The Witness Chronicles, 12/22/24

Elon is far worse than you might think

I’m Starting to Understand What Elon Musk is Really Up To

And it has nothing to do with cutting government spending

It has taken awhile to suss out what exactly is driving Elon Musk but a picture is starting to emerge and it is sickening greed for money and power on a level never seen here before.

Musk was born in South Africa, a country known for extreme racism among its white colonialist population. Despite the uplifting changes there over the last forty years, that Afrikaner racial superiority culture is still very dominant. Leaders like Nelson Mandela changed things but in the moneyed upper class there not much has changed.

That is the background of the wealthiest man on the planet with an estimated new worth of $440 billion and growing and now he is using that vast fortune to engineer a takeover of the US economy to benefit his own interests and reinstate a racist class state.

The conflicts of interest are extensive. But let’s look at the last week of tumult as he played his hand trying, largely unsuccessfully despite Trump supporting him, to take over the budget of the United States and bypass democracy. Yes, the scale is that big.

First, this debt ceiling stuff. Musk and Trump skewered the bipartisan budget deal negotiated across the aisle to keep the government open before Christmas. At the last minute they twisted arms to kill it in the House, then demanded drastic changes, including raising the federal debit ceiling, something conservative right wingers opposed.

They failed but they also revealed their motivations, and that’s not all. Trump wanted the debt ceiling raised so he could hand out more huge tax breaks for corporations and extremely wealthy individuals, like Musk, without limitation.

I realize this can be a little arcane but with an upper limit on spending (the debt ceiling) Trump’s hands would be tied so he demanded it be eliminated. The last time he did that he single-handedly raised the total debt of the federal government by 25%, an estimated $4 trillion. So much for fiscal responsibility on the right.

And those task breaks would give Musk billions more. And that is just the beginning. His other big issue involves a very serious threat to US national security involving giving the Chinese government access to advanced technology including AI chip design, again just to enrich himself.

The first budget deal they killed included a limitation on US investment in China in advanced manufacturing. Musk has been working with the Chinese government to build multiple massive Tesla plants there and to build out his own AI in China, requiring the use of classified semi-conductors and advanced computer systems on the ground in China where they would undoubtedly be compromised by the government.

China desperately needs access to these systems and technologies for the development of advanced weapons systems. Their ability to hack into businesses located in China is a given.

Musk and Trump succeeded in killing that provision in a striking failure of Congress to protect vital US assets that could be used against us. Again to make Musk even more money and power. And his money is the weapon he is hanging over the Republican Party.

It’s a remarkably sinister strategy only made possible by his astounding wealth. It works like this. If a Republican candidate opposes anything Musk or Trump support, they will run a primary candidate against them and provide unlimited funding to them from Musk’s war chest. And not just federal candidates, any candidates.

Two things. First, Musk can hand out literally unlimited money and never miss it. And it has cast a chill over any Republican opposition to anything he wants, all the way down to the local level. Money is the club politicians use to beat qualified candidates and Trump, through Musk, has tapped into an unlimited supply.

One of the things we’re watching this past week is just how Musk has made an end run around Trump, manipulating his ego to essentially take over his administration. The question is how long will Trump let this guy overshadow him? There are a lot of bets going on in DC about that.

It’s important to note that Musk got the big things he wanted and Trump did not. That will not go over well when the dust settles.

If there is a flaw in this plan it is Musk’s epic arrogance. The man is insufferable and not well liked across the board. He has nothing but disdain for democracy or rules of any kind. There is not a shred of compassion in the man. And literally no one in the country bestowed this power on him by voting for him for anything.

This is a major flaw and it is the one thing right now that can sideline him, but many Republicans rightly fear the power of his money. It’s notable that his focus is on corrupting the Republican Party rather than the Democrats. That will change if he is successful.

To reiterate, the wild card here is Trump’s ego. I’m not sure the country wants to depend on that to stop this guy, but right now it’s what we got until the Dems get their act together. If they get their act together.

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