Qu’ils mangent la salle de bal

Qu’ils mangent la salle de bal 

 

 

“The only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran [is] they can’t have a nuclear weapon,” Trump told reporters at the White House before boarding a plane to China. “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s all.”

-             ‘I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation,’ says Trump amid Iran talks, Guardian

 

 

By Gregg Wall (5-16-2026)

 

The "let them eat ballroom" presidency was in full force this week, when Trump downplayed the latest inflation report, released Tuesday, with headline CPI of 3.8%.  Producer prices bolted 6%.  Trump of course, is using the fear surrounding Iran possessing nuclear weapons to justify skyrocketing prices and oil and gas; but that’s a difficult sell when Trump assured everyone a year ago that America had broken off negotiations with the Iranians to destroy Iran’s nuclear program and subsequently “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program.  Mission accomplished… well, apparently not so much, at least not to Bibi Netanyahu’s liking, who appears to be dictating Iranian and Middle East foreign policy.  Even Trump acknowledged Israel drives ME foreign policy this week.    

 

Whoever is calling the shots, it spells out sky-high energy prices around the globe and expedited timetables for migration to alternative and renewable energy.  In fact, renewable energy is so plentiful in Europe that the turbines are turned off to subsidize higher retail energy prices and justify utility electricity prices (for essentially free energy).  Antiquated grids are used as the excuse for not passing on the savings and free energy onto the Europeans, so the establishment can profit off an antiquated energy source, oil and gas.  As of this writing, the average price per gallon of U.S. retail gas, per AAA, is 90% greater than when Trump left office in January 2021. Trump’s lack of worry about the finances of the American people seems to correlate with the explosive growth in his and his family’s personal wealth, which has said to have climbed sixty percent to more than six billion dollars, since returning to office.  The transactional POTUS appears to have possibly ripped off MAGA, set up a pay to play pardon service for the wealthy, many insiders are making a fortune on front running Trump’s zig-zag decision making, and Jared is jetting around the Middle East doing what Jared does best, hoover up cash from oil & gas dictatorships.  Et al, et al.  Trump style grandeur and opulence culminated in the ballroom and luxury bunker, that was going to be privately funded, then publicly funded, or some combination thereof.  The bunker and Trump’s Arch also screams Versailles before the revolution, as does the POTUS’ entourage of billionaires that travelled with him to Beijing this week (all of them, apparently, walked away empty handed).  Xi confidently educated and warned Trump on Thucydides Trap and the collapse and rise of empires, one of my favorite topics.

 

Trump’s damage to America and Americans is, of course, catastrophic.  Trump loves to bitch about Biden, but Biden no longer resides at the White House… Trump and MAGA own the chaos w/in the nation and the world today.  In the span of sixteen months, the Epstein administration has seen the national debt shoot up to $40 trillion, the dollar devalue at least ten percent, seen his DOGE & tariff policies collapse; in sixteen months, Trump has managed to alienate the world with his boorish behavior and bad manners, Trump allowed himself to be blackmailed -- or sucked into -- more Israeli wars and extended genocides, and the lives of tens of millions of Americans have been turned upside down by a failed dereg, financialization, necro-neoliberal economy … many struggling just to survive.  Seventy percent of Americans can’t afford the basics, fifty percent of Americans can’t afford healthcare… that fifty percent number seems low, when we consider the seventy percent who can’t afford the basics, sure as hell can’t afford American healthcare (which is two times the per capita cost of most peer nations, all with universal healthcare).

 

And always and forever, seemingly, the ghost of Jeffrey Epstein with one hand on the president’s shoulder, as Trump falls asleep and nods off for the hundredth time, after a night of ranting on social media.

