Dr Richard Wolff: "Say Goodbye to the American Dream" | August 19, 2026

Aug 19, 2026 | In this week's Wolff Responds: Professor Wolff discusses how the United States is no longer truly a rich nation.

READ THE GE ARTICLE: Americans are NOT wealthy: The truth about the US economy: Media outlets often claim Americans are wealthier than Europeans, but it’s not true. Average wealth looks high, but is skewed by extreme inequality. US median wealth is quite low. This is the real data. »

Are US Politicians Too Old? | Global News Podcast

July 14, 2026 | The death of the longtime Repblican senator Lindsey Graham at the age of 71, and the hospitalisation of his 84-year-old colleague Mitch McConnell, have raised new questions about the advanced age of America's political leaders.

President Donald Trump celebrated his 80th birthday last month - becoming just the second octogenarian president after Joe Biden. Several lawmakers are even older, including 84-year-old Bernie Sanders, 86-year-old Nancy Pelosi, and 92-year-old Chuck Grassley.

And while the likes of Vice-President JD Vance and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth are still in their 40s, the age in the Senate is around 65 - a time of life when most Americans have retired.

We ask the BBC's Washington correspondent Daniel Bush about the benefits and drawbacks of an elder political class, why voters choose old age pensioners to represent them, and who may lead the US into the future, as some of its most powerful politicians near the ends of their careers.


Are American politicians too old? What a silly question! Of course they are too old! Most of them are geriatrics! In fact, America is a gerontocracy! An oligarchic, corrupt, gerontocracy! The super-corrupt Geriatric-in-Chief is the Orange Mussolini! Not only is he old and corrupt, he suffers from brain-rot too! — © Mark Alexander

Trump Could Be ‘the End’ of America, I’m Returning to Politics to Save It | Denver Riggleman

Jan 30, 2026 | "We've never had a president like this. Not this insane, not based on this sort of fascist, authoritarian leaning stuff...I have decided I am going to run again."

Former Republican Rep. and member of the Jan 6 Committee Denver Riggleman says Trump's use of federal agents and upturnign of the world order could be "the end" of the United States.


Trump should have been locked up long ago! — © Mark Alexander

Canada and Denmark's Shocking Greenland Deal Leaves US Reeling

Donald Trump’s Trump Greenland Threats have detonated a diplomatic crisis inside NATO—and Canada just drew a bright red line in Paris. In this video, we break down how Trump Greenland Threats to take Greenland “by force” triggered a unified European response, pushed Denmark to warn NATO itself could collapse, and prompted Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney to publicly side with Denmark—then back it up with a concrete move: a Canadian consulate in Nuuk, Greenland.
You’ll hear why Carney’s language mattered, how NATO allies coordinated their message that Greenland’s future belongs to Greenlanders and Denmark alone, and why this moment could reshape Arctic security cooperation for years. We also explain the strategic stakes—from Pituffik (Thule) Space Force Base to Arctic shipping lanes and critical minerals—and why Trump Greenland Threats may be doing Russia and China a massive favor.

If you care about NATO, Arctic geopolitics, and how presidential rhetoric can fracture alliances, this is the story you can’t ignore.


Trump should be sectioned. FT! FA! — © Mark Alexander

A FREE WORLD NEEDS A STRONG AMERICA

THE NEW YORK TIMES — OPINION: ALGORITHMS AND AUTOCRATS HAVE RATTLED GLOBAL STABILITY. / TO SAFEGUARD LIBERTY, THE U.S. MUST REMAKE ITS MILITARY.

AS RECENTLY AS a decade ago, it would not have been hard to unite a broad majority of Republicans and Democrats around a shared idea of what America's military power should be for.

Defense of the homeland. Deterrence of would-be aggressors. Cooperation with treaty allies and protection of kindred democracies confronting common foes. Humanitarian aid and relief. The security of the global commons: sea lanes, air corridors, undersea cables, digital networks. Upholding the laws of war.

In sum, the ability to prevent war wherever possible and win it whenever necessary — all for the sake of a safer, more open, rules-based world.

The Trump administration brings a starkly different mind-set to the issue. Out with the Department of Defense; back to the Department of War. Well-established rules of engagement have yielded to blowing up small boats on the high seas. In place of standing with Ukraine’s embattled democracy against Russia’s invasion, the administration has adopted a course of moral equivalence between the two sides while seeking profits from the war through arms sales and mineral deals.

