How much does the US benefit from printing the global reserve currency? An economist calculated that US average daily income would fall by 27-57% if the dollar lost its "exorbitant privilege". Ben Norton explains how wealthy investors not only in North America but around the world hold much of their wealth in the dollar.

VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=jYkiMcR1Rj8

Link to Philip Pilkington's report and Twitter account: https://twitter.com/philippilk/status/1782409654519128497

Topics
0:00 US dollar dominance
2:00 Economics of exorbitant privilege
5:23 Current account
9:29 Balance of payments
12:31 Effects of dollar hegemony
14:45 Neoliberalism & financialization
17:41 Foreign capital funds US deficits
19:28 Global 1% invests in US assets
20:35 Super Imperialism
22:25 Fed inflates asset bubbles
25:22 De-industrialization in West
28:06 Industrialization in BRICS
28:57 Investment & FDI
33:08 Wages & manufacturing
35:00 Re-industrialization?
38:16 Outro

How the dollar's 'exorbitant privilege' enriches the USA (and global elites)

For the 32nd year, the entire world voted at the UN General Assembly to demand an end to the illegal US embargo against Cuba. The USA and Israel opposed the international community in a vote of 187 to 2. Ben Norton explains why the US empire has waged such a vicious economic war on Cuba for six decades.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTX4zSfCQYM

TOPICS
0:00 US economic war on Cuba
1:39 UN General Assembly vote against US blockade
2:06 Map of UN vote against US embargo of Cuba
3:25 Venezuela & Afghanistan lost UN voting rights due to US sanctions
5:15 Argentina's Milei fires foreign minister for voting with 97% of world
7:08 UN votes against US embargo in 2023 & 2022
8:41 Why the US empire wants to crush Cuba
10:29 Goal of US sanctions: "hunger, desperation, and overthrow"
13:39 Dedollarization & BRICS
15:40 Bipartisan barbarism: Biden continues Trump's war on Cuba
18:01 West votes against rest of world at UN
20:08 US imperialism is a global dictatorship
23:17 Outro

Rogue states: US & Israel oppose entire world in UN vote to end Cuba blockade

Donald Trump’s tariffs could destabilize the global economy, warns economist Michael Hudson. US protectionist policies could cause financial crises, as many currencies depreciate and countries can't earn the dollars needed to pay their foreign debts. Ben Norton hosts the interview.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFyWatftnIM

Transcript: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/02/04/trump-tariffs-global-crisis-economist-michael-hudson/

Here you can read Michael Hudson's article on how Trump’s tariffs threaten the global economy: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/01/25/michael-hudson-trump-tariffs-global-economy/

Topics
0:00 Trump's tariff threats
3:10 Highlights of Michael Hudson
5:47 How to pay foreign debt
10:55 Austerity
14:48 Protectionism
17:19 US threats
21:11 Mexico
22:47 Defaulting on debt
25:46 Economic colonialism
28:18 Colombia
29:50 Greenland
30:23 Economic war
31:02 China's win-win approach
32:24 Trump's contradictions
35:20 US dollar & re-industrialization
37:06 Finance capitalism
41:00 Dollar exchange rate & inflation
44:34 Trump proposal at WEF/Davos
45:20 Investing in USA
47:18 US imperialism
49:17 Outro

Trump's tariffs could cause huge global crisis, warns economist Michael Hudson

Donald Trump's tariffs will likely backfire and hurt the United States, accelerating the decline of US dominance. To discuss, host Radhika Desai is joined by economist Michael Hudson and China-based scholar Mick Dunford. 

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wpJZh-gDA8

This is part of the program Geopolitical Economy Hour. You can watch other episodes of the show here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hMl9DkPLikDDGccibhYHnDP

How Trump's tariffs will accelerate US decline

Why has the price of gold been increasing so fast, breaking records? Economist Michael Hudson explains the politics of the precious metal, and the dynamics of the US dollar system. He is interviewed by Ben Norton.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Bvr2SZm-NM

Transcript: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/02/13/politics-gold-price-economist-michael-hudson/

Topics
0:00 Intro
1:49 Highlights
4:14 Interview starts
4:49 US dollar system & Super Imperialism
8:23 Dollar alternatives?
10:56 Why price of gold is rising
15:31 Gold market is political
21:10 Is gold an inflation hedge?
25:19 US military spending
27:33 Budget deficits & MMT
29:41 Gold standard critique
33:29 Politics of money creation
35:39 Commodity markets
38:01 Options trading
39:33 Central banks short selling gold
43:43 Gold leasing
48:01 How much gold is in Fort Knox?
51:03 Is there a run on gold?
1:02:50 Western central bank strategy
1:07:11 Outro

The politics of gold: Economist Michael Hudson explains why gold's price is rising so much

It's now widely acknowledged we are in a multipolar world, but the definition of "multipolarity" is not clear. Donald Trump and Marco Rubio think it means a return to great power competition with imperial spheres of influence, whereas China and much of the Global South say "equality among all countries regardless of size". Ben Norton explains the geopolitical divide.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mg0Vur0SI-8

Topics
0:00 US unipolar moment
0:35 Multipolarity is here
1:24 Definition of multipolarity
2:39 (CLIP) Marco Rubio on unipolarity
3:14 US imperial sphere of influence
4:32 China's anti-imperialist view
7:37 Marco Rubio interview
8:52 (CLIP) Rubio on multipolar world
9:14 Rubio fearmongers about China
9:42 Greenland
10:55 (CLIP) Rubio on China
11:02 Neoconservativism rebranded
12:11 Trump's imperialism
12:30 (CLIP) Trump calls to "expand" USA
13:01 Chinese socialism vs US capitalism
14:46 Marco Rubio targets China
17:35 Rubio's fake "populism"
20:22 Nicaragua's anti-imperialist view
22:33 Outro

What is a 'multipolar' world? China says equality; Trump & Marco Rubio say imperial rivalry

Argentina's President Javier Milei, a self-declared libertarian and "anarcho-capitalist", is promoting crypto scams and overseeing rapid deindustrialization. Manufacturing and construction are collapsing, while the financial sector, mining, and agriculture grow. Donald Trump and Elon Musk praise Milei, as the majority of Argentines live in poverty. The real economy is in crisis, but rich foreign investors rejoice as the stock market booms. Ben Norton explains how Argentina is being turned into a resource colony.