 

Epstein presidency or the POTUS of pain -- or “the let them eat ballroom” presidency -- it all rolls up to one of the greatest catastrophes and incompetents to ever walk into the Oval Office.  Trump’s greedflation… Trump’s out of control spending… his micromanagement of the Federal Reserve… Trump’s debt & deficits, his wars, the collapse of his tariff policy, the failure that is DOGE… Trump’s failure to rein in billionaires, corporate, monopoly, private equity, and Wall St. greed…  are wholly responsible for America’s affordability crisis.  Our depraved, debauched, day trading congress isn’t riding to America’s rescue, and neither are the courts – beyond tariffs, which leaves the Federal Reserve.  But alas, even the Federal Reserve is not immune from Trump’s insatiable desire to micromanage, dominate, and control.  Quite the opposite, the FED’s dual mandate stands as a direct affront to Trump’s dictatorial and spendthrift ways.

 

 

 

 

 

This Friday was Jerome Powell’s last day, and now, a new FED chair will take the helm: Kevin Warsh.  Mr. Warsh will be the wealthiest FED chair ever appointed and is married into the Estee Lauder fortune.  Given congressional failure to address corporate greed and monopoly concentration… and a President that cares zero for the American people’s finances… it will now fall upon Mr. Warsh to fight inflation.  Will he step up?  The history of the FED shows there are precious few Paul Volckers and a great number of Arthur Burns and Jerome Powells.  Goddess only knows what Mr. Warsh promised Trump to become FED chair.  Trump, Wall Street, catastrophic national debt and deficits, rabid financialization, the insatiable empire and war machine, the incompetents and idiots that make up the U.S. congress, and Wall St/M&A all thrive on cheap debt.  The pressure on Mr. Warsh will be enormous.

 

As I’ve pointed out recently, all this free money, easy money has led to unstable prices, since 2008, has led to financial engineering, corporate consolidation, with colossal amounts of debt… which demands sacrifice.  That sacrifice, w/out fail, falls upon hardworking Americans (indeed, labor throughout the West).  That sacrifice is borne on the backs of children, families, and labor so the rich can grow obscenely rich… the sacrifice often arrives in the form of job cuts, suppressed real wages, nonliving wages and stripped benefits, and higher prices for products and services to pay absurd CEO pay packages, growing shareholder returns, endless demand for stock buybacks and manipulation, and service epic debt.  In short, central bank free money is a direct threat to the FED’s dual mandate, democracy, and the American people.  America is told we are at or near maximum employment and yet, 65% to 70% of Americans don’t earn a living wage, which I estimate – using the 30% rule of rents - at eighty thousand dollars per annum.

 

Will Mr. Warsh stand up to Trump, will Mr. Warsh stand up to congress and force them to earn their pay and make hard budgetary decisions… will the new FED chair shut down the imperial war machine and foreclose upon financial engineering and financialization?  Will Xi’s warning to Trump… Thucydides… come to life?  There’s one sure way to shut down the house of cards, put a stop to the money printing, and force a long overdue conversation and debate that America’s failed elites have delayed for decades.  Crisis provides opportunity, rampant greedflation provides an opportunity and cover.  The most powerful man in the world could jack interest rates to the moon and shut down this catastrophe.  Slam the brakes, just as Mr. Volcker did so many decades ago.  Such an act would likely earn Mr. Warsh nearly universal condemnation, would take tremendous courage.  And yet, that’s exactly what is required to bring greed, inflation, the U.S. empire, and Trumpian dictatorship to heel.  Call it a monetary coup d’etat. 

 

Truly, this will be Mr. Warsh’s Volcker or “let them eat ballroom” moment.  I bet he chokes.

 

Copyright JM Hamilton Publishing 2026

 

Goodbye Mr. Powell… Economic Data in the Service of Greed

Goodbye Mr. Powell… Economic Data in the Service of Greed

The U.S. national debt crossed 100 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) at the end of March, with signs that it might cross the record of 106 percent of GDP reached immediately after World War II.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis released data on the national debt reaching 100.2 percent of GDP on Thursday, noting that debt held by the public on March 31 was $31.27 trillion. GDP over the last year was $31.22 trillion.

