The madness never ends

There is no upside in the US economy looking forward. To think otherwise is simply delusional. The US is now forced to resort to stealing wealth to prop up an economy on the edge.

Amidst the daily chaos of the tariffs, the extortion, the lies and almost $40 trillion of debt, trying to make sense of it in a way that allows me to unravel some of the complexities of this moment we find ourselves in is, shall we say, challenging. I was reminded of a recent recurring comment from a regular contributor sending me a coded message in the comments section of my posts, in relation to a subject that I don’t write about anymore: the opportunity to extract the politics from the situation we find ourselves in, and remind those who might care to listen that the ability to put an end to the tyranny we are being forced to endure remains in the hands of the American people. It’s still possible, but the dynamics are evolving.

Although it might not be evident, I live my life in a perpetual state of internal conflict. Up until a couple of months ago, I absorbed the news and sat to write for hours every day to try and make sense of what has become an attempt at the political cleansing of a nation. What I didn’t consider at the time was the damage it was doing to my state of mind. The sense of helplessness I felt in my inability to effect change was beginning to defeat the goals that my writing here on Substack has evolved into since I began what has been a journey of self-discovery.

I came here from X after developing an appetite to expand my ability to document the politics of our time in long-form. I have never claimed to be a writer or a journalist; my aim has never been to steal literary valour as some try to do. It takes time, training and skill to wear the badge, and I’ve certainly not earned the right to wear it. Social media influencers repackaging the reporting of others, often without attribution, is intellectual theft in my book, especially when it’s suggested that the ‘legacy media’ is no longer serving the people.

I have found a little island in this ocean of competing financially driven narratives to write fact-driven social and political commentary from the heart, writing the unvarnished truth without fear or favour. With that objective comes a self-imposed sense of responsibility that sometimes keeps me awake at night wondering if what I wrote today was fair. Don’t mistake fairness for balance. NOTHING about my work is ‘balanced’ because I believe that balance is the enemy of the truth. There’s a big difference between blance and fairness.

Mainstream media’s obsession with balance and ‘equal time’ has fueled the very rise of the regime under which we are now forced to live. The obsession with providing oxygen to the so-called other side of the argument became the vehicle through which to incubate the ‘alternative facts’ that now dominate our lives. I’ve been passionate about politics and social justice all my life. I grew up around politics at a local level through my father, who was a respected advocate for those who didn’t have a voice. He was a man who believed in a fairer society where opportunity should not be defined by the size of your bank balance or where you were born.

He was a textbook example of a flawed man with a drink problem who had a big heart when he was sober, yet could be cruel and abusive to my mother when he returned home well oiled from the pub. People in the community loved him for the way he fought for their best interests, but they never saw the side of him that at times frightened me and certainly frightened my mother. While I never saw him lift a hand to her, his temper left me in no doubt that had she pushed back hard enough, things might have been very different. For all his faults and failings though, I still remember him with a sense of fondness for the kind, supportive, hard-working father he was, when not under the influence of alcohol.

I share this not for any other reason than to make the point that our demons should not define us, but guide us to be better to those we love. It’s why I have never made alcohol anything but a fleeting acquaintance at Christmas and the odd family event. In my all too familiar clumsy way, I’m trying to say that we should never let good be the enemy of perfect, and only by accepting we live in a flawed world can we try and make it better for those that follow us. What concerns me in this moment is: what example are we setting for the next generation? What does our silence in the face of tyranny say about who we are?

It has been my aim from the outset of my public engagement with politics to find a way to make it make sense to those who are time-poor, or might not understand the damage a lack of quizzical engagement can have on the future our leaders are creating I try to go to sleep at night knowing that I have done my best to articulate the threats, the dangers and changes that can be made to help deliver a better tomorrow.

I want to state for the record, as I have before, the incredible admiration I have for so many of the journalists that influencers claim to be falling down on the job in this new social media dominated landscape. Yes, there are propagandists and servants of the populist political class. Ever was it so. However, for every one of them, there are LOTS of journalists with integrity and a moral compass that are prepared to speak truth to power. Unfortunately, many of them are employed by legacy media news organisations where boards set parameters within which they are forced to report. There’s no question that’s a problem. However, these people have families to feed and mortgages to pay, so I don’t judge them for moderating their language in order to pay the bills. That’s the world in which we live.

Not everyone is a literary warrior, but their moderated work is often more than sufficient to help those of us unconstrained by the limitations they are bound by to fill in the blanks and turn bare facts into thought-provoking commentary. My work is carefully curated, fact-based opinion and commentary, which I hope encourages critical thinking and further investigation. Attribution is at the heart of what I do, from the writers and journalists I quote to article links and reporting from the many publications I subscribe to as part of the wealth of research resources I invest in each month. The incredible work of those I rely upon for the facts helps me craft my commentary, and it's central to me being able to do what I do every day.