VIDEO with charts here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3qgYZMYkj0

Topics

0:00 Who is Javier Milei?

0:40 Elon Musk & Donald Trump

1:08 Crypto pump & dump scheme

2:34 Trump & Melania meme coins

3:18 Economic destruction

5:06 BRICS

5:47 Israel

6:27 CIA

6:48 Spanish colonialism

7:11 Ukraine

7:48 Stock market

10:06 Poverty

11:27 12-hour work day

12:46 72% are worse off

13:39 Income distribution

14:38 Extreme austerity

15:28 Government spending

16:47 Colonialism

17:11 Brain drain

18:39 No toilet paper

19:22 Social spending cuts

20:43 Bicicleta financiera scheme

23:04 Cost of living

23:55 Job loss

24:50 Construction collapses

25:17 Housing costs

26:05 Taunting the poor & hungry

28:45 Luis Caputo

31:36 Billionaire sponsors

32:04 Bondholders

32:30 Inflation & debt

39:48 Manufacturing collapses

47:07 Deindustrialization

49:18 Neoliberalism

50:39 Stock index composition

52:09 Privatization

54:13 Plantation economy

56:39 Gold in London

57:56 Financial colonialism

58:19 Outro

Javier Milei is destroying Argentina's economy, making it a resource colony for foreign oligarchs

The US government's talks with Russia are more about China than Ukraine. Donald Trump admitted he wants to "un-unite" Russia and China, in a reverse of the divide-and-conquer strategy used by Nixon and Kissinger in the 1970s. Can Trump do it? Ben Norton explains why the United States sees China as the main threat to its global imperial dominance.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRJIymzuRGU

Topics
0:00 (CLIP) Trump: divide Russia & China
0:18 US-Russia talks
1:01 USA says China is 'greatest threat'
2:11 (CLIP) Trump on Russia & China
3:31 US dollar dominance
4:14 Divide & conquer
5:23 Nixon in China
6:06 Kissinger strategy
6:59 Trump's neocons
7:57 (CLIP) Marco Rubio: partner with Russia
8:20 Ally with Russia against China?
9:37 (CLIP) Tucker Carlson on Russia
11:01 (CLIP) Marco Rubio on Russia
11:42 Marco Rubio on Ukraine & China
12:34 Rubio: China challenges US-led order
13:05 Rubio: China wants to displace USA
13:40 Rubio: China is "greatest challenge"
14:20 China more powerful than Russia
14:40 Population
14:54 Economy
15:31 Manufacturing
15:58 Technology
16:56 Research
17:19 China's alternative
18:08 Competition to Silicon Valley
18:55 Russia's strengths
20:02 Brzezinski's warnings
20:49 BRICS & SCO
22:21 (CLIP) CIA director John Ratcliffe
23:21 CIA on China "threat"
25:07 (CLIP) Blinken on China "challenge"
25:31 Mike Pompeo on China
26:14 US imperialism & Panama Canal
27:15 Monroe Doctrine
27:46 Europe
29:03 JD Vance
30:04 US colonialism in Ukraine
32:41 (CLIP) Trump wants to expand USA
33:10 Imperial expansion
33:44 European right wing
34:45 Can Trump divide Russia & China?
35:09 Putin's rise to power
35:55 (CLIP) Bush on Putin
36:30 Russia tried to join the West
37:31 Russia's fall out with the West
38:07 Ukraine war context
38:39 Russia-China relations
39:41 Sanctions relief?
40:28 Security guarantees?
41:56 Can USA be trusted?
43:25 Is there a possibility?
46:36 Outro

Trump's Ukraine talks aim to divide Russia from China. Can he do it?

Donald Trump's fight with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House reflected how the US treats Ukraine as a colony. Trump is demanding control of the country's rare earths and critical minerals, to weaken China, re-industrialize, and make new technologies. Trump wants to be paid $350 billion, roughly twice Ukraine's GDP. Ben Norton discusses Washington's economic colonialism, and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham's comments that "this war is about money" and the USA will "enrich ourselves with rare earth minerals".

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zxxv2IEfU_c

Trump wants US to ‘partner’ with Russia to weaken China: Divide-and-conquer strategy - https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/02/24/trump-divide-russia-china-us-strategy/

