This is the final part of a three-part post. I've included a link to Part One here and Part Two here.
I’m acutely aware that I don’t do fluffy, rainbow, and unicorn pieces, and that some people are just looking for some good news or a clear steer on how to rescue America from this tyrant. There are plenty of writers out there explaining that things aren’t as bad as you might think they are.
I'm not that writer, I’m afraid, it would be grossly irresponsible to lie to you in what is a critical moment in history. The only good news is that I genuinely believe all is not lost; the prognosis might be bleak, but where there is the will, there is often a way. The burning question is what price Americans are prepared to pay, because the solution involves real sacrifice, depending on how it’s presented. The question is. Will it all be too much for those unaccustomed to sacrifice?
We’ll discuss the solution options shortly, but first, I want to address the fundamental issue of allegiance to the flag, which has promoted the sense of exceptionalism that most Americans carry with them from school and throughout their life. Call it indoctrination, call it patriotism, call it what you like, it is unquestionably the definition of state propaganda, and it is, in my opinion, highly relevant in this moment. It’s undoubtedly where fear of the dreaded ‘socialism’ comes from. I heard a great line yesterday:
Communism says people can’t be rich. Socialism says people can be rich, but no one can be poor.
Maybe Zohran Mamdani is on to something? Socialism is the textbook example of what centrists believe, that everyone should be pulled closer to the centre.
The central tenet of American society is that the US is the greatest and most powerful nation on earth. Of course, that’s a post for another day. In the meantime, let’s be clear, I have no problem with having confidence and belief in your country. After all, I’m a proud Brit. We are a people who travel around the world believing that if we speak English loudly and slowly with a bad accent we believe to be representative of the indigenous language, we are fluently speaking in the host’s native tongue, I hate to tell you, it’s a standing joke in Europe that if Americans were as good as they think they are, it would be cause for concern as opposed to what it is, cause for amusement.
I have always loved America and always had a soft spot for the larger-than-life characters I have met over the many years I have holidayed and worked there. As a Brit, I come from a nation that is well-versed in imperial exceptionalism. The British Empire at its peak covered one quarter of the world’s land mass and ruled over almost half a billion people. We were, of course, your colonial masters until we weren’t.
Despite showing us the door with the help of the French, you largely adopted the English common law system, which subsequently evolved into the broken system you have today. Maybe it should have been left well alone, then the guy in the White House might be in jail today. Uncomfortable as it may be to hear, history tells us that without the French navy, their financial and military aid, we might still both be serving the same king.
Despite having the largest empire in history, as British citizens, we have never had to pledge allegiance to a flag or our monarch. That has always been reserved for armed service members and members of Parliament and the House of Lords. Criticism of government is almost a rite of passage in higher education, often driven by the exuberance of youth. Believe me, it’s healthy for democracy. Unfortunately, in America, the right has abducted the flag and the word ‘patriot’ as their cultural prisoner. Just as they have hijacked religion and weaponised it against anyone who dares question their intent to put their white country singer version of God at the centre of government.
Let’s be clear: politicians of both parties over the years have appeared to convince the population that healthcare should not be a human right, that a derisory minimum wage is acceptable, and that paid family leave is a luxury, not a right, as is affordable childcare. This was BEFORE Trump torched the government and the judicial branch, installed an internal surveillance and security apparatus and decided to deport 4% of the US workforce. Americans are now living in a perpetual state of heightened tension and fear. Women have been relegated to second-class citizens, whose duty, it appears, is to be quiet and have babies.
From an international perspective, most of the developed world now sees the US as a failed state ruled by a convicted tyrant, running an international extortion gang out of the White House. A man determined to rule, not govern. America has abdicated its position as global leader, leaving a vacuum that will be filled not to the benefit of US interests.
I think it’s important to say this stuff out loud, not because I want to bash the US, but because until you see what you’ve allowed yourself as a society to settle for, you can’t begin to fight for better. The cabal living in the shadows of government is reimagining America for the chosen few. The Big Billionaire Welfare Act tells you everything you need to know about who is part of their plans, and unless you are in the top 10% you don’t figure in their future vision for America. Let me tell you why that is. — AI. They already have a roadmap for the future, and they know what the redundancy level will be for human labour. The whole citizenship culture war they are embarking upon, which aims to denaturalise those not born in America, is, in my view, a strategic plan for downsizing the population.
