Last week, a video from Iran showed the U.S. Capitol in flames. But have you ever wondered how the United States will actually end?
Right now, the country faces a real, critical threat to its existence. The threat is growing – and fast.
A year ago, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was COVID. However, that’s now mostly under control.
(And the United States has a unique opportunity to engage in “vaccine diplomacy” with developing countries).
Perhaps you might think it’s the eventual financial fallout from COVID government spending. After all, relief for 2020–2021 is expected to total $8.9 trillion.
To put that in context:
- That’s 42% of U.S. GDP. Roosevelt’s New Deal—the one that got us out of the Great Depression—was only 13% of U.S. GDP.
Or you might think it’s China… with its aggressive moves to expand a military presence close to Hawaii, a possible hostile takeover of Taiwan, or attempts to gain control of the Transpolar Passage in the Arctic Circle.
But no, the existential threat we’re facing is something much deeper. And the stakes have never been higher.
If it’s left unchecked, then COVID deaths, astronomical debt, and Chinese aggression will all have the potential to beat the United States once and for all.
But it’s also a problem that, if solved, gives the U.S. unlimited potential to be the only superpower in the twenty-first century.
It’s a double-barreled shotgun, pointed straight at Uncle Sam’s forehead: distrust in the media and the federal government.
To be frank, why wouldn’t that be the case?
The government has betrayed U.S. citizens at every turn: leaving its diplomats to die in foreign countries… outright lying in national security letters… repeatedly violating its own surveillance laws…
- Even the damn post office has been conducting illegal surveillance (under the fun name “iCOP”), spying on your social media posts…
And that is why public trust in the federal government is somewhere below basement level.
Fifty years ago, over 70 percent of Americans believed they could trust the government to do the right thing most of the time.
Now, just 20 percent of U.S. adults believe that. And 57 percent believe government officials are purposely trying to mislead us.
So, the solution to a massively screwed-up government is supposed to be a responsible media, right?
The Fourth Estate Is Crumbling Down…
You already know that the media is feeding into the problem. They’re mass-producing doctored videos and miss-edited interviews to build their social justice warrior agenda.
It’s no wonder the vast majority of Americans also believe the media is trying to convince people to have a specific opinion.
In fact, this is the first time since tracking started that fewer than half of Americans trust traditional media.
The deep slide into distrust has been constant for a half-century. In 1976, 72 percent said they trusted the media. In 1998, it was 53 percent.
In 2016, it was just 32 percent.
- The current level of trust in the media in the United States is below countries like Brazil and Nigeria—those bastions of journalistic integrity.
Current trust in U.S. media shares company with countries like Hong Kong and Greece.
And Even the Press Knows It’s Corrupt…
Jake Tapper, the lead Washington Anchor for CNN, said people are…
“…outraged because they’re being told things that aren’t true. And that’s a disgrace for the people who are telling the lies, not the people who are hearing them and getting outraged.”
Another news organization gave their bottom line:
- The scarcest resource in the decades ahead won’t be oil
or rare earth metals, but social trust.
In a 2019 survey, the low level of confidence Americans have in the federal government was ranked as a bigger problem than:
- Racism,
- Illegal immigration, and
- Terrorism.
Clearly, distrust threatens the existence of our democracy.
Corruption can run rampant, unchecked by the press. Citizens begin to doubt government programs… and then soon enough, they begin to doubt elections too.
Here’s the crucial part:
- The scarcity of trust is not limited to the United States. It’s gone viral across the developed world.
The United Nations says: “Public trust in government and political institutions has been decreasing in all of the advanced industrial democracies. The downward trend is ubiquitous.”
Once this bandwagon goes careening over the edge of the cliff, we’ll be facing the Global Trust Crisis.
Only instead of banks failing, it’ll be the governments of entire countries falling into anarchy.
The Final Branch of Government
Fortunately, there is one form of trust on the rise in the United States—one the framers of the Constitution never anticipated.
In true American form, it is both practical and capitalist: business.
- Business is now the only major institution that is seen as both ethical and competent.
So the change is going to begin with shareholders demanding more from their companies, and then the Board of Directors, and then CEOs…
With the government checked out and the mainstream media lying, people expect businesses to step in and fill the void.
The same thought and energy used to deliver record profits will be turned towards engaging with society’s biggest problems. Hence the spectacular rise of ESG investing.
- 86 percent of Americans believe that CEOs should speak out publicly on the challenges we face.
Businesses will also play a role in fixing media and the government.
They will be the guardians of information and trustworthiness. And they will lead the way on the issues of our day.
Eventually, the government will begin talking straight again: giving just the facts, with empathy.
And news institutions will turn to providing unbiased, reliable content. Without it, they know you will stop reading.
Together, we will fight against this bankruptcy of trust.
Trust in government skyrocketed after World War II when there was an incredible economic boom.
The next peak after that was in the ‘60s—another economic boom.
- And the time after that is right now.
Once again, America is on the rise and many investors are quietly taking action and positioning their portfolios accordingly.
When America truly awakens, you will wish you never bet against her.
Are you ready?
Regards,
Marin