-             US debt exceeds 100 percent of GDP, The Hill

Gregg Wall (5-2-2026)

JMH typically does a couple of write ups on the FED and central banks, per year.  As a student of history and power, I’ve always found the most powerful branch of government, the Federal Reserve … and the post powerful man in the U.S. government, the FED chairman… fascinating.  Mr. Powell certainly did not fail to entertain in his two terms as FED chair.  This week, Powell gave what will probably be his last press conference as FED chairman. He will, likely, be replaced in mid-May, by Kevin Warsh.  A final Senate vote is pending.  Like Powell, Mr. Warsh will be a Trump pick.  Powell came to power, as chair, in February 2018 and was renominated for a second term by POTUS Biden.  That Powell had to deal with Trump twice… garnered Powell a lot of well-earned respect and support from FED watchers and many on Wall Street.  And I have to admit, a long time Powell critic, found myself cheering on Mr. Powell this last year and four months.  Seems that Trump isn’t content with his current job but wants to be the most powerful man in the world as well, Federal Reserve chairman… by all appearances, so Trump and congress can spend like a drunken sailor on tax cuts, corporate welfare, empire, war, genocides, and violence for Bibi and billionaire supporters.  And ultimately, destroy the U.S. dollar. 

Trump certainly does appear to be on a mission to destroy the United States but I digress. Today, I don’t want to spend a lot of time on Mr. Powell.  However, it’s very much worth noting the national debt was an eye popping $21 trillion when he came to power in 2018… today, we are told the debt to GDP ratio is 100% with the national debt at $39 trillion.  I’m always skeptical on the national debt number, given that the United States printed up eight to nine trillion from 2008 to the present day in the form of debt and securities monetization (fancy words for bailout).  The purchase of treasuries and various securities in a process known as quantitative easing.  This eight to nine trillion is not, repeat NOT, in the national debt figure.  There’s also the matter of Trump & Powell bailing out Wall St in his first term with $4.5 trillion, that was created out of thin air.  All kinds of monetary hocus pocus and magic going on… none of it good.  So, the national debt nearly doubled under Powell. 

To his credit chair Powell has warned the congress about the national debt and the fact that it's unsustainable; but congress being the recipient of the world’s fiat currency and seemingly endless money printing, so far, has taken no action in reining in the U.S. government’s spending and evil ways.  The FED, by the way, is not required to fund the government’s debt and deficits.  Per the Treasury-Fed Accord of 1951, the FED could refuse to fund the U.S. government’s debt, deficits, empire, and wars (which explains why the FED isn’t a branch of government and is said to be independent).  

BTW, this FED write up on the Treasury-FED Accord is fascinating history: where the FED was forced to peg interests rates low (the preference of POTUS Truman and all modern Presidents), monetize debt during WW2 and leading up to the Korean war to maintain the peg, inflation soared to 21%, and the FED finally forced the administration’s hand and it was agreed to let markets decide interest rates on U.S. Treasuries, at the longer end or tail end of the yield curve.

Alas, Mr. Powell did not take the hard line with members of Congress and put a halt to financing sky high deficits and debt.  Powell has also been very lax on banking oversight, rules, and regulations, potentially setting America up for another financial crisis.  In the final analysis, my primary complaint with Mr. Powell, beyond debt & deficits, like Arthur Burns and the ‘70s before him, is that Powell presided over another lost decade, where inflation soared.  Mr. Powell was slow to respond, viewed inflation as transitory, and when he did act Powell did not act aggressively enough.  Many economists and pundits were also slow to pick up on the reality, that easy money and resulting financialization had spawned a monopoly economy, that was key in creating supply-side driven inflation Americans have been faced with from COVID-Eve, January 2020, to the present day.  In this regard, Mr. Powell will be remembered as the Arthur Burns of the 21^st Century… a champion of Wall St financialization and greed (runaway money printing, debt, and deficits) … and will not be remembered as, or compared to, the Greatest American that ever lived, Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker.  Paul Volcker, of course, defied Presidents, the rich, the powerful and Wall St and increased interest rates well into the double digits to crush '70s and early '80s runaway inflation.  And ultimately lost his job to do what was correct, in the face of a Congress that was simply unwilling to take action or only acted with half, ineffective measures.  Entirely typical of the congress and the gross incompetence the institution is known for, from 1789 to the present day.

