The Thunder’s Coming!

The U.S. is a powder keg, fit to be lit.

The U.S. Empire is over. I know I’m not the first to say it, but it’s not hyperbole, it’s inevitable. Eras end and we’ve outlived ours. We have all the earmarks of former a conqueror on the brink of collapse; an over extended military, forced austerity at home, an ever-failing education and healthcare system, a homeless epidemic, stagnant wages, starvation in the millions, an anemic, corporate owned government, and a feckless media more concerned with gossip than actual policy.

In any other country the U.S. would call these human rights violations and use them to justify yet another failed war based on lies, all to steal that nation’s resources. None dare call it corruption. But that’s what it is. The U.S. is now facing a multi-polar world. Once the dominant currency, the hegemonic dollar has been losing its grit the last nine months and largely due to the typical, toddler/tantrum like war in Ukraine. Intended to bring Russia to its knees and get the EU to buy more expensive American energy, all this fracas did was kick over the Jenga table. Russia started selling wheat and energy to India for 30% off. All they had to do was pay in Rubles, not dollars. The Saudis started buying the cheaper Russian energy in Rubles to use and sell everyone else their more expensive oil. The Chinese, no stranger to currency manipulation, began accepting and paying in Rubles and also in their own Petro-Yuan. They have goods and energy too.

You have to hand it him. Many boogey men don’t boogey…

Meanwhile, in the U.S., we have runaway inflation after decades of finger in the dyke economics. The ever hand wringing Democrats can only blame Putin and shrug their shoulders, completely flummoxed that this hasn’t gone better.

Someone missed the Pullman Strikes in business school.

Who am I kidding? They don’t teach that anymore. That’s a fact. I have brought this up with plenty of business and law school grads under 40. They look at me like I’m doing card tricks in front a dog (God bless Bill Hicks). But I digress. The point I made in our last article is that this whole shithouse is about to go up in flames.

Eugene V. Debs. Led the Pullman Strikes, jailed. Ran twice for president. The last time from jail.

All of the above has been in addition to decades of selling out the worker, the middle class, the taxpayer. We have seen our dollar get less and less bang while corporations and the wealthiest Americans suck the marrow out of the Treasury, gorging themselves on greed and opulence. So, what’s next? I don’t know.

The American Revolution was started with the Boston Massacre. Five American colonists were killed, one being Crispus Attucks. Things were set to go for a bit of time and then they did. WWI was started when Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated along with his wife while in a convertible. The keg and sticks of dynamite were stacked for a while, then BOOM! In November 1987, an Israeli troop truck accidentally ran into a busload of Palestinian day laborers in the West Bank. The first Intifada started. Those not familiar with the situation, should know for now that bonfire was ready with kerosene and wadded up newspapers at the base since 1947. Another big boom.

Before the lockdowns, 50% of U.S. workers were making under $30k/year. Nearly 70% could not afford a $500 emergency as well as living check to check. We have nearly two million homeless people, 40% of whom actually have jobs. There are 40 million starving Americans (11 million are kids under 15). We’ve gutted our social contracts and unions and we have a militarized police to quash any semblance of protest.

And the party in charge of government, the Democrats have done nothing. They can only stand there, their West Wing infantilized eyes wide at the failure and blame Russia, the GOP or a disinformed “black vote.”

So, you tell me… is that gas I smell?

Abe Abdelhadi hosts the Bitter Truth with Abe Abdelhadi on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, etc.