If you think things are bad now, then, brace yourself: it is about to get a whole lot worse. If you are alarmed at the speed with which the Trump administration has set about dismantling every institution of American government and every pillar of the international order, you must understand that this is not just the initial burst of activity, the “shock and awe” phase after which things will settle down: if anything, the pace will continue to accelerate.
The world has never before been faced with such a threat. The United States has handed the nuclear codes to a madman, a criminal, a would-be dictator and a moron, all in the same person. Whatever the purpose to which he directs these powers – to impress his dictator friends, to further enrich himself and his cronies, to seize absolute power or just to watch the world burn – we must hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.
I agree that in general these are good times. Some groups and demographics are struggling and I do think most people are feeling varying degrees of pressure from inflation and other issues.
Of course, people in hotspots, like Ukraine, Syria, and Gaza, are having a much worse time.
What I do think is a serious risk is that a lot of groups could end up hit very hard if the economy were to go into a downturn. People suffer during every downturn, of course, but I think any downturn now could quickly grow severe and match or exceed the Great Recession.