HELLO CHAOS, HERE I COME
I started to write down the “bones” of this article two weeks
prior to Inauguration Day on January the 20th, 2025 and hope to
finish it in the weeks following, being able to include the predictable
political fireworks that will be unleashed, similar to Trump’s first term in
office. The American public is in for a
real treat as Bozo the clown and his circus encamp once more in the White
House. This time around with a
comfortable majority, which is viewed by Trump and his acolytes as a mandate
for some radical changes.
The lead author of project 2025, Russell Vought, is once more
part of the inner circle as the office of Management and Budget director. Throughout the election Trump denied any
knowledge of the report and it authors, yet it neatly follows all the ideas and
proposals Trump supports and endorses. A
vindictive right-wing assault on everything perceived by them as undermining
America’s potential and divine right to rule supreme.
In this article I am going to make some dire predictions and
that Trump’s second term in office will unleash a veritable shit-show never
witnessed before in American history.
Project 2025 is the brainchild of right-wing zealots, many of them
privileged and born into wealth, that use their simplistic views—basically
bypassing due process and parliamentary procedures—to unilaterally impose their
wishes upon the nation as a whole.
Democracy and its processes are viewed by them as a waste of time, grinding
down in endless debates and watered down solutions.
Basically it consists of a small, but determined group of
people, wanting to bypass Congress and the Senate and introduce autocratic
rule. They follow the dictator’s
playbook to a T and the first order of business is passing a blanket emergency
law that gives the president unilateral power to push through his agenda. Trump has already indicated that he wants to
eliminate the debt ceiling which would allow him to print and spend money like
wildfire. No oversight. The bankruptcy proceedings of America will be
left to his successor.
Americans have handed over the keys to their country to a
group of kleptocrats who can’t wait to rob their country blind. If Putin can do it, so can they. Four more years of brawn and bluster, lies
and threats. Trump’s ego knows no
boundaries and there is no shame. Trump
and his cronies lack a moral compass. No
empathy, no principles.
Although Trump in all his vanity views himself as ‘the’
supreme global leader to whom the rest of the world kneels and kowtows; his
proposed policies—many of them changing on a whim—followed up by a unrelenting
stream of rash and brash statements rattling friends and enemies alike, may
well lead to America’s isolation on the global stage and sharply reduce
America’s influence.
He wrongly interprets global reactions as strengthening his position in further dealings and negotiations, as if the world is a boardroom and everything inside is decided based upon the ‘deal’ to be made. Trump mistakenly assumes that he is feared by other leaders. They are simply holding their collective breaths to see what kind of chaos he will unleash this time around. The world is faced with enough problems as it is and responsible leaders are concerned about the damage that Trump and his rhetoric can inflict on the precarious global peace and balance they try to maintain.
Deficit compounding
America is faced with some horrendous internal problems that
no amount of bluster and brawn can overcome.
America’s debt load is staggering and according to one senior Republican
senator is growing by a staggering one trillion dollars every one hundred
days. In all fairness, America’s fiscal
decline started decades ago, but it is coming to a head. It kind of explains why Trump wants to
eliminate the debt ceiling. Republicans
may have towed the line in electing Trump, but the majority want the spending
reigned in; borrowing reduced and deficits pared down.
Spending in America is out of control. And the culprits are not Education and Health
Care. America is following in the
footsteps of the former U.S.S.R, done in by an out of control bureaucracy,
inefficiencies and a military presence that has overextended itself all across
the globe. The only thing that has saved
America thus far is a private sector that through sheer hard work and
determination has kept its head above water.
It is the free market and through integrated economies with nations such
as Canada that has kept the American colossus afloat.
What the current batch of wannabee autocrats are ignoring
with their proposed policies and actions is the plight of ordinary hard-working
Americans and the millions falling behind or purposely being left behind.
A nation cannot move forwards by pretending that the needs of
millions of Americans falling behind can be ignored with impunity. People are not balance sheets, they’re not
numbers or commodities that can be written off.
An isolationist America will be abandoned by the rest of the
world in a heartbeat. Americans
represent less than 5 percent of the total world population. There is a huge market place out there that
doesn’t need America, especially since the nation is the dubious holder of
one-third of all global debt, a debt load predominantly carried by American
financial institutions! If they go
under, guess what follows?
America is not alone!
The problems that America faces are not unique but are shared
by the rest of the world. The world
population is bursting at the seams and their demands and needs are not
sustainable and is the main reason why nearly all nations are mired in debt,
debts that will never be repaid.
