VIP/Founder members are welcome to join our live zoom conversation each Monday at 2pm Eastern time. Call in details below.
This week’s VIP call was a deep dive into the turbulent currents shaping our world, from the grand chessboard of geopolitics to the quiet struggles of households navigating a broken economy. The conversation veered from China’s strategic ambitions in Europe to the personal, lived experience of the “affordability crisis” in North America, offering a stark and unfiltered look at the challenges we face. Participants debated the future of the war in Ukraine, the illusion of prosperity, and the structural problems that seem to trap individuals and nations alike in a cycle of debt and dependency.
Here are some of the key topics and thought-provoking moments from the discussion:
On China’s Strategic Ambitions
The conversation kicked off with a discussion about intelligence from war correspondent Michael Yon regarding China’s global strategy, with a surprising focus on a key European port.
“And he said the main thing they’ve got on their mind right now is Rotterdam. That because of the deep water harbor. He said they’ve, they’re definitely moving, gonna be moving in on Rotterdam as far as trying to take possession of that at some point, because that’s the deep second deepest harbor in the world or something. And, uh, he said they’re absolutely, uh, are gonna try to buy as much as they can and then be able to, you know, take it over, uh, and take control of it so they’ll have access there.”
The ‘Affordability Crisis’ and the ‘Valley of Death’
A significant portion of the call was dedicated to the economic pressures facing ordinary people. The group discussed the concept of the “valley of death,” where earning more money can actually make you poorer due to the loss of benefits—a structural flaw one participant shared they had experienced firsthand.
“You work all that much harder and you get nothing more out of it. Like you, you actually end up worse off the more you work. That’s a, that’s a structural problem. I don’t know what to say.”
“It literally took me 20 years to cross that chasm and get a valley of death... I can tell you it’s totally true. I had, I have four kids along the way. We went from getting like, uh, WIC benefits, which is like free milk and eggs and stuff. Um, every tax benefit you can imagine. To, uh, losing all of that...”
The Future of the War in Ukraine
Opinions were divided on the trajectory of the war in Ukraine. Some argued that the conflict is likely to grind on for years with no party truly incentivized to end it, while others predicted a collapse of the Ukrainian front lines in the coming year. The discussion also drew fascinating parallels to the Crimean War of the 19th century.
“I just don’t think the war is ending... there doesn’t appear to be any sincere party wanting it to stop - not one, not one.”
“I see that as the war started and progress, the type of the war start shaping... eventually the war shaped into this drone, like in entrenched warfare where it’s very hard to make any investments... now they are acting very careful, but it doesn’t mean that they don’t wanna, uh, win the war or they just want to keep the status quo.”
The Specter of Conflict in the Western Hemisphere
The conversation also turned to the increasing tensions in Latin America, with a focus on Venezuela. The group explored the complex web of interests involving the United States, Cuba, and Israel, and the potential for the region to become the next major geopolitical hotspot.
“The security people around Maduro are Cubans, okay? If, if, if Venezuela goes down, Cuba is gone, it loses its economic lifeline. So those people... are well infiltrated in the, in, in, in the military and specifically the security detail around Maduro, like they maduro’s like a hostage in a way, really to them.”
As a VIP/Founder subscriber you’re welcome to join us each Monday at 2pm EST using the zoom link below.