Topics
0:00 (CLIP) Trump fights with Zelensky
0:21 Trump treats Ukraine like a colony
1:07 (CLIP) Trump: Ukraine has no cards
1:51 Throwing Ukraine under the bus
2:14 Economic colonialism
3:36 (CLIP) Trump wants Ukraine's rare earths
4:43 Lindsey Graham says quiet part loud
4:58 (CLIP) Ukraine has trillions in minerals
5:34 US wants minerals
6:03 (CLIP) Graham: "This war is about money"
6:53 Colonialism
7:05 Toxic effects of rare earth elements
8:42 US attacks China in supply chains
9:54 Dividing Russia & China
10:22 (CLIP) Trump: split Russia from China
10:40 Making weapons
11:10 (CLIP) Trump: make tech & weapons
11:43 USA targets China
12:31 Trump's Ukraine mineral demands
14:20 Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
14:48 US-Ukraine fund
16:57 How much will USA be paid?
18:03 Zelensky proposed mineral stake
19:01 US Fed oversees Iraq's oil revenue
20:07 Billionaires run Trump admin
20:36 Kissinger: fatal to be US ally
21:10 What does Ukraine get?
22:32 (CLIP) Trump on military support
23:29 Trump boasts of arming Ukraine
24:20 (CLIP) Trump on Ukraine aid
24:36 False $350 billion aid claim
26:41 Why Zelensky was angry
27:08 JD Vance, Peter Thiel puppet
27:39 (CLIP) JD Vance: thank the US empire
28:06 Ukraine "card game"
28:26 (CLIP) Trump gives orders to Ukraine
28:38 Trump erases US culpability
29:37 (CLIP) Trump: thank US military
29:55 Trump boasts of Javelin missiles
30:27 (CLIP) Trump vs Obama on Ukraine
31:00 NATO fought to the last Ukrainian
31:19 (CLIP) The last Ukrainians
31:30 US hypocrisy
31:56 Lindsey Graham attacks Zelensky
32:37 (CLIP) Graham on Zelensky
33:01 Ukraine as a US "investment"
33:47 (CLIP) US tells Zelensky to resign
33:54 True face of USA
34:07 WWII UK debt with US
35:11 It's fatal to be a US "ally"
36:26 Outro

Trump's fight with Zelensky shows US considers Ukraine a colony, exploiting its minerals

BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, is buying the ports on both sides of the Panama Canal, after Donald Trump threatened the Latin American country and forced it to pressure a Hong Kong company to sell its stake. Ben Norton discusses how the US government is trying to weaken China -- and strengthen Wall Street oligarchs.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANqHCejgUTM

Check out our related video on Trump's attempt to divide Russia and China: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRJIymzuRGU

Topics
0:00 Goals of US foreign policy
1:08 BlackRock buys Panama Canal ports
2:08 (CLIP) Trump threatens Panama
2:32 BlackRock
3:26 US empire fears China
4:03 (CLIP) Marco Rubio on China "threat"
4:46 CIA targets China
5:42 (CLIP) CIA director on China
6:34 CIA threats
6:50 Trump attacks China
7:06 (CLIP) Trump on Panama Canal
7:17 BlackRock takeover
7:43 Monroe Doctrine
8:40 Greenland
9:27 Marco Rubio
11:09 (CLIP) Rubio on US "backyard"
11:46 (CLIP) Rubio on "dangerous" China
12:24 (CLIP) Rubio on Taiwan
12:56 New cold war
13:39 Panama Canal geopolitics
14:59 BlackRock buys ports around world
15:54 Biden's infrastructure scheme
16:09 Belt and Road Initiative
16:33 Partnership for Global Infrastructure
17:53 BlackRock, Microsoft, and AI
18:06 Stargate Project with OpenAI
18:26 USA is an oligarchy
19:39 G7 summit starred BlackRock
20:16 (CLIP) CEO Larry Fink at G7 summit
21:11 BlackRock backs both US parties
22:15 Asset managers invest $128 trillion
23:06 Blackstone: Largest US landlord
24:33 USA: best "democracy" money can buy
25:13 Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman
26:45 Elon Musk: biggest US donor
27:51 Trump's trickle-down economics
31:37 Class war
33:24 Trump's Russia strategy
33:51 Outro

Trump helps BlackRock buy Panama Canal ports, to weaken China & strengthen Wall Street

Donald Trump’s Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is a self-declared “crusader” who believes the USA is in a “holy war” against China, the left, and Islam. “Communist China will fall”, he vowed in his 2020 book “American Crusade”, promising, “Israel and America will form an even tighter bond, fighting the scourge of Islamism and international leftism that will never fully abate”. Ben Norton reports on his extremist record.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOg-dqGd6Jk

Sources and links here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/03/07/us-defense-secretary-hegseth-overthrow-china-crusade/

Topics
0:00 Trump's cabinet of hawks
0:42 Pete Hegseth's "American Crusade"
2:02 Hegseth: "Communist China will fall"
3:26 Make the Crusades Great Again
4:38 Fox News
6:10 (CLIP) US "prepared" for war with China
7:02 Fearmongering about China
7:29 (CLIP) Trump on China "threat"
7:37 Fearmongering about China
8:42 (CLIP) CIA lies, cheats, & steals
8:58 Fearmongering about China
11:31 US military is "most lethal"
12:04 (CLIP) Hegseth: "most lethal" military
12:10 Culture war
13:23 (CLIP) Hegseth on "lethality"
13:28 Conservative identity politics
13:45 (CLIP) Hegseth's "warfighters"
13:59 Media pundit criticizes media
14:20 (CLIP) Hegseth on the media
14:36 (CLIP) Hegseth on Fox News
15:14 Israel
18:17 Hegseth wants war on Iran
18:44 (CLIP) Hegseth calls to bomb Iran
19:55 War with Iran?
20:39 (CLIP) Trump: US will "own" Gaza
20:46 War with Iran?
21:03 Pete Hegseth's elite background
21:41 (CLIP) Hegseth Harvard diploma stunt
22:30 Wall Street
22:55 Neocon
23:35 Guantanamo Bay
24:43 Book "American Crusade"
25:45 Hegseth declares "holy war"
26:33 US Civil War II?
31:05 War on secularism
33:18 (CLIP) Trump on the Bible
33:53 War on secularism
34:16 Hegseth's war on Islam
37:44 Extremist loses friends
38:52 Outro

Extremist US defense secretary declared 'holy war' on China, left & Islam: Pete Hegseth's 'crusade'

