America is to going to hell in a hand basket, and the cracks in its foundation are glaring. As Linkin Park’s Burn It Down echoes, “We’re building it up to break it back down,” the cycle of destruction and collapse feels all too familiar. Institutions meant to uphold democracy are being dismantled, only to be rebuilt on even shakier ground. Power is concentrated in the hands of a few, while the vulnerable are left to fend for themselves. Like the song’s imagery of betrayal and downfall, the current political landscape mirrors a system that prioritizes control and greed over people. The flames of collapse are fanned, and the question remains—what will rise from the ashes?
Category: Economics
My Book Sleeve Arrived Today!
I really wanted a Bible cover with handles and cute cats—zero fish, zero crosses. But after searching Amazon for hours, I came up empty. So, what’s a cat-obsessed bookworm to do? Settle for a discounted book sleeve… with cats playing on a bookshelf. Close enough! 🐈📚
“Dark Indonesia” and Astroturfed Subversion + More
21-04-2025: Since February, Indonesia has been beset by protests largely led by students, so-called civil society organisations, some labour unions and K-pop fans. Protests emerged in many cities throughout the Indonesian archipelago including Jakarta, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Bandung, Solo, Semarang, Bali, Samarinda, Banjarmasin and South Sumatra. The protestors were reportedly delivering a “red report card” on the first 100 days of President Prabowo Subianto’s administration. They also condemned Prabowo’s “Ndasmu!” remark towards critics of the Free Nutritious Meal program.[1] “Ndasmu” is an impolite Javanese word meaning “your head”, which perhaps implies that the protestors’ actions were the result of something that existed in their heads only. The slogan “Dark Indonesia” under which the protests took place, is a stab at Prabowo’s election slogan of “Golden Indonesia” (Indonesia Emas), which aims to advance the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) to a sovereign, prosperous nation by 2045, the centennial of its independence won in 1945.[2]
Related:
Read More »Abundance or scarcity?
Abundance is a new book that has been attracting attention and debate among mainstream economists and politicians. It aims to explain to Democrat members in the US why their party lost the election to Trump (narrow as that result was). The authors, Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, writers at very liberal mainstream The New York Times and The Atlantic, respectively, argue that it was because the Democrats and supporters of ‘liberal democracy’ have lost their ability in government to carry out great projects that could deliver the things and services that working people (called the ‘middle class’ in America) need.
“Western Media Finally Admits Tariffs Aimed at Isolating China, Not ‘Reindustrialization’”
Western Media Finally Admits Tariffs Aimed at Isolating China, Not “Reindustrialization”
As warned, the US predicated tariffs on “reindustrialization” to sell to a gullible public, but was always aimed as preparations for isolating and eventually warring with China;
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[Crosspost] The Poetry of Bureaucratic Cruelty: Filing Taxes
On Tariffs, It’s Good to Be “Tim Apple”
Tariffs are advertised in the name of helping American workers, but what do you know? They turn out to favor the powerful and politically connected. That’s the main message of President Trump’s decision to exempt smartphones and assorted electronic goods from his most onerous tariffs.
Related:
At the time Apple and Cook were applying a charm offensive to persuade then-President Trump to remove tariffs on certain components that came from China. Cook asked Trump if he could meet him in person to make Apple’s case, a gesture the former president found “impressive,” he told Bloomberg. Trump was particularly pleased at the time that Cook reached out, especially considering his acrimonious relationship with other tech CEOs.
[2019] Apple dodges iPhone tariff after Trump confirms trade deal agreement with China
Although the trade deal affects billions of dollars worth of goods, it’s a particular victory for Apple CEO Tim Cook, who has personally worked to keep communication open with the Trump administration. Cook’s charm offensive culminated last month when he gave Trump a tour of a Mac Pro assembly plant in Texas. That computer is assembled in the United States, and Apple was granted tariff waivers for several of its components.
Tariffs, Economic War, and the Emerging Post-American Order
My commentary: The tariffs imposed under the Trump administration are not genuinely aimed at revitalizing American industry. Rather, they function as a tool to destabilize China’s economic growth and position the U.S. to provoke a potential military confrontation. These punitive measures are designed to persist unless nations acquiesce to the administration’s demands, effectively coercing them into aligning with its confrontational economic agenda against China.
Disclosure: Van Jackson used to work for Center for American Century (CNAS).
How China is refusing to fail despite Western narratives
Why Musk, Trump & tech elites seek collapse of global order
On Friday, I joined writer Wajahat Ali for an interview about why Trump and tech broligarchs like Elon Musk seem hellbent on destroying global political and economic order. Watch our entire conversation (30 minutes) by clicking the box below:
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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