 

 

With that said, I did want to bring up three key observations in regards central bank policy feeding financialization; the FED’s dual mandate and the incentive to game government statistics surrounding the dual mandate; and finally, the use of low-balled inflation figures to juice GDP and growth and thereby, utilize the results to stop or halt any discussion or efforts at economic and monetary policy reforms.

Financialization:  Powell kept the easy money policies that have been place from Greenspan to the present day.  Even today, with inflation rearing its ugly head again, Powell has set the FED funds rate at a highly accommodative 3.5 to 3.75%.  These easy money policies favor Wall St, asset stability for the wealthy, private equity and venture capital, and financial engineering.  Some economists have called financialization a misallocation of resources, resources & capital directed away from the real economy, and it’s been observed that financialization is a drag on the overall economy.  And therefore, easy money and low cost of debt -- that feeds financialization and private equity -- are also a drag on the economy.  Moreover, easy money proves to be a drag on the FED’s dual mandate: maximum employment and stable prices.  Easy money feeds M&A and corporate consolidation, that is to say cartels and monopolies, with monopsony power.  Easy money feeds leverage on corporate balance sheets and buybacks… leverage and debt that often leads to cost cuts and layoffs.  Easy money therefore feeds the power of totalitarian monopolies and the private equity business model to dictate ever rising prices and crush labor and wages… in direct conflict with the FED’s and many central banks’ dual mandate.  The FED therefore, can be said to be the key driver of inequality in the United States today.

The FED’s dual mandate and the incentive to game government statistics:  If you tell Americans that core inflation and non-core inflation year over year are under 4%, they are likely to laugh in your face (albeit there would be no mirth in their laughter).  The fact that gasoline is now 80% higher than when Trump left office, January 2021, is nowhere in the monthly BLS figures and reports.  That U.S. healthcare insurance has increased by double digits in the last year alone, seems to be omitted or significantly discounted. The weighting of the BLS products and services also is subject to debate, as is the adjustment for “quality changes” that arbitrarily lower inflation figures and the rollup to the headline number.  Skyrocketing auto costs and the interest rates charged as Americans take out essentially a mortgage to buy a car… these are examples that point out that the inflation numbers appear to be deliberately low-balled or certainly skewed lower, seemingly by design.  And there’s moral hazard in place to do just that, isn’t there … including the continuation of central bank easy money policies, that feeds Wall Street greed and profits, extravagant CEO pay packages, unlock absurd sums for shareholder value, speculation, the casino, financialization, financial engineering, private equity and venture capital, M&A, monopoly, and monopsony.  Which rolls full circle to the aforementioned deleterious impact on the dual mandate: maximum employment and stable prices.  Here, the K-economy comes to mind… a dual track economy, government, judicial system, and regulatory system that works for the privileged, the few, and increasingly leaves the powerless, recently reported at 60% of the population, struggling for survival.  Low-balled inflation has impacts on Social Security payments and COLA, which along with methodological shifts, say to a cost-of-living index, translate into lower inflation. (Without substitution bias, hedonic adjustments, geometric weighting, and the failure to consider alternative data and historical calculation methodologies an unflattering portrait of present inflation would arise).

Therefore, if inflation was correctly reported, the FED and central banks forced to take a much harder line, Wall St and financialization would take a massive hit… financial engineering would wither… and captains of industry and robber barons would actually be forced to place capital into the real economy again, that is, in many instances be forced to compete.  Arguably, America’s decline can be traced, directly correlates with the offshoring of the real economy, the rise of easy money and financialization.  And the rich and powerful have every incentive to keep it that way, with government capture and gamed statistics. 

