When should we start referring to the US as a failing state?
With Donald Trump’s announcement, America is sent to use the military to enforce 7pm curfew’s across the land. The country is hopelessly divided, and I think there is a significant risk we are witnessing the beginning of the end of democracy in the USA.
In the context of a militarised police force turning on the civilians, forcing them off the streets, do you really think free and fair elections are possible? This is even more so the case when postal voting is not allowed. Clearly, it will be difficult for many of the poor and struggling to cast a ballot come November 2020.
Here, as investors, we should be very cautious. The market is now a political tool. The powers that be will do everything in their very considerable power to ensure that US stocks go up. Meanwhile, fund managers across the world are pretending that their returns are a result of skill, when it is actually a result of official policy decisions that ensure that the rich get richer while the poor rot.
I do not know how this all ends — but I think it will be bad. I’m along for the ride to riches in this heinous dystopia envisaged by the far right, but all our priorities should be: family, safety, healthy and financially secure.
23 Years ago Coldcut released a track that contributed to my political awakening. It seems that “Every Home A Prison” was an accurate description of the United States Of America in 2020.
As Australians, each and every one of us must resist our own internal divisions and reject completely the hard right who want us to emulate the USA; in (lack of) healthcare, in militarised police and (I fear) in upcoming wars.
Fortunately, many good and strong US citizens are overtly critical of the government. Unfortunately, many wealthy US organisations operating in Australia refuse to criticise Trump administration. Before utilising their products and services, it may be worth asking if there is an Australian alternative.