We must look beyond the present because, politics aside, we will be living in a very different world even by the end of Trump’s term. If you are a middle class white collar worker in any data-related job, there is a strong possibility that your job will no longer exist even as soon as before the end of Trump’s term in office. The impending environmental cost of power-guzzling data centres will be catastrophic. It’s already impacting communities that find themselves in proximity to their presence. The AI revolution is genocidal to the labour market, and governments know what’s coming down the pipe. This isn’t just about preserving democracy, this is ultimately about the preservation of the human species, because these maniacs are prepared to, how did Curtis Yarvin put it? Turn the unproductive into biodiesel.
Woah Martin, I can hear the cries, we don’t need conspiracy theories right now, things are bad enough without you piling in with this shit. To those who are sceptics, I say bookmark this post and let’s reevaluate at the end of the current term. It is already accepted that unemployment arising from the COVID pandemic will pale in comparison to the workforce impact of AI. I work with it, I understand its ability and its capacity to obliterate human participation. Now there is a separate conversation for another day on universal income, etc, but just looking at the raw impact, it makes population decline a blessing, not a problem.
It won’t have escaped your attention that JD Vance, who is the cabal’s ‘chosen one’, is raising the question of citizenship to grade your white ethnic purity, just as Hitler did in 1930s Germany—a sort of American Aryan purity test. He recently gave what for me was a terrifying speech, laced with lies and misinformation, drenched in islamophobia. It’s an alarming rhetoric that should terrify Americans because it promotes division and paints Democrats as enemies of the state. This is precisely their plan and will, in my view, form the foundations of a plan to postpone or cancel elections to ‘protect America’.
You can listen to his full speech or read the transcript from his speech at the Claremont Institute’s Statesmanship Award Event on July 5th, here. There is no question in my mind that JD Vance presents the most significant single threat to Western Democracy, because he will be the actual delivery mechanism for the likes of Thiel and Vought’s future vision, not just for America, but for the world.
I would then draw your attention to an article by Jackson Spielvogel and David Redles from the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, ‘Hitler's Racial Ideology: Content and Occult Sources’, which notes:
In a 1931 interview with a Leipzig newspaper editor, Adolf Hitler made a passionate declaration of the true significance of his National Socialist movement
The key paragraphs for me are:
Hitler's racial ideology stemmed from what he called "the basic principle of the blood." This meant that the blood of every person and every race contained the soul of a person and likewise the soul of his race, the Volk. Hitler believed that the Aryan race, to which all "true" Germans belonged, was the race whose blood (soul) was of the highest degree. God Himself had, in fact, created the Aryans as the most perfect men, both physically and spiritually.4
Since the blood (soul) of the Aryans contained specific spiritual energies, the "cultural energies" or "racial primal elements,"5 as Hitler often called them, the Aryans supplied the culture that creates the beauty and dignity of higher humanity. In other words, all that man calls higher culture was ultimately the product of the spiritual and creative energies that exist in the blood of the Aryans.
I know it’s taken a little time to get here, but now it’s time to talk about solutions, because heaven knows we need some. Let me say that the 2026 midterms are NOT the answer. This is not a problem that can be put off until 2026. In any event, those in the shadows are working hard to ensure that there will be no midterms.
I have no problem with people taking to the streets in organised protests, like the No Kings protests on 14th June. However, these should act as punctuation points for a more difficult-to-challenge solution. The problem with street protests is that they can turn ugly, and you can rest assured that the media will focus only on the ugly. This makes it in the interest of the right to deploy agitators. We did see a small amount of that on July 4th. The other problem is that it presents Trump with an opportunity to deploy the Army, especially now that he has an executive order in place to facilitate this action.
I want to discuss two possible options that could work independently or in conjunction with each other. The first involves blue states withholding payments to the government. Trump himself raised the question when he threatened to end all federal aid to California. In response, Gavin Newsom responded:
“Californians pay the bills for the federal government. We pay over $80 BILLION more in taxes than we get back.” He added, “Maybe it’s time to cut that off.”
As things stand, blue states are funding a confederate government. Dean Obeidallah wrote a great piece, which is well worth reading to gain a better understanding of conversations already being had. Looking at the implications in more detail, CalMatters reported on 11th June:
A study by the Rockefeller Institute of Government found that in fiscal year 2021-22, California provided about $83 billion more to the federal government than it received, nearly three times as much as the next state, New Jersey, which provided about $29 billion more than it received from the U.S.
In addition, California taxpayers contribute the most of any state to total federal taxes, according to IRS data the state’s Finance Department cited. In fiscal year 2023-24, California’s total federal taxes were $806 billion, nearly twice as much as Texas, which contributed $417 billion, and more than twice the $384 billion New York contributed.