As for the kind of military alliance-building that typified American foreign policy for much of the 20th century, President Trump has reverted to threats of conquest more common in the 19th. And this is to say nothing of his efforts to deploy troops to American cities, impose political loyalty tests on senior officers or hamstring reporters at the Pentagon. » | The Editorial Board | Sunday, December 14, 2025

Donald Trump is not America’s friend, and he is most certainly not Europe’s. Trump’s best friend is himself and his second best friend is Putin.

When it comes to geopolitics, Trump is absolutely clueless, as are his acolytes. They are rich, but they are also clueless. Either that or they just don’t care.

Trump’s re-election to the presidency should show any right-thinking person proof of why one should be very wary of electing a businessman to high office. For a businessman, the bottom line is always gain and profit. He is always thinking of his bank balance. A cursory glance at Trump’s behaviour shows this to be true. But the fact is—and it’s a very important fact—that a country cannot be run and governed on a businessman’s principles. The leader of a country, even more so the free world, has far, far more important things to think about than profit. A man/woman who tries to lead his/her country on the profit principle is destined to fail. Trump’s miserable record will prove this to be so. History will not be kind to Trump. His legacy is bound to be tarnished. — © Mark Alexander

The End of the American Experiment. 1776 to 2025.

Sep 20, 2025 | The American experiment is coming to an unceremonious end on the eve of our 250th birthday. It was quite a run. Alas, the steady erosion of our liberal institutions over the past half century has laid the groundwork for our final act.

Strong language alert!

Post-Brexit UK Must Choose: America or Europe?

Sep 19, 2025 | Brendan Donnelly and John Stevens discuss the choice post-Brexit Britain must make between Europe and America. They predict that the UK will opt for Europe in the medium to long term, despite the short term attractions of the “special relationship.

SPEAKERS:
John Stevens is the Chairman of the Federal Trust and a former Conservative MEP.
Brendan Donnelly is the former Director of the Federal Trust and a former Conservative MEP.

ABOUT THE FEDERAL TRUST:
The Federal Trust is a research institute studying regional, national, European and global levels of government. It has always had a particular interest in the European Union and Britain’s place in it. The Federal Trust has no allegiance to any political party. It is registered as a charity for the purposes of education and research.


The FEDERAL TRUST can be supported on Patreon here.

How Private Equity Hollowed Out the UK’s Economy – Angus Hanton | Spectator Cover

Jul 25, 2025 | Britain has become a ‘vassal state’ to foreign money – and especially to American private equity.

In this episode, economist and author Angus Hanton joins Spectator TV to explain how private equity is hollowing out the UK economy, why the profits are heading overseas, and what the government could do to stop it.

Angus is the co-founder of the Intergenerational Foundation and author of Vassal State: How America Runs Britain.

Mapping Poverty in America | The Economist

America is the richest country in the world, but it also has one of the biggest divides between rich and poor. What can a zip code reveal about inequality?

America is Morally Bankrupt | The Late Ed Schultz | Oxford Union (November 2013)

Ed Schultz talks about the state of America and the moral fabric of society becoming bankrupt.

Is America under Trump Good for Business? | Inside Story

'America First' has long been one of the most common refrains of Donald Trump's administration.

The US President first used the phrase in his inauguration speech, and he's repeated it over the past year in reference to political and economic policies. Then, it's no surprise that the phrase resurfaced in his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Friday. But this time with the caveat, saying 'America First' does not mean 'America alone'.

So, can the man who's promoted projectionist policies and scrapped trade deals, convince the world the US is open for business?

Presenter: Richelle Carey | Guests: Ann Pettifor - Director of the UK based think-thank, Prime Economics; Michele Geraci - Head of the China Economic Policy Research Programme with Nottingham University; Mark Farha - Economics Analyst and Assistant Professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies

The Great Depression: 1. A Job at Ford's; 2. The Road to Rock Bottom; 3. New Deal, New York; 4. We Have a Plan; 5. Mean Things Happening; 6. To Be Somebody; 7. Arsenal of Democracy

The Line: Poverty in America

Poverty in America is probably not what you think. Emmy Award-winning producer Linda Midgett shows us in this groundbreaking documentary a new face of poverty in America. About 50 million people in the United States live below the poverty line (In 2014- $23,850 for a family of 4) and one in four American children lives in poverty. But what is poverty in America? What defines “the line” and how can the church and community make a difference?

