Norris McDonald | The economic crisis, corporate greed, and ‘God-King Trump’

The United States is teetering on the edge of a financial disaster, and it’s clear that President Donald “The god-king” Trump, along with his proposed administration, have no clue how to handle it.

Trump’s trade war with China is already backfiring, and markets are growing increasingly nervous as the signs of a brewing banking and real estate crisis become more evident. It feels like déjà vu all over again.

My friends, what Trump promised would be a victory for American workers may, just as before, create more accelerated economic instability, cost jobs and worsening the financial situation across the country.

A Familiar Pattern: Financial Collapse and Inequality

This is not America’s first brush with Donald Trump’s incompetence.

• We saw this in his mismanagement of the COVID-19 health crisis.

• His previous trade war with China cost America 245,000 jobs lost directly due to his misguided policies in his first term in office, a 2021 study by Oxford Economics and the US-China Business Institute reveals.

• Will it get any better? I don’t think so, what do you think?

CORPORATE GREED: THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM

Let’s be clear: the true enemy of America’s economic future isn’t immigration or imports from China. It’s corporate greed. In recent years, corporate profits have soared five times faster than inflation, while real wages for workers have barely budged – up by just a pitiful one per cent.

Take the healthcare industry, for instance, where corporate greed is literally costing lives. Andrew Witty, the CEO of United Healthcare, was called to testify before Congress and failed to justify why his company denies essential care to patients in urgent need.

Senator Elizabeth Warren accused United Health of focusing on profits over patient care. Meanwhile, Witty made $23 million last year, a stark contrast to the millions of Americans denied vital medical treatment due to profit-driven motives.

THE DEBT CRISIS: CREDIT CARDS AND HOUSEHOLD DEBT

The rising debt burden on American families is another alarming sign of impending disaster. As of the second quarter of 2024, credit card debt has skyrocketed from $770 billion in 2021 to $1.14 trillion. Delinquency rates are now at their highest since the 2008 recession. It’s clear that many Americans, caught up in a financial mess, are forced to subsist by relying on credit debts.

At the same time, the US national debt has now surpassed $32 trillion. Financial experts, like Jessica Noviska, warn that the US faces a looming crisis in commercial real estate, with a staggering $5.7 trillion in outstanding debts.

Small and mid-sized banks, which hold the largest portion of these risky loans, are ill-prepared to handle the fallout. This could trigger another financial catastrophe, like the 2007-2009 meltdown.

People of colour suffer the most in all of America’s economic crises. In fact, a 2009 Pew Research Institute study uncovered the systemic mortgage discrimination that hurt Black and Latino homeowners the most.

Black and Hispanic communities were disproportionately impacted predatory lending. These areas were further victimised by both overvalued homes and predatory subprime loans, which played a major role in the housing crash.

Flash forward to today, and not much has changed. Major institutions like the Bank of America associated PennyMac Financial continues to exploit vulnerable groups – including Black and Latino homeowners – many of whom are immigrants.

Deceptive practices, exorbitant fees, and rising mortgage balances are still prevalent. Just look at the case of “Mary” (a pseudonym), a pensioner on a fixed mortgage rate.

Despite her insurance premiums and taxes remaining the same, her mortgage balance continues to climb. This is the reality for many Americans – squeezed dry by the same system that crashed the economy years ago.

CORPORATE GREED AND MORTGAGE RACISM

Corporate greed continues to drive much of America’s economic turmoil. In the housing market, mortgage racism remains a significant issue. Black and Latino buyers are still being exploited, with homes appraised at inflated values that lead to devastating financial consequences.

Meanwhile, corporate giants like Bank of America, which was fined $16.65 billion for its role in the subprime mortgage crisis, continue to foreclose on middle-class families with impunity, deepening the wealth gap.

The last time Trump was in power he gave a tax-cut to the billionaires that helped to drive up the US debt. He then reduced the tax benefits of workers and the middle class so that they got less money on their tax returns.

What’s clear is that both administrations have entrenched financial inequality and ignored the systemic issues that led to the current crisis. And as the global economy teeters on the edge of disaster, it’s ordinary people who will once again bear the brunt of this financial storm.

THE LOOMING CRISIS: TRUMP’S INCOMPETENCE

Ironically, Trump – who ascended to power on an anti-immigrant platform – acknowledges that immigrant labour is crucial to America’s economic success, particularly in tech sectors like Silicon Valley.

Trump clearly egged on by ‘Borrowed Brain’ Elon Musk, now says, he supports the H-1B visa program. The US’s relies on many skilled foreign workers to help it bridge a self-created technological gap viz-a-viz countries like Russia and China.

With rising anti-immigrant sentiment, the US risks alienating the very professionals who could drive technological innovation.

The question is: will the US survive this coming storm, or suffer severe economic damage, weighed by corporate greed and Donald ‘the God-King’ Trump own political incompetence!

As the financial crisis deepens, its effects will be felt around the world. The economic storm that’s approaching won’t discriminate – it will devastate working-class families, immigrant communities, and people of colour the most.

My dear friends, if America’s economy falters, the ripple effect is already being felt around the world. Nations like Jamaica, which rely heavily on tourism and remittances, are beginning to feel the strain.

And those nations such as Jamaica that is heavily dependent on remittances and tourism earnings form America most likely will be hit a lot harder.

Brace yourself for the topsy-turvy economic ride. Trump’s administration empty rhetoric and unsound policies may bring a ‘MAGAzombiefinancial apocalypse’ to the whole world.

That is just the ‘bitta’ truth!

Norris McDonald is an economic journalist, political analyst, and respiratory therapist. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and miaminorris@yahoo.com.