Good day friends. In the feudal kingdom of America, Mad King Don has decided to raise taxes on 95% of his subjects. He has cast aside the progress of a century and decided to adopt a political system, prevalent in the Middle Ages, where land ownership and military service were exchanged, creating a hierarchical structure with the king at the top and various lords and vassals below, all bound by obligation to the king
I find it difficult to articulate the level of cruelty and economic pain about to be bestowed on a population already punch drunk from the gutting of any provision to assist the vulnerable in their hour of need. This is not pain inflicted as a result of any outside influence or military aggression from a foreign power, it’s a deliberate act of economic self harm regarded as an acceptable price to pay, in order to force the economic subjugation of long standing trading partners and allies. We are witnessing in real time, the destruction not only of the American economy, but an attempt to destroy a trading framework designed by the very country perpetrating this fiscal crime against humanity.
Yesterday, stocks rallied briefly before dropping again simply as a result of misinterpreted words from the White House. This is a market manipulator’s wet dream. Traders are like drug addicts being denied their fix. The moment someone hands them a bag of optimism they eagerly snort it like every addict does, only to be left with another downer when the rush is over.
China has today had something to say about Trump’s additional 50% tariffs. They’ve countered with a new 84% tariff on all US imports. I said yesterday, Xi has no intention of being bullied. China has seen this coming for some time, they were prepared for it and are ready to ride it out. Xi is not a peasant as JD Vance infers, he’s been reducing China’s exposure to this risk for some time. There’s no question it WILL hurt China, but he believes that the US will hurt more.
The unreported truth on all of this unnecessary disruption, is the economic carnage that will follow. But that doesn’t bother Trump, he doesn’t care. He has one aim and one aim alone, to divert US taxpayer dollars to the treasury without mention of the word ‘TAX’. It’s simply state sponsored theft. A criminal act and there is a special place in hell reserved for him as punishment for his actions. We are all bearing witness to a deliberate global act of fiscal genocide.
For those who will respond with ‘you’re just being dramatic’. Tell that to the hundreds of thousands of small business owners who were already struggling to make ends meet. People who may now be forced to close their family business, or sell their family farm. Tell the workers who will soon lose their jobs because the demand for US exports to China are about to fall off a cliff. I am sat here trying to think about the words to use to even begin to describe how I feel about a man prepared to throw 95% of Americans under the bus, simply to satisfy his ego, enrich himself and his corporate benefactors. Be in no doubt, people WILL commit suicide over this. I’m being very serious, so please be alert to those around you who will be financially broken by what’s happening.
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Putting aside the political divide for a moment, these are and will be, potentially deeply distressing times for millions of Americans. We have a moral duty to look out for each other given the government has abandoned everyone but the rich.
When the hard right lunatics speak of bringing back jobs to America, they are LYING to you. They will grab grains of truth relating to some companies shifting capacity from overseas to supplement existing US manufacturing, then cite this as evidence it’s working. This is already happening as Trump claims countries are calling him, in his words, ‘kissing my ass’ to beg to do a deal. This is the man who was elected to bring down prices and inflation. Instead, he’s telling Americans to stay calm as he drives them to food banks, only to realise DOGE has defunded them.
Why is Trump able to do this with impunity?
Let’s take a step back and try to make sense of it. When Bernie Sanders went out on his Oligarchy tour, he highlighted that the current socio economic crisis is born from the uber rich being prepared to sacrifice as many Americans as it takes, to achieve their objective of pure unadulterated deregulated capitalism. They could not give a damn how many hard working families are driven into poverty as a result. Bernie asked a question to an audience of primarily Republican voters. “What’s it like to live paycheck to paycheck?” Here’s what people said:
Stressful
Not sure if you’ll be able to keep the heat on
Trying to find a way to plan a meal until your next paycheck
Forget about buying shoes and clothes for your kids
Skipping doctor’s visits
Scared that your world is going to fall apart
Am I getting glasses or am I getting them for my kids?
You can’t plan for the future
Feeling a victim of psychological warfare
You are forced to make impossible decisions for your family
People attended this rally because they knew Bernie Sanders had come not deliver the Democratic Party line, that anyone who voted for Trump was stupid and deserved what they got. Here was a guy prepared to LISTEN to their stories and their concerns. It was deeply emotional to listen to, because there was a huge audience who were effectively victims of BOTH parties. Trump won because Democrats were telling voters they really were better off, but just too stupid to see it.
As Democrats, we believe in fairness, compassion, empathy and equity. These are all good things which I firmly believe we should wear as a badge of honor, I know I do. The problem is, the political class on BOTH sides of the aisle seem to be advocates of do as I say and not as I do. The biggest threat anyone elected to public office faces, is corruption. The higher you climb up the political ladder the greater the temptation to enrich yourself at the expense of your core values, not to mention the platform on which you were elected. It’s not unusual for people to seek high elected office purely as a vehicle to get rich. Citizens United was the moment when everything changed, but that’s a post for another day. The point I am trying to make, is that as federal legislators, elected representatives are constantly the targets of dark money lobbyists seeking influence for cash. Take a moment to listen to this clip from six years ago
Not that we didn’t know politicians can be bought, but this masterclass by AOC does two things. First of all, it highlight’s her talent even six years ago. Secondly, some Democrats have played the cash for influence game, just as much as Republicans. What Americans have been voting for, is the choice between Republican corporate interests and Democrat corporate interests. Does that strike you as the choice voters are desperately looking for? There is a carefully crafted narrative supported by both party establishments which says, ‘If you step an inch to the left of center you are a communist or a Marxist’. It’s the biggest lie in American politics and I’m so itching to explore this with you further which we will do together someday soon.
FACT - In 2024, it was estimated that 23%, that’s nearly 40 million workers are earning $20,000 per year or less. The US Census Bureau figures from 2023 indicate 37% of the population are living below the poverty line. This is a damning indictment, on the largest economy in the world. From 1948 to 1973 the typical American family saw their wealth double once in about 23 years. It was proof that if you work hard your entire career, there was almost a guarantee your family would achieve upward social mobility within a generation. Since 1973, the time it takes to double your family wealth has increased to 100 years. So it now takes three or even four generations to achieve the same level of upward social mobility. Ask yourself why that might be? There’s a really simple answer, ‘the wealth gap’, which is now obscene. The transfer of wealth from the working class and the middle class to the top 5% has suffocated the American dream and all but removed opportunity for social mobility. The rich are walking the tightrope to maintain the very fine line between the working and middle class, because once that line disappears that’s when revolution takes place.
I hope I’m pulling these socio economic threads together for you in the context of these tariff wars, because sometimes we are so busy trying to deal with the problems of today, we fail to recognise how we got here. Rest assured we can’t fix a problem unless we understand how we arrived at it in the first place.
The final point I’ll make for today is, this act of fiscal self harm will simply server to increase the wealth gap even further and if you think corporate America will not use the cover of tariffs to price gouge you some more, dream on.
If only MSNBC would let you read what you just wrote but they're not going to have the courage so we go to other platforms I appreciate your work
So very sad. He's killing us, and the Supreme Court encourages him.