Can the Donald Trump administration really end the Ukraine war? What is Russia's view? Why did the US fuel the conflict in the first place? These issues are discussed by political economist Radhika Desai, Russia expert Richard Sakwa, and China-based economic geographer Mick Dunford.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR3_KKf6kUY

This is part of the program Geopolitical Economy Hour. You can watch other episodes of the show here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hMl9DkPLikDDGccibhYHnDP

Topics
0:00 Intro
7:08 Historical moment
9:39 NATO
13:30 Multipolarity
15:00 Imperialism & rent extraction
19:03 West lost Ukraine war
20:12 Can Trump end the war?
22:50 Russian view
26:03 Divide Russia and China
28:44 Trump's strategy
32:22 Isolationism
34:39 Russia-China alignment
37:16 Reverse Nixon
38:16 Root causes
40:07 Geopolitical shift
43:37 Trump is symbol of crisis
45:14 Dollar system
46:01 European politics
46:42 Trump's vision
47:44 US-Russia relations
48:29 ASEAN spirit
50:02 Europe's warfare state
54:18 Europe's deindustrialization
58:56 Western double standards
1:00:31 Russia's perspective
1:03:18 Russia's demands
1:06:12 Ukraine's civil war
1:07:40 Outro

Can Donald Trump really end the Ukraine war?

The United States is the biggest arms dealer on Earth, responsible for 43% of the world’s weapons exports from 2020 to 2024. The US transferred seven times more than China, and five times more than Russia. Ben Norton explains how the military-industrial complex profits from war.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVFvEmhey_k

Sources and links here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/03/13/us-top-weapons-exports-china-russia/

Credit to Stephen Semler for some charts: https://www.stephensemler.com

Topics
0:00 China "threat" claims
0:43 US military spending
1:34 US foreign interventions
2:40 USA is no. 1 arms dealer
3:57 Top weapons exporters
5:08 Growth in arms exports
5:56 Israel's suppliers
6:23 Top weapons importers
7:16 Europe doubles arms imports
8:32 Trump demands more NATO spending
10:47 Replacing welfare with warfare
12:56 Top military spenders
14:39 Real US military budget
15:40 DOGE ignores Pentagon fraud
17:00 Outro

Profiting from war: USA is world's #1 arms dealer, exporting 7x more weapons than China, 5x Russia

Donald Trump has threatened to colonize Greenland and make it a US territory, even though 85% of people there oppose this. Ben Norton explains the geopolitical and economic reasons: the USA wants to block China from the Arctic region and to profit from the territory's natural resources, especially critical minerals.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjXzhd4GVzE

Topics
0:00 Greenlanders don't want to join USA
0:58 (CLIP) Trump threatens Greenland
1:10 Targeting China
1:58 Natural resources
2:59 Independence from Denmark
3:40 Why they oppose US annexation
4:32 Protests in Greenland
5:57 Greenlandic political parties
7:25 (CLIP) Trump threatens Greenland again
7:59 Imperialism
8:44 (CLIP) Trump's Manifest Destiny
9:16 Expand US territory
9:29 (CLIP) Trump wants to "enlarge" US
9:59 Monroe Doctrine
10:45 Geopolitics of the Arctic
11:32 Map distortions
12:44 Geopolitics of Arctic Circle
13:52 (CLIP) Trump: divide Russia & China
14:15 (CLIP) Marco Rubio on China "threat"
14:41 China
15:25 (CLIP) Trump on Greenland
16:02 (CLIP) NATO chief Mark Rutte
16:21 NATO imperialism
17:48 (CLIP) Trump on US troops
18:41 NATO imperialism
19:00 JD Vance
19:16 (CLIP) Vance on China
19:45 US war with China
20:58 Supply chains
21:37 Ukraine's minerals
22:11 Greenland's minerals
22:29 (CLIP) Vance on natural resources
22:50 (CLIP) Vance on Greenland
23:20 Greenland's critical minerals
24:28 Red, White, and Blueland
25:11 US imperialism
26:51 Outro

Why does Trump want the US to take over Greenland? This is the real reason

US Vice President JD Vance gave a speech about globalization that inadvertently revealed the truth about the US empire, the goal behind the new cold war on China, the economics of imperialism, and how the Trump administration is serving billionaire Big Tech oligarchs in Silicon Valley at the expense of the working class. Ben Norton explains.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywmpea6vvOE

US Big Tech CEOs admit they want AI monopoly: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/02/03/us-ai-monopoly-unipolar-world-china/

Topics
0:00 (CLIP) JD Vance excerpt
0:38 US vice president speech
1:03 Preparing for war on China
3:15 Summary of Vance's speech
3:56 (CLIP) Marco Rubio on China "threat"
4:39 Deindustrialization
5:02 (CLIP) JD Vance vows "industrial comeback"
5:41 Uniting billionaires and "populists"
6:26 Neoliberalism
7:01 JD Vance's patron Peter Thiel
8:22 Trump recruits Big Tech billionaires
9:34 For monopoly, against competition
10:21 (CLIP) Peter Thiel loves monopolies
10:35 Elon Musk and Trump
11:05 Billionaire Marc Andreessen
11:47 (CLIP) Trump admin loves Silicon Valley
12:08 Trump coalition: billionaires & workers?
13:37 (CLIP) Techno-optimists vs populists?
14:21 Big Tech manifesto
15:56 Scapegoating China
17:13 (CLIP) JD Vance scapegoats China
17:34 JD Vance calls China "biggest threat"
18:53 (CLIP) JD Vance scapegoats China
19:12 Neoliberal globalization
20:07 (CLIP) JD Vance on globalization
21:18 Neoliberal globalization
22:07 Imperialism & dependency theory
24:11 China's development
24:35 US bans Chinese competitors
26:15 (CLIP) JD Vance on China's AI
26:40 US Big Tech monopolies
27:23 (CLIP) "Competition is for losers"
27:38 Trump's tariffs
28:36 Jake Sullivan's industrial policy speech
29:16 (CLIP) Jake Sullivan on Washington Consensus
31:36 Industrial policy
32:45 Tech war on China
33:31 Trump's strategy
34:01 (CLIP) JD Vance on US shipbuilding
34:53 China's Shipbuilding
35:46 State-owned enterprises
38:07 US government-owned factories
40:32 Industrial policy
43:41 (CLIP) Tax cuts on rich & deregulation
44:07 Reaganism 2.0
44:28 Historical tax rates on rich
45:48 Oligarchs avoid taxes
46:52 Trump boosts deficit & debt
47:38 Fake industrial policy
49:09 (CLIP) JD Vance is "fan" of Big Tech
49:28 Andreessen Horowitz investments
50:30 S&P 500 stock buybacks & dividends
51:03 Reaganomics 
51:59 Trumponomics
53:21 Tariffs & wealth transfer
53:55 Outro