The gaming of statistical data to preserve a failed status quo and zero out discussion and debate on an abjectly failed economic model and monetary policy:  The gaming of the inflation metrics not only helps to preserve ultra accommodative monetary policy in the service of Wall St, billionaires, financialization, and greed… but the lower inflation numbers help show improved or skewed real GDP and growth figures… to the keep up and prop up the mirage of a healthy economy.  That GDP and growth are not good measures of economic success (see again, the aforementioned K-economy where 60% can’t cover their basic needs and further suffer with wage stagnation), and yet, are constantly leaned upon as proof positive of economic success, conveniently never enters public discourse.  Like it or not these numbers, faulty as they are, are treated as sacrosanct.  And here again, the moral hazard surrounding the inflation numbers transfers directly into the moral hazard surrounding inflation adjusted GDP and growth numbers that are gamed or at the minimum, skewed to the upside.  (The fact that U.S. GDP is propped up by debts and deficits and endless war… and the resulting chaos unleashed upon the world… also never enters the discussion).  If more realistic inflation figures were paired with GDP and growth figures, GDP and growth might prove to be underwater, which would likely prove problematic for longer term Treasury yields.  Which could set off discussions on how dereg, financialization, globalization, neoliberalism, the necro-wartime economy… and political duopoly and the oligarchy the duopoly reports to… have failed the American people.

Neither the leaders of the management class… Dem and GOP party grandees, and the oligarchy they report to… are prepared to have that discussion. Best to keep the numbers rigged to preserve a failed status quo?  Separately, if we are completely honest, measuring maximum employment, where 50% of workers can't afford healthcare and 60% can't cover the basics, as acceptable... is in fact, completely unacceptable.  If we exclude jobs that don't pay a living wage, unemployment - certainly underemployment - would skyrocket.  Best to sweep America's indentured servitude, slavery problem under the rug as well?

At the end of the day, this all points to the complete lack of morality in maintaining an economy that fails and indentures… enslaves sixty percent of the public to debt… and the lengths those in power will go to, to maintain and perpetuate an economic model that is bankrupting the nation and has turned the United States into international pariah.  See America’s dependence upon debt, deficits, central bank easy money, and a Wartime economy to keep up the mirage of a healthy economy.  At the epicenter of it all lies central banks and the most powerful man in the world, the Federal Reserve chairman.  No wonder Mr. Powell looks like he aged decades in the last year. 

Copyright JM Hamilton Publishing 2026

Carney Wins… Canada Loses

Carney Wins… Canada Loses

 

OTTAWA—Mark Carney‘s minority government transformed into a slim but workable majority in Parliament courtesy of three Monday byelection victories, meaning the prime minister can now more easily advance his high-spending economic and defence agenda over any opposition objections.

-       Carney wins majority after Liberal byelection sweep, Toronto Star

 

By Gregg Wall (4-18-2026)

For Canadian progressives PM Carney’s first year in office, at least for those who knew or were keenly aware of Carney’s notorious background, was both revealing and as expected.  From day one, Carney hasn’t failed to take the side of bankers, big business, concentrated wealth and power, oil & gas, and oligarchy in his decision making and policy decisions.  Even going so far as to bend over backwards for Alberta’s Premier Smith and American oil & gas interests in possession of the Alberta tar sands. The Liberal government’s Bill C-5 set the tone with deregulation, the promised eradication of interprovincial red tape, and the crushing and subjugation of indigenous & charter rights.  Here, synthesized in one bill was the banker and neoliberal that I feared would come to power… masquerading as a champion of Canada and its people, in reality a champion of capital and greed. 

To further my point, four Conservative Party MPs have crossed the floor and joined Carney’s minority government.  What could have caused these MPs to defect?  Was it the realization that Carney, at least in regards business and the economy, was just as conservative, perhaps a more competent conservative than Conservative party leader Pierre Poilievre?  And what of their business backers, donors, and sponsors, surely, they must have had some input in conservative defections to the Liberal government?  Less so constituents of their respective ridings or legislative districts, who appear to have no input or say.  Add in this week’s wins in byelections… three wins… and Carney now has a majority government with precious little to hold Carney and his far-right agenda back.  Carney was quick to insinuate no one was to question is imperious reign.  Carney, with a Goldman Sachs banker and Central banker background, as well as Chairman of the board for Brookfield PE, is used to giving orders and never having those orders questioned.  The give and take of the political process, the bobbing and weaving required during question period (QP)… is clearly not for Canada’s monarch.  Hence, Carney conveniently found himself traveling a great deal during his first year.  Mr. Carney would do well to remember that he doesn’t have a mandate, and he holds the majority government by the slenderest of margins.  Not that the Libs won’t work out yet more backroom deals to draw conservative party members over.  The damn has broken and politicians and sellouts will do what politicians and sellouts do, look out for themselves.  

