers and financiers control over land management is more than just a land grab; it is an attack on the democratic and meritocratic ideals that make America great.

I would highly recommend you read the full report

I have no doubt whatsoever that Trump fully intends to have a garage sale for his friends in oil gas and mining to permit the rape and assault of the national heritage of America. I also believe that a Sovereign Wealth Fund will provide him with the perfect vehicle to commit further financial crimes against the people of America.

In a piece by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, they stated:

‘Even under optimal conditions, SWFs present tempting opportunities for leaders to engage in corruption. To minimize the chance that SWFs will be used for illicit purposes, strong governance institutions are needed. These include establishing a well-defined institutional structure with clear objectives. Robust regulations should spell out how, where, and what quantities of assets a SWF can invest. A fund should have independent oversight and distinct chains of authority, as well as coherent and rational fiscal rules. Considering the Trump administration’s self-dealing and erosion of accountability, there is an acute risk that the U.S. SWF could become a source of graft to reward Trump’s friends, coerce political support for his priorities, and bring personal enrichment.’

It’s a license for self-enrichment, and Trump will grab it with open arms. He will ensure that any oversight is carried out by sycophants and installed yes men. In an insight from State Street Global Advisors, they note:

The capital of the fund could come from different sources but would probably comprise state-owned assets. Per the government’s own calculation, the US government has assets worth US$5.7 trillion. This number is somewhat misleading, as most are illiquid in nature. But the liquid portion in itself is impressive.

Consider, for example, the nearly US$750 billion of assets in gold, if priced at market value. According to data from the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, a fund capitalized to this amount would be the world’s 8^th largest. There are other possibilities, too, such as monetizing the preferred stock position in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two housing-related government-sponsored enterprises. That value alone is estimated at over US$300 billion, though not straightforward to liquidate. In addition, the government possesses a large real estate portfolio and sizable cryptocurrency assets (close to US$20 billion in market value). And of course, any SWF fund could also be levered to increase its size.

To add the icing to the cake, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant, both proponents of Bitcoin, will oversee the fund. It will quite simply create the global headquarters for the world’s largest industrial-scale corruption syndicate.

I’m pretty confident that the Sovereign Wealth Fund will also be used as a vehicle for his overseas extortion rackets to secure mineral rights, along with his protection rackets to tie trade deals to security. I’d bet everything I own that this is precisely the direction of travel. Convince me I’m wrong.

In conclusion, friends, I have tried to connect as many of the dots as I can to form a comprehensive view of how all these elements come together. The bill includes so many cruel and divisive measures, designed purely for the edification of the wealthy, that it’s shameful. It is the centrepiece of a banquet of cruelty, extortion, and marginalisation. This is his new America, and it’s morally decomposing from the inside out. The terrifying part about it is that those elected to protect the people have now joined the terrorists to hold them hostage.