The pressure is building

Might this be the moment in history that we will look back on and say, "This was the point when Trump lost control of the power, leading to a political extinction event for the GOP."

The average annual salary of a US worker is estimated to be around $64,000. This is a figure, however distorted by high-income earners. So if we focus on the average income of a worker in the bottom 50% (66 million), that figure reduces to around $50,000. These 66 million Americans, incidentally, own just 2.4% of the country’s wealth. Just take a moment to think about that. The only part of their wealth that might be invested in the stock market is through 40k(k)s or mutual funds, some may hold.

There are 173 million registered voters in the US, so almost 40% of voters own just 2.4% of the nation's wealth. Numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show that American workers are taking home the smallest portion of the country’s economic output since federal records began in 1947. The bottom line is that as corporate America generates ever-growing profits, workers receive an ever-decreasing share of the fruits of their labour. Sadly, this will only accelerate as AI is rolled out, further widening the wealth gap. Below, I’ve included a helpful clip from PBS that explains the K-shaped economy, the new normal for the bottom 80% in the US.

video

So why use this as a backdrop to this piece today? The aim is to understand that when Trump and his acolytes speak of the economy and consumption, they think only in terms of a handful of tech companies propping up the stock market through circular investments to maintain confidence that they will one day turn a profit. When Trump thinks of consumers, he focuses on the top 10% (those earning $200,000 or more). It’s worthy of note here that, as reported by Kristina Byas in Investopedia on November 18th 2025:

Data shows that while 57% of earners with an annual income of $50,000 or less live paycheck to paycheck, 40% of those earning $300,000 or more have found themselves in this cycle.

For those suggesting that the answer to ending this tyranny is a general strike, this is why it will never happen. Even those with high-paid jobs live up to the edge and beyond their means, the good old ‘lifestyle creep’.

Those who read my work will know I’m a strong advocate for strategic economic disengagement as a weapon against this regime. Below is a standard text I have used to outline my advocacy for this approach:

Americans CAN stop this anytime without being arrested or punished in any way for their actions. STOP SPENDING on non-essential items and shift as much of that spending to local businesses. No need to stop eating out, just eat in locally run family eateries (NOT corporate chains). It’s about strategic spending decisions. Simply apply common sense, but if you need more detail, click here for my broader thinking. Given the SCOTUS ruling on tariffs, you now have even more power as Trump’s economy is now even more stressed

There is no case to be made for saying ‘there’s nothing we can do’ It really is very simple, and I would urge you to encourage everyone you know to become part of a sustained act of strategic economic disengagement, because I guarantee just by this most simple of actions, you can unlock the gate on the road back to real American values. A sustained 3-4% drop in consumer spending will occur if Americans have the collective and sustained patriotic determination to say ‘enough is enough’.

The critical point I’m trying to make here is that the bulk of society in the US is hanging on by its fingertips; things only ease off when you hit maybe the top 5%. The affordability crisis seems to persist, even among some of the top 10%, and while it appears to be a result of lifestyle choice, it’s a problem just the same. Everywhere you look in the economy, there are stress points, and that’s why people who have jobs want to hang onto them; hence, a general strike is a pipe dream, I’m afraid.

Americans find themselves orphaned by a government that now represents only those who earn above $200,000. It’s much easier to serve 10% of the population than everyone after all. 90% of the population have become the regime’s economically disabled children. Trump has decided to lock them in the economic attic until election time, when he has to sell them a line that only he can cure their fiscal disability. The irony is that millions of low-income voters who fall into this fiscally abandoned group are cheering Trump on while punching themselves in the face as he locks them in the attic.

We are living in strange times, my friends, times when an undeniable affordability crisis is ignored by a president prepared to spend $890 million a day on a non-imminent threat to US interests that has now escaped the lab, and is threatening allied interests across the Middle East and beyond. That’s $6.2 billion and counting, with claims that it will go on for weeks if not longer. This puts the cost for an illegal war at $26 billion a month going forward, while hard-working Americans struggle to fill their gas tanks and put food on the table. On the day when oil reached $90 a barrel, this waste of YOUR money is the equivalent of the annual wages of just over half a million Americans in the bottom 50%. Give that some thought as you pick your jaw up from the floor.

Europol warns that the Iran crisis raises the threat of terror, extremism and cyberattacks. This is a situation spiralling out of control. Trump has admitted that there is now a real possibility that the US may face threats on American soil and that, in his words, “Some will die.” This is fine when you have a bunker a few feet away.

In Trump’s tiny little mind, he thought this was going to be a rerun of Venezuela, a quick in and out after the installation of a puppet who would negotiate a cut from oil revenues for him with Batman and Robin (Witkoff and Kushner). That was a huge miscalculation that could leave the US mired in another extended conflict that America cannot afford, nor can it provide legal justification for it. At the same time, it places its citizens in the crosshairs of a regime noted for its ability to deploy suicide bombers around the world. What was that about making America safe again?

You cannot win a war from the air in Iran. All that will happen is that more and more Iranian civilians will be killed, as we can see already, as the death toll now exceeds 1000. What people need to understand is that Israel has a policy of indiscriminate bombing with no regard for human life. Reports indicate that the Maven Smart System, provided by Palantir, has been paired with Claude AI, despite the Pentagon declaring its use illegal.

It appears the strike on Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ school, located in the South-Iranian city of Minab, was likely carried out by the US, though this is yet to be confirmed by the Pentagon. It is also claimed that the strike was a ‘double tap’, which killed those attempting to render aid, but it’s difficult to verify statements given the real names of witnesses are withheld to protect their identity. I do feel it’s worthy of inclusion here because numerous trusted news sources are also reporting on it. For me, there are two big questions that need to be answered: was AI used to designate the target? Was this a ‘double tap’ strike? I will update this piece as more information becomes available. Regardless of who was responsible, this unquestionably qualifies as a war crime, but maybe it’s all AI’s fault, so how can you indict a computer program?

The big challenge we face is that this conflict, and all that has gone before it, is shaped by a carefully crafted narrative designed to shape public opinion. Trump has long believed he is king of the narrative, but this time, I fear it is becoming increasingly difficult to control. The right-wing propaganda machine is working flat out to attempt to shape the message, but the schizophrenic justifications it appears, have largely fallen on deaf ears. Polls consistently indicate that Trump is well underwater on support for the strikes.

The longer this goes on, the worse it’s going to get at a time when midterm primaries are underway. I can see nothing but pain for Republicans in November because, regardless of how long this goes on, it will be fresh in the minds of voters, especially as US casualties grow. God forbid if there is an attack on US soil, then it truly will be game over, and it will open the door to impeachment and removal.

The niggle I have in the back of my mind is that Trump might claim there is a threat to the safety of the elections from Iran, and that he uses that to attempt to postpone the midterms. He is so up to his neck in corruption now that he can’t afford to lose control of the House, and I believe there will be nothing off limits to him.

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