Sure, in binary matchups and false dichotomy polling, Carney polls well with the Canadian public but I suspect that has more to do with fear and who Carney is not.  Carney is not Pierre Poilievre and Carney is not Donald Trump, who essentially campaigned & elected Carney (by placing the fear of God and the fear of annexation into the good people of Canada).  Why it’s almost as if Pierre and Donnie were working for the Liberal Party and Mark Carney.  With enemies, such as these two, who needs friends?  Are we entirely sure Pierre isn’t on Carney’s payroll, some shady backroom deal… the damage this man has done to the Conservative party is unbelievable, blowing a massive lead in the last election to see a sizable number of defections to the Liberal government.  This, as the MAGA movement dies in the United States.

So, let’s get to it. Where precisely has Carney failed:

Affordability.  Carney simply refuses to take on supply-side greedflation, billionaires, monopolies, and utilities… instead, Carney leans on tax cuts and failed neoliberalism.  Which does nothing to contain supply-side greed, fat profit margins on essential goods & services, robber baron avarice, and soaring prices.  In fact, Carney’s tax cuts only reward the predatory class.  In summary, look no further as to why Canadian poverty is on the uptick, along with food bank foot traffic, than the illustrious King Carney.  Youth unemployment is high and rents remain obscene.  

Trade Agreement.  Crazy me, I seem to recall Carney was presented as the master negotiator, one who would adroitly dispense with Mr. Trump’s shenanigans, produce strong trade relations, and dispatch Trumpian tariffs.  Never happened.  Did it? Canadians are still waiting.  In fact, Carney conceded counter tariffs and taxes on American tech firms, w/ little to show in return.

Healthcare.  Dear Goddess, what a disappointment the Libs have been, especially in dealing with Team Corruption, Premiers Ford and Smith.  Both premiers gladly take federal tax money for public healthcare and transfer taxpayer money into highly expensive, for-profit healthcare services.  In Alberta, private sector healthcare contracts, per the Globe and Mail, were at double the cost of the public option.  It’s so bad, that the Alberta government is presently under investigation.  The Liberal government hasn’t lifted a finger to end the steady erosion and underfunding of public healthcare… no oversight, no controls, no penalties, NO CLAWBACKS.  A complete disaster for Canadian patients and taxpayers, who deserve so much better.  Here, Carney and the Libs are MIA.  Far be it from me to tell the Liberal government how to do their job, but Mr. Carney has some very big problems in Alberta and Ontario.  

Housing.  I seem to recall Carney is funding all of 4,000 houses with additional capacity for 45,000, when 3.2 million are needed.  And here, it’s Carney’s background in private equity, commercial ownership and management of residential properties, and possibly many conflicts of interest that immediately come to mind.  What else could King Carney be thinking?  Why wouldn’t the Liberal government insist that commercial interest leave residential property immediately?  Why wouldn’t Carney use price controls on rents… price controls that are so highly effective on Canadian medicine.  Or windfall taxation?  Or the elimination of AI, algorithmic pricing on rents and groceries.  The opportunities for Carney to apply his business acumen and special knowledge are manifest to all.  Instead, we get 4,000 units.  I don’t doubt that PM Carney has the gifts, knowledge, and ability… I doubt that Carney has the will to use these gifts, knowledge, and ability against wealthy, powerful friends, interests, and donors. 