In the face of the problems that all nations face, the never
ending arms race is only getting worse; in expenditures and lethality. The world is still run along conflict lines
as if we need enemies and evil-minded competitors. It is a tired an old-fashioned scheme that
has never worked in the past and it won’t work in the present. Trillions of
dollars wasted on weaponry not used, but that are supposed to act as a
deterrence. Millions of soldiers trained
to be battle ready for wars that are not happening. But all it takes is a cupcake like Trump and
his cronies to once more set out on an expansion and occupation drive. Blinded by the fact that the consequences of
armed conflict outweigh any of the benefits.
Not a single nation, not a single war, has ever given any superpower the control and dominance they are looking for. History unequivocally shows that all nations eventually retreat back to within their own borders. Take as an example all the bluster and threats aimed at Canada recently with Trump ignoring the salient fact that the two nations have had perfectly integrated economies for decades. Neither Americans nor Canadians show any inclination at massive migrations from one side to the other. Canadians are quite content with who they are and the nation they call home.
Only delusional zealots walk around with illusions of world
dominance, power, glory and conquest.
This is 2025. Grow up. The world
has moved on.
In the meantime we’re wasting precious time, resources and
energy to counteract a psychopath’s delusions.
Predictions:
We’re about to enter 4 years of utter chaos, at home and
abroad, as America and the world try to cope with a man totally unsuited to
hold the highest office in the land. Witness
the massive firing and hiring of people and the bus won’t be able to cope with
the number of people thrown beneath its wheels.
Vance will be let go within the first six months and Trump and Musk will
be involved in a massive dustup because you can’t have two Daffy Ducks running
the White House, one elected and the other pretending. By the end of Trump’s term America will be
declared insolvent and the dollar will cease to exist as a major global
currency.
Globally we will be done in by our numbers, needs and
entitlements, and the widening gap between haves and have-nots will only make
matters worse. People like Trump, rich
and privileged, lose sight of the fact that their wealth comes courtesy of
ordinary, hard-working, men and women.
Without a dedicated American workforce their wealth would evaporate like
snow melting before a hot sun. The
people behind project 2025 are totally out of touch with reality and that
includes Trump and his acolytes.
America needs the rest of the world to keep trade and finance
flowing freely. China, Russia, India,
Europe, Africa and South-America, all can handle themselves quite nicely
without American interference and meddling.
Rather than engaging in silly protectionist, isolationist, and
expansionist rhetoric, America would be better served working in tandem with
the rest of the world tackling some of the worst global problems. We’re literally drowning in people and
unsustainable practices and we’re exhausting the planet in the process.
Problems we share.
Problems we ignore. And we’re all
guilty!
Urban sprawl had led to an economic model that is totally
contingent on transportation and is energy intensive. Literally everything has to be shipped in and
out. The infrastructure costs associated
with maintaining urban intensification are horrendous, not only in new-built,
but in replacement and repairs. Water,
sewage, utilities, roads and bridges, waste treatment plants, waste disposal,
hospitals, schools, universities, community centers, parks, recreation, private
and public housing, energy requirements, heating and cooling, shopping,
policing, fire and safety. The majority
of all major cities are running huge deficits and are faced with constantly
having to hike taxes.
It is not just America and Trump that will dictate the fate
of the coming years, but how we as a people will tackle the challenges that lie
ahead. I know that the Trump approach
will be a disaster and that he and his little cabal are capable of shaking the
very democratic foundations upon which the nation is built. What he will take down in its wake is what
concerns me.
HELLO CHAOS, HERE I COME, PART TWO
Well, barely a day in and Trump doesn’t disappoint true to
form. Most American presidents when
elected to the highest office in the land, turn over their business or business
interests to a third party. Putting
their affairs into escrow or respecting the Emoluments Clause which basically
prohibits a sitting president from profiting from their position. However, the interpretation of this act and
attempts to sue Trump during his first term in office, showcase that although
the act is on the books, it has never been pursued. Not successfully. Presidents are immune from prosecution. The White House for Trump is above all an
extension of his business empire and is used as a boardroom to advance the
interests of Trump, the brand, his personal finances, his public profile and
yes, on occasion it will feature items of State. Thumbing his nose at convention is a Trump
hallmark. He even launched his own
crypto currency on the day of his inauguration.