This speech accidentally exposed the truth about the US

Donald Trump is portrayed as a "populist" committed to average working-class people, but his policies benefit wealthy elites at the expense of everyone else. His administration includes 13 billionaires -- including Elon Musk, the world's richest oligarch -- and he is cutting taxes on the rich and corporations while imposing a consumption tax on the poor through tariffs. Ben Norton explains how Trump is waging a class war.

VIDEO with charts here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL8cg-wWBO8

Check out our related video on JD Vance's speech on reindustrializing the US: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywmpea6vvOE

Why Donald Trump won the US election: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2024/11/08/donald-trump-us-election-kamala-harris-economy/

Topics
0:00 Intro
0:09 (CLIP) Trump at McDonald's
0:33 Billionaires in Trump admin
1:36 Big Tech oligarchs
2:36 Corruption and bribery
3:17 Trump meme coin
4:20 Tax cuts for the rich
5:20 Tariffs are a tax
6:45 Trump's tax law benefited rich
8:25 Billionaires avoid taxes
10:01 Historical tax rates
11:44 Corporate tax rate
12:50 Progressive taxation
15:02 Why Trump won: inflation
16:43 Election turnout
18:02 Trump's low approval rating
20:20 Why people are angry
21:03 (CLIP) Obama on Wall Street
21:19 BlackRock CEO
21:48 Elon Musk
22:12 (CLIP) Trump on Tesla
22:21 US economy relies on rich
24:05 Unemployment rate is misleading
25:36 Stagnant real wages
29:34 Inflation is sticky
30:31 No more cheap goods
31:14 Scott Bessent & George Soros
33:25 (CLIP) Scott Bessent on American Dream
33:40 Cheap goods & China
36:51 Tariffs & reindustrialization
38:22 Myth of American Dream
40:07 US life expectancy is falling
41:17 Scapegoating
43:37 Recession warnings
45:01 Housing
47:02 Elon Musk buys White House position
47:35 Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman
48:34 Trump's fake "populism"
49:22 Hopeful examples
50:15 Mexico: AMLO 
51:43 Mexico: Claudia Sheinbaum
53:11 Learning from Mexico
54:50 China's poverty reduction
57:54 US oligarchy
58:37 Outro

Class war: How Trump helps the rich and hurts everyone else

How is the US impacting Canada's elections, as Donald Trump imposes tariffs and even threatens to annex the country? Who is the banker turned Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney? To discuss, political economist Radhika Desai is joined by Dimitri Lascaris, host of the independent media outlet Reason2Resist.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZweNi7ycKM

You can follow Dimitri Lascaris' channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@reason2resist

This is part of the program Geopolitical Economy Hour. You can watch other episodes of the show here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hMl9DkPLikDDGccibhYHnDP

Canada's Trump election: Sleazy politics amid US tariffs & annexation threats

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, a billionaire hedge fund manager who worked for George Soros, insists, “Access to cheap goods is not the essence of the American dream”. The Donald Trump administration knows its tariffs will result in higher inflation. Products will become more expensive as the US tries to economically decouple from China. Ben Norton explains.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DOCZjS_MVc

Topics
0:00 Inflation is coming back
0:41 US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
1:57 Billionaires
2:34 (CLIP) Bessent: no more cheap goods
2:49 Stagnant real wages
3:54 How China exported deflation
6:20 Myth of the "American Dream"
6:55 End of income mobility in USA
8:04 US life expectancy falls
9:13 Trump's billionaire-filled administration
9:39 Inflation rises
10:11 Richest 10% drive US economy
11:07 Corruption
11:35 Scapegoating
12:15 Recession risks
13:39 Housing is unaffordable 
15:40 Elon Musk
16:13 Blackstone
17:13 Fake populism
18:00 Outro

Trump admin tells Americans: Stop expecting cheap products, inflation is here to stay

In what he called "Liberation Day", Donald Trump imposed heavy tariffs on countries around the world, falsely claiming they were "reciprocal". In reality, the taxes on imports were based on the US trade deficit with other nations. Ben Norton explains how the Trump administration's economic policies are contradictory and will backfire hard on the US economy, fueling inflation while failing to re-industrialize.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv5ZkxQvsz8

Topics
0:00 Trump imposes heavy tariffs
0:27 (CLIP) Trump's "Liberation Day"
0:52 Trump's global trade war
1:18 (CLIP) Tariff is most beautiful world
1:41 New tariff rates
3:20 Backfiring
4:04 How the tariffs were calculated
7:08 Retaliation
8:45 Role of US dollar dominance
9:30 (CLIP) Trump on de-dollarization
9:48 (CLIP) Trump threatens BRICS
10:17 US balance of payments
12:37 Alternative to US dollar
13:14 Dumbest trade war in history
13:42 Reindustrialization
14:32 Financialization
17:53 Inflation
20:00 Coffee, fruit, & vegetables
22:06 Imports from China
24:02 Imports from Vietnam
25:26 Imports of electronics
27:51 Industrial policy
33:41 Moving tax burden from rich to poor
37:02 Outro

