Our political/economy is based on the concept that rich people must not be allowed to lose money.

Obama foamed the runway with American homeowners so that banks and the rich people who owned them didn’t’ have to take losses in the wake of the Wall Street Crash.

Wealthy, connected but uninsured insiders were made whole by the FCIC in the wake of the run on Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). We’re not supposed to call it a “bailout” but I’m pretty sure that if the bank had served regular people it would have been a different story. The bank was known for serving the founders of tech firms, as well as venture capitalists, premium wineries, and private equity firms.

Rich people.

And we are witnessing it now with the AI bubble, where suddenly there is legislation to nationalize the hyper-scalers because, of course, “national security”. The story is that the government will acquire “shares” in the AI companies, but don’t let that fool you because with rich people not being allowed to lose money, the costs get socialized by we the people, while the profits get privatized by the rich-fucks that control our country.

Senior U.S. officials have held preliminary discussions with AI companies about the potential for the federal government to acquire some shares in their firms. AI proponents like Sam Altman have been quietly pushing the idea since last year as the costs of AI mounted. And now Altman is telling us that gaining a stake in AI is a way to “more broadly distribute the economic benefits of AI to the public.”

Yeah, and I have a nice used bridge you might be interested in.

There will be another bailout. AI is economically nonviable, but, AI has “national security” applications, and China, etc. There’s also that teensy-wheensy issue of rich people having lots of money at risk with AI. Have I mentioned that rich people might lose money?

That the rich people can never lose money explains the system of kleptocracy that has grown up around us. I’ve used the term often enough that I should probably unpack it. Kleptocracy, literally means “rule by thieves,” and is a form of government where leaders use their political power to steal their nation’s wealth and exploit state resources for personal enrichment. It’s the monumental corruption that’s resulted from the financialization, and concomitant offshoring of US manufacturing. It’s the utilization of “offshore” finance and tax avoidance regimes to disguise the looting, and the necessity of finding politicians willing to support such an endeavor.

Sound familiar?

Anyway, rich people not losing money will last until rich people start losing their heads.