Why Is America in Decline? Chris Hedges on the US Empire & Death of the Liberal Class (2012)

TruthDig »

Hitler's American Business Partners

This documentary uncovers the unholy alliance between Nazi Germany and some of the biggest corporations in the US — companies which were indispensable for Hitler to wage war. Henry Ford, the automobile manufacturer; James D Mooney, the General Motors manager; and Thomas Watson, the IBM boss were all awarded the Grand Cross of the German Eagle — the Nazi's highest distinction for foreigners for their services to the Third Reich.

Detroit in Ruins
THE OBSERVER: Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre's extraordinary photographs documenting the dramatic decline of a major American city

To the photo gallery >>> | Sunday, January 2, 2011

Flag of China. Image: Google Images
Chinese Rating Agency Strips Western Nations of AAA Status
THE TELEGRAPH: China's leading credit rating agency has stripped America, Britain, Germany and France of their AAA ratings, accusing Anglo-Saxon competitors of ideological bias in favour of the West.

Dagong Global Credit Rating Co used its first foray into sovereign debt to paint a revolutionary picture of creditworthiness around the world, giving much greater weight to "wealth creating capacity" and foreign reserves than Fitch, Standard & Poor's, or Moody's.

The US falls to AA, while Britain and France slither down to AA-. Belgium, Spain, Italy are ranked at A- along with Malaysia.

Meanwhile, China rises to AA+ with Germany, the Netherlands and Canada, reflecting its €2.4 trillion (£2 trillion) reserves and a blistering growth rate of 8pc to 10pc a year.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, chief of the International Monetary Fund, agreed on Monday that the rising East is a transforming global force. "Asia's time has come," he said. >>> Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, International Business Editor | Monday, July 12, 2010

The Trillion Dollar Question: China or America?
THE TELEGRAPH: Who is going to come out of the economic crisis stronger and with the whip hand - China or America, asks Niall Ferguson.

A delegation led by US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, second from right, meets a Chinese led by vice-premier Wang Qishan in Beijing. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
Two years ago, economist Moritz Schularick and I coined the word "Chimerica" to describe what we saw as the key relationship in the then-booming global economy: China plus America. Cheap Chinese labour was making US corporations highly profitable. Spendthrift American consumers, in turn, were keeping Chinese corporations busy with export orders. And the Chinese monetary authorities were converting export surpluses into dollar denominated reserves with the aim of preventing their own currency from appreciating. The unintended consequence was a multi-billion dollar credit line to the United States, financing America's deficit at rock-bottom rates.

It was those low long-term rates – combined with monetary policy errors by the Fed, excessive bank leverage and reckless financial engineering – that inflated the American property bubble, the bursting of which triggered this crisis.

To simplify the story, think of an unhappy marriage in which one partner does all the saving, while the other does all the spending. (We all know at least one couple like that.) But then the partner with the retail therapy habit maxes out on his/her credit cards. At the same time, the parsimonious partner finds her/his job under threat. What previously was a stable relationship is suddenly on the rocks.

In February, the People's Daily acknowledged the "global importance and influence" of Chimerica, but warned of an impending "period of chillness". Could this be one of those great turning points in history, when the balance of power tilts decisively away from an established power and towards a rising challenger? It is possible. Financial crises often accelerate the gradual shifting of the geopolitical tectonic plates; they are to history what earthquakes are to geology. >>> By Niall Ferguson | Monday, June 01, 2009

Niall Ferguson's 'The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World' is published in paperback by Penguin this week

Top Economist Says America Could Plunge into Recession
TIMES ONLINE: Losses arising from America’s housing recession could triple over the next few years and they represent the greatest threat to growth in the United States, one of the world’s leading economists has told The Times.

Robert Shiller, Professor of Economics at Yale University, predicted that there was a very real possibility that the US would be plunged into a Japan-style slump, with house prices declining for years.

Professor Shiller, co-founder of the respected S&P Case/Shiller house-price index, said: “American real estate values have already lost around $1 trillion [£503 billion]. That could easily increase threefold over the next few years. This is a much bigger issue than sub-prime. We are talking trillions of dollars’ worth of losses.” Top economist says America could plunge into recession >>> By Suzy Jagger in New York

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