Trump's tariffs make no sense, and will backfire hard on the US economy

Donald Trump's tariffs are part of a class war against many of his own supporters. The US president plans to slash income taxes on the rich and corporations and use tariffs to shift the burden of taxation onto the poor and working class. Radhika Desai is joined by economist Michael Hudson to discuss.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ms_7EkiJbGo

This is part of the program Geopolitical Economy Hour. You can watch other episodes of the show here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hMl9DkPLikDDGccibhYHnDP

Trump's tariffs are part of a class war on his own base

US President Donald Trump wants to use tariffs as part of a plan to save the dominance of the dollar as the global reserve currency. His top economic advisor Stephen Miran outlined the Trump administration's strategy to force other countries to pay the USA to maintain its imperial financial and military order. Ben Norton explains the idea behind the hypothetical "Mar-a-Lago Accord".

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnajhDMAWVA

Topics
0:00 Trump's top economic advisor
0:42 Trump wants to save dollar hegemony
1:04 (CLIP) Trump on US dollar
1:21 Dedollarization
2:01 BRICS
2:46 (CLIP) Trump threatens BRICS
3:15 Tariffs
3:50 Bretton Woods system
4:38 Keynes' Bancor proposal
5:07 US exorbitant privilege
5:39 Nixon shock, gold standard, petrodollar
6:43 Financialization
7:35 Billionaires
8:01 Deindustrialization
8:10 Current account deficit
8:33 Trump advisor Stephen Miran
9:17 Overvaluation of US dollar
10:30 Stephen Miran's plan
11:16 Mar-a-Lago Accord
12:59 Economic nuclear war
14:07 Trump admin's goals
15:20 Paying for US empire
17:30 Trump admin's 5 demands
20:25 (CLIP) Sharing costs of US empire
21:13 China
21:32 (CLIP) Decoupling from China
21:55 Hudson Institute
23:58 US financial crisis of 2008
25:42 Manufacturing
26:02 Trump hits China with 104% tariffs
27:23 Economic game of chicken
27:50 Can USA win trade war?
30:04 (CLIP) Miran: US has leverage over China
30:59 China vows "to fight to the end"
32:00 US economic dependence on China
33:00 Chinese exports
34:01 China's top export destinations
34:36 ASEAN is China's top trading partner
35:16 Indonesia
36:08 China is world's top trading partner
36:54 China's trade with Russia
38:34 Can USA reindustrialize?
38:52 (CLIP) "We can make stuff at home"
39:09 Reindustrialization is very difficult
41:40 Trade war will hurt Americans
42:17 Moving taxes from rich to poor
43:15 Do other countries pay US tariffs?
43:34 Dollar falls
44:38 Yield on US Treasury securities
46:10 Mortgage rate spread
46:42 Credit card interest rate
47:14 Interest payments on US national debt
48:37 Backlash on US economy
49:51 Danger of blowback
50:31 Plaza Accord revisited
51:16 Changes in global economy
52:50 China learned from Japan crisis
54:33 Imperial hubris
55:12 Vietnam in a multipolar world
58:07 Outro

Tariffs are part of Trump's big plan to save US dollar dominance. Will it work?

Donald Trump's trade war went nuclear, hitting China with 145% tariffs, aimed at economic decoupling. This is already backfiring on the US economy, which is heavily reliant on Chinese imports. The volatility also fueled a crisis in the bond market, with Treasury yields rising. Ben Norton explains.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9k7132Iyeo

Trump advisor reveals tariff strategy - Force countries to pay tribute to maintain US empire: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnajhDMAWVA

Topics
0:00 Economic war
0:51 Tariffs of 145% on China
1:56 China defends itself
2:41 Decoupling
3:49 (CLIP) Howard Lutnick attacks China
4:14 Scott Bessent on China
4:48 US trade with China
7:05 USA will lose trade war
8:02 China's manufacturing dominance
9:47 China's trade
10:33 High risk
11:35 Trump's arrogance
12:06 (CLIP) Trump: countries are "kissing my ass"
12:18 Mafia behavior
13:02 US empire demands tribute
13:35 (CLIP) Stephen Miran: US demands tribute
13:59 Threatening the world
15:55 China stands up
16:34 Trump admin's China hawks
17:47 (CLIP) Marco Rubio on new cold war
18:30 Biden admin targeted China too
20:01 US bond market shock
21:39 Treasury note yields
25:01 Interest payments on US national debt
26:05 Hedge fund margin calls
28:35 Trump's billionaires
28:53 Elon Musk
29:42 Bill Ackman
29:59 Jamie Dimon
30:35 Market manipulation?
32:21 Trump meme coins
32:58 Outro

Trump's nuclear trade war targets China - but will blow back on USA

After Donald Trump imposed 145% tariffs on China, he was forced to issue exemptions for Chinese made cellphones, computers, semiconductors, and other electronics, because the deindustrialized US can't make them. Trump's huge trade war immediately failed, demonstrating that China is much stronger economically than the USA thinks. Ben Norton explains.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6t1oQ5G668

