Jonathan V. Last

My view on this is that it usually doesn't take very long for the public to figure out that the state is incompetent because shit starts to happen, right? Yeah. After a while, it gets a little bit harder to blame the previous administration for it, say it's Joe Biden's fault, or to fire someone and replace them with someone else and say, now we've fixed it.

My view on this is that it usually doesn't take very long for the public to figure out that the state is incompetent because shit starts to happen, right? Yeah. After a while, it gets a little bit harder to blame the previous administration for it, say it's Joe Biden's fault, or to fire someone and replace them with someone else and say, now we've fixed it.

My view on this is that it usually doesn't take very long for the public to figure out that the state is incompetent because shit starts to happen, right? Yeah. After a while, it gets a little bit harder to blame the previous administration for it, say it's Joe Biden's fault, or to fire someone and replace them with someone else and say, now we've fixed it.

And we're already seeing ample evidence of this. We're seeing the AP had a story yesterday about the administration members are already at each other's throats, and they can't decide what Elon Musk is doing and who's in charge. And of course, you've got agencies...

And we're already seeing ample evidence of this. We're seeing the AP had a story yesterday about the administration members are already at each other's throats, and they can't decide what Elon Musk is doing and who's in charge. And of course, you've got agencies...

And we're already seeing ample evidence of this. We're seeing the AP had a story yesterday about the administration members are already at each other's throats, and they can't decide what Elon Musk is doing and who's in charge. And of course, you've got agencies...

Where you've had the experts fired and then rehired and you've lost massive amounts of state capacity and you're about to lose a bunch more in the State Department and on and on and on, right? But my view of this is it is mostly self-explanatory to the public because this stuff's just going to happen.

Where you've had the experts fired and then rehired and you've lost massive amounts of state capacity and you're about to lose a bunch more in the State Department and on and on and on, right? But my view of this is it is mostly self-explanatory to the public because this stuff's just going to happen.

Where you've had the experts fired and then rehired and you've lost massive amounts of state capacity and you're about to lose a bunch more in the State Department and on and on and on, right? But my view of this is it is mostly self-explanatory to the public because this stuff's just going to happen.

Yeah, you don't have a choice. They've got, of course, the executive branch. And for at least two years, they've got Congress. So they're going to be incompetent. We don't have to do anything to make that happen. You know, if you could save them, you'd have a moral dilemma, but you can't. Yeah. So get out the popcorn. You know, we should all feel terrible about it, of course.

Yeah, you don't have a choice. They've got, of course, the executive branch. And for at least two years, they've got Congress. So they're going to be incompetent. We don't have to do anything to make that happen. You know, if you could save them, you'd have a moral dilemma, but you can't. Yeah. So get out the popcorn. You know, we should all feel terrible about it, of course.

Yeah, you don't have a choice. They've got, of course, the executive branch. And for at least two years, they've got Congress. So they're going to be incompetent. We don't have to do anything to make that happen. You know, if you could save them, you'd have a moral dilemma, but you can't. Yeah. So get out the popcorn. You know, we should all feel terrible about it, of course.

Because what they're doing is not just a short-term decline in competence. They are demolishing state capacity every day. They are diminishing the government's ability, not just now, but potentially for years to come, to do the things that the American people have assigned it to do. So, yeah, we should feel terrible about this.

Because what they're doing is not just a short-term decline in competence. They are demolishing state capacity every day. They are diminishing the government's ability, not just now, but potentially for years to come, to do the things that the American people have assigned it to do. So, yeah, we should feel terrible about this.

Because what they're doing is not just a short-term decline in competence. They are demolishing state capacity every day. They are diminishing the government's ability, not just now, but potentially for years to come, to do the things that the American people have assigned it to do. So, yeah, we should feel terrible about this.

absolutely terrible, but it won't be down to their political advantage. So Achilles heel number two, and this is the one that I really try to get people to focus on, and that's corruption. By definition, Patrimonialism is everywhere and always corrupt because it substitutes the good of the leader for the good of the public. That's the whole point, right?

absolutely terrible, but it won't be down to their political advantage. So Achilles heel number two, and this is the one that I really try to get people to focus on, and that's corruption. By definition, Patrimonialism is everywhere and always corrupt because it substitutes the good of the leader for the good of the public. That's the whole point, right?

absolutely terrible, but it won't be down to their political advantage. So Achilles heel number two, and this is the one that I really try to get people to focus on, and that's corruption. By definition, Patrimonialism is everywhere and always corrupt because it substitutes the good of the leader for the good of the public. That's the whole point, right?

The government becomes the personal business of that state. So you get petty corruption. You get financial corruption. That's stuff like the famous meme coin exploit on the first term, having people put up at Trump properties. And you get all that stuff.

The government becomes the personal business of that state. So you get petty corruption. You get financial corruption. That's stuff like the famous meme coin exploit on the first term, having people put up at Trump properties. And you get all that stuff.