We do have the money. We are a wealthy nation. The problem is we are cheap.
From: Friam <[email protected]> on behalf of Pieter Steenekamp <[email protected]> Date: Wednesday, July 9, 2025 at 10:07 AM To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <[email protected]> Subject: [FRIAM] Musk’s America Party – Some Thoughts from Afar I’m not American—but I’m a big fan of the place. What really keeps me up at night is how both major political parties in the U.S. seem to have a shared hobby: spending money like it’s going out of fashion. Year after year, the national debt grows bigger, and the interest payments grow even scarier. It’s like watching someone keep swiping a credit card with no plan to ever pay it back. Now, let me put on my South African cap for a moment. When South Africa became a democracy and Mandela became president, things were looking financially grim. We weren’t flat-out broke yet, but we were close. Mandela then did something very clever: he made Trevor Manuel the finance minister. Manuel, being honest, told Mandela he knew nothing about finances. Mandela basically said, “Don’t worry about the details—we’ve got smart people for that. Just make sure we don’t spend more than we earn, and I'll politically support you.” And guess what? South Africa’s finances did great for a while. (Yes, it all fell apart later when Jacob Zuma came along, but let’s not ruin the story.) Back to America. No, I don’t think the U.S. is heading for an immediate meltdown—but the idea that it’s too big to fail? Not something I’d bet my pension on. Sooner or later, the debt monster will come knocking. Which brings me to Elon Musk’s political adventure. From where I sit, his main message is: “Hey folks, maybe we should stop spending money we don’t have?” Whether his new party takes off or not, I think it’s great that someone is at least ringing the alarm bell. Even if nobody listens, I’m 100% behind the effort. Musk is taking a huge personal hit—his companies, his wealth, all of it’s being affected. But if it helps America become more financially sensible, I say hats off to him.
smime.p7s
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