Topics
0:00 Trump's trade war
0:45 Exemptions for Chinese electronics
1:56 China's trade with USA
2:27 Myth of US reindustrialization
3:26 Goals of tariffs
4:40 Lack of industrial policy
5:49 Trump's tariff exceptions
9:14 Trump begs Xi Jinping to call him
9:56 (CLIP) Howard Lutnick on China
10:12 China and Vietnam boost ties
11:28 China's economic strength
13:51 Airliners
16:05 Semiconductors
19:15 AI
20:47 China's technological development
22:43 Backfiring on US economy
23:43 Luxury goods
25:09 China's exports
27:13 China holds more cards than USA
29:22 US Treasury securities (bonds)
30:35 US unipolarity is over
31:20 Multipolarity
32:24 Outro

Trump's trade war immediately failed: China is much stronger than USA thinks

Donald Trump's tariffs are benefiting rich elites at the expense of the majority of the population, argues economist Michael Hudson. He explains how the US trade war on China is isolating the United States and encouraging countries to seek alternatives. Ben Norton hosts the interview.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGsLDQQuzU0

Read Michael Hudson's report "Return of the robber barons – Trump’s distorted view of US tariff history": https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/04/14/michael-hudson-robber-barons-trump-tariffs/

Topics
0:00 Intro
1:11 Michael Hudson highlights
2:09 Interview starts
2:41 Replacing income tax with tariffs
5:40 Government industrial policy
9:22 Reaganomics 2.0
11:29 Gilded Age
14:54 China's model
17:50 (CLIP) JD Vance calls Chinese "peasants"
18:12 Public finance
22:57 Trade war on China
25:12 (CLIP) Trump demands tribute
25:42 US attempt to isolate China
26:30 USA doesn't have many cards
28:55 Import substitution
30:16 Trump is isolating the US
34:58 US dollar system in crisis
38:03 Reindustrialization
40:06 Trump's bullying strategy
43:26 Destroying the post-WWII system
49:06 Global South vs the West
50:58 Democracy or oligarchy?
56:05 Billionaire oligarchs
56:56 Corruption
58:25 Outro

Trump's tariffs hurt the US much more than China - Economist Michael Hudson explains

Will US President Donald Trump be the tipping point for the dollar system? Even Western financial outlets now warn of the beginning of the end of dollar dominance. To discuss, host Radhika Desai is joined by economist Michael Hudson and economic geographer Mick Dunford.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGZXDzmL10k

This is part of the program Geopolitical Economy Hour. You can watch other episodes of the show here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hMl9DkPLikDDGccibhYHnDP

Is Trump the last straw for the dollar system?

The US military is preparing for war on China, and has missile systems in the Philippines aimed at major Chinese cities. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the USA is making "Japan into a war-fighting headquarters". Ben Norton discusses the extremely aggressive policies of Trump, Biden, and beyond.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4f43dPOWgo

Trump's nuclear trade war targets China - but will blow back on USA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9k7132Iyeo

US Defense Secretary Hegseth wants to overthrow China’s government, in ‘crusade’ against left (and Islam): https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/03/07/us-defense-secretary-hegseth-overthrow-china-crusade/

Topics
0:00 USA prepares for war on China
0:54 US missile systems in Philippines
2:01 Cuban missile crisis
2:59 Bipartisan warmongering
3:47 Economic war
4:51 Trump boosts military budget
5:05 (CLIP) Trump: $1 trillion military budget
5:36 Deficit, DOGE, & Elon Musk
6:24 Pete Hegseth: an imperial "crusader"
7:04 (CLIP) Hegseth promises "lethality"
7:18 Hegseth's "American crusade"
8:16 Pentagon memo on war with China
9:01 Heritage Foundation
9:46 Pentagon memo on war with China
11:57 Trump's goal with Ukraine
12:27 (CLIP) Trump: divide Russia & China
12:42 Pentagon dubs China top "threat"
14:37 China's challenge to US hegemony
16:40 Taiwan as US imperial outpost
18:25 US troops & weapons in Taiwan
18:53 US-China three communiqués
20:47 USA backs Taiwan separatism
21:16 (CLIP) Marco Rubio on Taiwan
21:49 Taiwanese authoritarianism
22:56 Polls on Taiwan separatism
24:17 Taiwan's semiconductors
25:47 Hegseth's trip to Japan
27:16 USA promises peace through war
28:03 Trump admin's top 3 military goals
28:18 US aggression
30:31 Hegseth's trip to Philippines
31:26 (CLIP) USA has "real war plans"
32:12 Philippines as US imperial proxy
34:31 Silicon Valley prepares for war
35:11 Billionaire Palmer Luckey
38:54 Pentagon contractor Anduril
39:35 CIA-backed Palantir
40:02 Oligarch Peter Thiel
40:57 Venture capital & military-industrial complex
42:35 USA is an oligarchy
43:45 US war on China
45:02 Outro

Is war on China coming? The US military is seriously preparing

Canada's new Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney is a center-right banker, not a real alternative to Donald Trump's right-wing agenda. They both serve the interests of rich elites and large corporations. Political economist Radhika Desai analyzes Canada's 2025 election results with journalist and lawyer Dimitri Lascaris.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH9PzE1Agt0

You can follow Dimitri Lascaris' independent media outlet Reason2Resist here: https://www.youtube.com/@reason2resist

This is part of the program Geopolitical Economy Hour. You can watch other episodes of the show here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hMl9DkPLikDDGccibhYHnDP

Canada's new elite banker PM is not a real alternative to Trump

Donald Trump said he wanted to save the dominance of the US dollar as the global reserve currency, but his aggressive tariff threats and trade war are accelerating dedollarization. Countries and foreign investors are selling US stocks and bonds (Treasury securities, ie, US government debt), seeking alternative reserve assets. Ben Norton explains.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnWnyL3WGjg