He is once more using his name, fame and the office of president, to
enrich himself. Crypto needs to be
purchased with real cash, cash that then disappears into crypto space, nearly
untraceable and devoid of taxation and oversight. He is banking on his name and position to
have tens of thousands of Americans invest in this lucrative Ponzi scheme. He gets in on the bottom for pennies and will
end up selling at a huge profit while still holding on to a fair share.
From day one he had on his desk a raft of so-called executive
orders which makes a mockery of America’s parliamentary system, because there
is none. It is mostly a raft of
unelected people that occupy the top positions in Trump’s cabinet. It turns the legislative function of America’s
institutions—Congress, the Senate and the judiciary—into an absolute
farce. No debate, no consultation, no
committee reports, no investigations, no oversight, no checks and balances. It thumbs its nose at democracy.
Once more it will be about Trump, his brawn, his ego, his money and his habit of strutting around like a peacock around the White House and his golf courses. Constantly tweeting, texting and insulting. Bragging about his prowess and importance and how the world bows at his feet.
Trump bragged about how this term would usher in a golden age
for America, just as he referenced Manifest Destiny. Both need some explaining. Historically when a nation experienced a
golden age it was due to either a sudden advance in technology or through the discovery
of new wealth—gold, minerals, spices, land, etc. Initially most empires enjoyed the sudden
influx of wealth, status and power, but none were everlasting. But . . . you don’t enter a golden age, or
brag about it in advance, when you find yourself stuck behind the eight ball
and not even a trick shot will give you a way out.
Trump’s utter lack of education comes shining through once
more and he is using his predictable brand of bluster and brawn to bluff his
way through a myriad of obstacles standing in America’s way. Ignoring reality is another one of Trump’s
trademarks. Bullshit may baffle brains
some of the time, but not all the time.
You can seal off the border and deport all the illegals you
lay your hands on and you’re still left with the sad fact that as a nation
you’re into debt up to your eyeballs, that you have an over-extended military
you can ill afford and a bureaucracy that is huge, costly and unwieldy due to
growing political polarization across the nation.
All nations are struggling with burgeoning populations it
can’t support. All lack growth and
opportunity because we can’t sustain what is currently in place and expected.
You can’t pump gas and oil from empty or non-existing
wells. You can’t ignore the realities
and limitations of what the planet has to offer and that includes climate
change, the human impact on the environment and the consequences. You don’t move forward by ripping up trade
agreements and abandoning the global stage and mutual cooperation on important
issues.
Not unlike the wizard of Oz, Trump acts like the great
illusionist as if he holds a magic wand that somehow miraculously opens up the
gates of opportunities and that a horn of plenty will dump untold wealth into
the laps of Americans. (That is what
Trump’s crypto is for, except that it won’t dropping into the pockets of the
average American).
There is no hidden Eldorado out there and dropping hints of
the potential conquest and occupation of foreign territories he desires—Canada,
Greenland, the Panama Canal, the re-named Gulf of Mexico—will only lead to
global derision and turn America into a pariah, hated and mistrusted. When caught with his pants down he is quick
to resort to things like misspeak, I was only joking, fake news and alternative
facts.
Trump and his cronies will carve up America like a birthday
cake and Americans will be left with the crumbs. At the end of his term America will look like
a house trashed after a wild party.
Enjoy the cleanup!
This is not about a golden age for America, but about a
golden opportunity for Trump and his lackeys to fill their pockets with
whatever loot they can lay their paws on.
His reference to Manifest Destiny is from the project 2025
playbook and hails from an imperial past when the great nations—Russia, France,
Holland, England, Spain, Portugal and a few minor European players, were
carving up the world according to spheres of influence. Basically a colonial division of the world’s
most vulnerable continents and nations.
It even inspired a board game.
Risk. The name says it all!
It has no place within any historical context, past or
present. It is degrading, demeaning,
costly and inefficient when a much more logical and profitable alternative
already exists.
When you engage in fair trade agreements and practices you
gain a friend and an ally without firing a single shot, without threats and a
costly military buildup and presence.
Armies are costly and destroy whereas business partners deliver a profit
and make each other wealthy. It is
called a win-win.
What do you prefer? An
expense or a profit? Or go with the
visions of a delusional psychopath?
When controversy is adopted as a nation’s way of moving
forward, the outcome will not be golden.
A final note
A few weeks in and anti-Trump protests are erupting in every
state. Hello, what were you thinking? What did you expect? Trump starting to act like a responsible,
intelligent human being? Grow up! For better or worse, he’s all yours.
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