I don’t entertain sponsorship despite having received a number of offers. What you get when you read my thoughts is ME and my thoughts, no additives or injected narratives, just the simple, unvarnished truth, and it’s important to know that.

I read every comment on every piece I write and reply where I think appropriate, because it’s important that people can challenge what I say and engage in debate directly with me as a result. That’s what led me to my comment at the beginning of this piece, related to past pieces speaking to the power that the American people have to end this tyranny outside of politics.

There has long been a simple answer, and that’s to stop spending on all but essentials, and I still hold this to be true. One thing that the No Kings protests proved is that while bringing millions onto the streets is possible, unless it’s done EVERY day by the same number of people, it’s nothing more than an opportunity for a social media post. Does it create awareness? Absolutely, but then people get back to what they were doing, and that’s largely not reading about politics and the state of the nation. For the top 10%, it’s about spending like drunken sailors, which this regime loves, given that 70% of the economy is built on consumer spending.

The flawed assumption of champagne socialists sitting in the homes they own, with bank balances that insulate them from the pain of those their calls for mass action will hurt, is that they’re directing a revolution in which THEY never risk becoming the economic collateral damage that those they encourage to participate do. It’s this ignorance of the impact that has long been the enemy of success. The data informs us that a general strike will only succeed if the 3.5% rule is met. Studies on mass civil disobedience show that only if 3.5% of a population actively participates in SUSTAINED, nonviolent resistance, CAN they move the needle.

Illustration by The Atlantic

Unfortunately, the system has been refined by those at the top of the economic food chain to create a work environment in which, if you lose your job, the socioeconomic consequences are often catastrophic. This creates a hostile environment for direct action similar to the ‘Arab Spring’, for example. As things stand, close to 50% of all US consumer spending is carried out by the asset-owning top 10%. Given that total consumer spending is around $16.69 trillion, that means that over $8 trillion is being spent by just over 13 million households. This is why Trump ALWAYS looks to the state of the stock market, because that’s where the money comes from to allow those in the top 10% to prop up the US GDP.

It would be easy to conclude that this still leaves over $8 trillion of spending with the bottom 90%. The difference here is what is disposable income and what is essential spending, and that’s where the challenge comes into play. Putting aside that holding on to a job is essential for the majority of Americans. The top 10% have no complaints with the wealth the Trump Administration is delivering, so they don’t need to participate in direct action. I suspect that this would hold true for the top 50% when it comes to taking direct action. Now we are down to the bottom 50%, given they are hurting the most. This represents around 67 million households who between them own just 2.5% of the nation’s wealth.

The obvious question is how much of their income is disposable, and I would suggest that’s why participation in direct action is even an option. They certainly can’t afford to lose their job, so a general strike is out; the only other option on the table then, is a spending strike. With little disposable income available, the next question is: if they stop spending on everything but the essentials, could they lower GDP by 3%-4% to cause the government to pay attention, because that’s what it would take. My guess is this is why we have seen little appetite for a spending strike.

The American system has long been a closet social Darwinist experiment; there is no real collective willingness to help those lower down on the economic food chain. It’s unfortunate, but the truth is, US society is a me, me me society of people who buy stuff they don’t need because they’re taught at an early age to believe ‘they’re worth it.’ It’s not a glitch; it’s how the system was designed to work. In American society, inconvenience is the enemy and sacrifice is a cross too heavy to bear. It’s not just a US disease; we have it in the UK too. It’s at the very heart of what makes the current regime very difficult to challenge outside of politics. When it comes to a choice between you not eating and the guy next door not eating, the guy next door will lose every time.

Now before you jump in, I know this is a generalisation, and I am more than aware that many Americans give generously to food banks, etc. Instinctively, many Americans have a good heart, but once the government fails to bear most of the burden of helping those at the bottom, the challenge becomes too great for the wider society. So where does that leave us? We’re back to those with the broadest shoulders meeting their societal responsibilities. To which we hear the understandable cries of ‘TAX THE RICH’, to which the retort is ‘We already pay the most’, and they can prove it because it IS factually correct when taken literally.

‘Tax the rich’ is the wrong statement; it sounds spiteful and born of jealousy. The statement should be ‘Make taxes fairer again.’ You can only do this by equalising the tax system to treat wealth as income or a benefit in kind for tax purposes, which we will discuss in more detail on Monday. Have a great weekend and remember to take a moment away to grab some air and breathe.

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