Topics
0:00 Donald Trump's plan
0:24 (CLIP) Trump on dedollarization
0:51 (CLIP) Trump on dollar dominance
1:23 Dedollarization
2:00 BRICS
2:48 Financial markets are de-dollarizing
4:11 Blowback 
5:06 Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs
5:25 Trade war on China
5:49 US "grand encirclement" plan
6:35 China & Vietnam deepen ties
7:11 China, South Korea, Japan cooperate
7:56 Japan pushes back against USA
9:16 US bond market problems
10:43 Foreign holders of US Treasuries
11:13 China's US Treasury holdings
12:17 China is de-dollarizing
12:46 US asset seizures
14:03 China's dedollarization
15:17 Mar-a-Lago Accord means default
16:58 China de-dollarizes its reserves
19:00 Central banks buy gold
20:53 Gold price skyrockets
22:05 USD falls against yen & euro
23:21 Japanese & European bonds
24:35 Exchange rate risk
25:22 Japanese investors sell US assets
27:26 Dedollarization accelerates
28:37 Multipolar currency world
29:46 US current account deficit
30:40 Foreign holdings of US Treasuries
31:57 Scott Bessent fails to lower yields
32:30 Interest payments on US debt
33:20 Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell
33:58 Dedollarization will continue
34:52 Outro

Trump's tariffs turbocharge de-dollarization: World sells US dollar assets, seeking alternatives

Donald Trump's tariff threats, trade war, and other aggressive policies are uniting the world against the United States. Meanwhile, China is deepening its cooperation with Europe, Southeast Asia, Russia, and even South Korea and Japan. Ben Norton explains.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4soTzm9uMQ

Trump's tariffs turbocharge de-dollarization: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/05/05/trump-tariffs-dedollarization-sell-us-dollar/

Topics
0:00 Trump's contradictory policies
0:15 (CLIP) Trump vows to be "peacemaker"
0:45 (CLIP) Trump promises imperial expansion
1:23 Massive US war budget
1:44 (CLIP) Trump's $1 trillion military budget
2:04 Ukraine peace talks failed
2:18 Trump bombs Yemen, threatens Iran
2:36 Trump backs Israel's crimes
3:13 Neocon hawk Marco Rubio
4:09 Crusader Pete Hegseth
4:53 Trade war
5:31 China talks
6:20 Dedollarization
7:00 Trump isolates USA
7:29 (CLIP) Trump: USA will be "strongest"
7:50 Blowback 
8:25 Poll: Trump is very unpopular
10:01 Fox News poll: Trump is unpopular
10:56 Global anger at US aggression
11:58 US "encirclement" plan for China
13:49 China, Japan, S Korea, ASEAN cooperate
14:53 China, Japan South Korea coordinate
16:15 Japan pushes back against Trump
17:40 China & Vietnam deepen relations
18:28 ASEAN prefers China
19:38 ASEAN's trade with China
20:04 China diversifies its trade
21:50 China-Russia partnership
22:21 (CLIP) Trump: Divide Russia & China
22:37 Xi Jinping's trip to Russia
23:53 China & Russia commemorate WWII
25:13 Europe & China improve relations
27:11 Trump unites the rest of the world
27:43 Poll: China more popular than USA
29:48 US imperial decline
30:09 China: world's no 1 trading partner
30:28 China: world's no 1 economy
30:51 China: world's no 1 manufacturer
31:36 USA: world's no 1 oil producer
32:24 Canada's election
34:12 Australia's election
35:25 The Trump effect
36:14 Outro

Donald Trump is uniting the world against the US

Donald Trump claimed he would "un-unite" Russia and China, but the US divide-and-conquer strategy is failing. In a meeting in Moscow celebrating the 80th anniversary of their nations' victory in World War Two, Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin reaffirmed that "China-Russia relations have reached the highest level in history" and will "jointly resist any attempts to interfere with and disrupt the traditional friendship and deep mutual trust between China and Russia". Ben Norton explains.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLJ6K_95uWk

Topics
0:00 USA tries to contain China
0:49 (CLIP) Trump vows to divide Russia & China
1:05 Marco Rubio targets China
1:34 (CLIP) Marco Rubio on China "threat"
2:17 Trump admin's Russia strategy
2:33 (CLIP) Rubio wants to "partner" with Russia
2:41 China & Russia are "friends of steel"
3:43 80th anniversary of Victory Day
4:05 Soviet Union defeated Nazi Germany
5:23 China's sacrifice in World War II
6:21 Vietnam resisted Japanese empire
6:50 Putin reaffirms "highest level" China ties
10:23 China-Russia trade
11:52 USA can't offer Russia much
12:36 NATO expansion
13:34 Xi compares US imperialism to fascism
14:38 China-Russia relations
15:16 Xi Jinping on Russia ties
16:46 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)
17:42 Reverse Nixon?
19:08 China's economy
20:31 Kissinger plan to divide Russia & China
23:05 Obama-Clinton "Russian reset" attempt
26:00 China-Russia joint statement
27:29 World Anti-Fascist War
29:09 Closest China-Russia relations in history
31:17 Multipolarity
34:07 BRICS
35:08 Russia joins the Global Majority
36:17 Brazil
36:49 Venezuela
37:27 Cuba
38:18 Burkina Faso leader Ibrahim Traoré
39:08 Palestine
40:14 Vietnam
41:40 US hegemony is declining
42:55 Outro

Trump's attempt to divide Russia & China is failing, badly

What caused the deindustrialization of the US economy? Can Donald Trump really reindustrialize the USA with tariffs? Economists Radhika Desai and Michael Hudson discuss. 

VIDEO with charts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpNql8U6WvE

This is part of the program Geopolitical Economy Hour. You can watch other episodes of the show here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hMl9DkPLikDDGccibhYHnDP

What caused US deindustrialization, and can Trump fix it? Economists explain

Geopolitical Economy Report is an independent news outlet that provides original journalism and analysis to understand the changing world.

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