Of course, the right has a different view. Jared Walczak, vice president of state projects for the Tax Foundation, stated:
“Courts have made it abundantly clear that you can’t be a conscientious objector to paying taxes,”
My simple counter to this statement is that the courts have made lots of things abundantly clear, including the Supreme Court, and Trump has chosen to ignore most of them. Surely there’s no suggestion that there should be one rule for me but not for thee?
Regardless of how you dice and slice it, many red states can’t function without the taxes handed over by blue states. Let’s be clear, nobody wants this to be a red state vs. blue state thing; this is the environment Trump has created. He wants Republicans to ‘hate Democrats, ’ that’s his modus operandi. My point is, be careful what you wish for. I have no idea how many key blue states have examined the options, but we are beyond the point of playing nice, I’m afraid. This situation demands bold action where Democrats put a line in the sand.
Looking beyond that, we move to option two: mass economic disengagement. The people often underestimate their power. Every government can only truly govern with the consent of its people. Yes, Trump can deploy tanks on the streets and intimidate dissenters, but in a consumer-driven economy, the power you have is gargantuan if the people organise to weaponise their spending; the government would be powerless to act. Nobody can force you to press the ‘Buy Now’ button. There is no question that it requires coordination and careful planning, but it can be done without affecting those on low incomes.
This does not need to be a Democrat vs. Republican issue; it simply needs to be a matter of right and wrong. It should not matter if you’re a Democrat, a disaffected Republican or an independent. All you need to agree upon is that what Trump is doing is wrong, and you have it in your power to put a stop to it. This solution depends on the mobilisation of the middle class and any demographic with disposable income. Let’s call it ‘The People’s Economic Shutdown’. No need to close your social media accounts or disconnect your internet; just buy only the essentials.
There's no need to stop going to the gym or getting your haircut, etc. The key is to avoid purchasing high-priced ticket items, vehicles, and white goods, and to suspend movie streaming services. Nothing provides a better measure of participation than a significant decline in the number of streaming subscribers. The government only get tariff revenues when consumers buy products. It’s not for nothing that the government takes notice of consumer sentiment numbers.
If consumers switch off the tap, government revenue bleeds out. Suppose a coalition of middle-income Americans stood in solidarity to stop spending on non-food, high-margin goods for a month, I can guarantee Corporate America would beg for mercy. There is no need for a national sick day or a General Strike at this stage. It’s a relatively painless exercise that protects low-income earners and removes the threat of violence on the streets. It is, of course, essential that you continue to support the hospitality industry wherever possible, but perhaps reduce your spend. You can’t mitigate against everything. For example, delivery drivers would be impacted.
This is about strategic economic disengagement and should be approached with flexibility to adjust which sectors are disengaged from. Equally, these could be punctuated by sick days or mass protests, depending on the prevailing political temperature. Regardless of how people choose to participate, the goal is to maintain sustained maximum pressure. It would be easy to create an app to coordinate the effort. It’s not only Trump who can utilise data, we can do it too. If they want to play Hunger Games with SNAP and Medicaid, we can play too with Corporate profits.
Europeans, Canadians and other Democracies are doing their bit by not travelling to the US. This is currently estimated to be costing the government around $29 billion in lost tourism revenue. It’s time for Americans to step up and make this happen.
I do have some other thoughts we can pick up tomorrow, but that’s a wrap on this three-parter.
This footnote will appear on each of my posts moving forward, to encourage those who can afford it to consider becoming paid subscribers. THIS IS NOT A GUILT TRIP for those who can’t afford it. My content will ALWAYS remain free regardless of your ability to contribute. Your support and engagement with my work are just as important, so please feel no pressure because there is none. This campaign moving forward requires mission-critical visual messaging, such as my short film about Peter Thiel and those in the shadows who are running the show. These are expensive to create and can only be produced with the help of funding derived from paid subscribers. I trust that you will view it as an opportunity to become a stakeholder in what I do, helping to keep people informed at this critical point in history.
Thank you, as ever, for your support.
Martin
Another arrow in our collective quiver. Thanks for the piece and ideas.
Thank you for the suggestion. I assume an in depth analysis of the implementation has or will be done, including sector analysis and potential unintended consequences, as well the time line implications. We did use boycott as a tactic during our withdrawal from the British Empire. If Sam Adams et al. had not been so successful and we would have made the economically valid decision to pay for the tea, the empire may have evolved differently and the world might have walked down a path with an evolution of an enlightened global government. There would certainly have been enough difference that we would not be discussing Mr. Trump. But the voice of reason from the likes of Franklin and Burke is often not the one people hear and believe.