Business closings are greater than business creation.  I just read it today, Canada is hemorrhaging entrepreneurs and investors… and therefore, jobs.  What could be driving the dearth of businesses.  Well, the Global News piece attributed the death of Canadian businesses to: Covid, tariffs, red tape, tax and payroll pressure, labour challenges… the lack of scale for smaller businesses to handle backroom services and overhead.  Those are all good answers, except it leaves out the obvious.  Namely, the concentrated wealth and wage inequality in Canada is truly hideous, and such concentration stifles the economy… when people are destitute and struggling to cover the basics, they have no money for mom & pop enterprise and smaller businesses.  Concentrated wealth, financialization, and monopolies are a death sentence for entrepreneurs, families, and start-ups.  In this environment, a young and talented entrepreneur would be crazy to go into debt or invest capital into a startup, again due to the stripping of the safety net, the erosion of public services, and egregious wage & wealth inequality.

When evil Premiers introduce for-profit healthcare and higher, much higher out of pocket healthcare fees without returning tax dollars paid annually to cover public healthcare… it’s a ripoff and a scam.   It leaves families, workers, and the unemployed… already beset on all sides by plutocratic sharks & thieves… unable to spend and help the economy grow, unable to survive.  Canada is at the crossroads: it needs to recommit to the CHA, the Canadian people, and both adequately fund public healthcare and hold premiers accountable, who fail to use allocated federal tax monies for public healthcare.  Otherwise, Canadians are due a substantial tax cut. 

Oil & Gas.  My personal favorite.  Carney and Libs have not done anything to rein in the American owners of Alberta O&G and their mouthpiece, Dani Smith.  Nothing.  The Liberals have not dealt with Alberta fraud, the failure of the provincial gov to collect adequate taxes, insurance, performance bonds, and LOCs/collateral to ensure oil well cleanup, tailings processing & cleanup, and air, land, and water contamination are adequately addressed.  Carney has done nothing to protect First Nations that are being systematically poisoned by American owned Alberta oil & gas.  An industry that has an incredible knack for sucking energy sites dry and then fobbing off the site to a bankrupt company… just as the bill for cleanup, reclamation, and taxes comes due.  Especially now, when the Americans are swimming in profits… now, would be an excellent time to present the Americans with the bill for hundreds of billions in damages.  If only Canada had a PM with courage; if only Canada had a PM who was an expert negotiator; if only Canada had a PM who would put the American oil majors in their place, instead of allowing them to ripoff Canada.  If only. 

 

 

Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney listens during a session at last year's World Economic Forum in Davos, January 17, 2023. PHOTO BY FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES/FILE

 

 

I really have no unkind words for my fellow Canadians, except for racists & separatists.  The only counsel I would offer is you deserve better, so much better.  Stop playing the binary game, stop placing blind faith in politicians, don’t buy into false dichotomies… as one of my favorite podcasters in the States, Sabby Sabs, is fond of saying, I paraphrase:  Expect more, demand more, and fire their ass if they lie and don’t deliver.  

Canada, trust me, deserves so much better than the American/Trump model being foisted upon Canada by the Conservative provincial governments and the Liberal federal government.  An American model which is the highway to hell.  Trust me, I know.  I am an American and a Canadian.  I’ve lived in hell.  I worked in hell, the United States.  I’ve seen first-hand the face of rabid financialization, neoliberalism, the necro economy up close and personal.  (Read private equity financials and underwrote private equity companies, throughout my career.)  The industry, private equity, the epitome of financialization & terror, is the face of economic death and failure.  Financialization and monopolies take a chainsaw to economies, jobs, opportunity and the tax base… PM Carney should know this and probably does.  But to date, Carney has done nothing about it, because that would likely prove highly upsetting to his high-net-worth friends, business & personal interests, and the private equity industry?

Canadian monopolies and the billionaire class need no champions.  The Canadian people, the Canadian family and labour need, deserve, and must have champions, like Avi Lewis and Wab Kinew.  Canadians need real people, who actually care, who will actually get things done… not Emperor Carney and the ultra-right-wing Libs, who constantly fail everyone, but their rich and powerful friends.

Copyright JM Hamilton Publishing 2026