How Did We Get Here? Starvation Threatens Tens of Millions of Americans!

Hello everybody and welcome to Geopolitical Trends, where truth matters. I'm your host, Dr. Oualaalou, excited to be with you once again. Uh, and just, uh, right off the bat, uh, my mother passed away some 36 years ago, so today is the anniversary for her passing away. It just crossed my mind and So, uh, so funny how life goes, you know. I just wanted to share this with you. So anyway, let's get into our topic, a very disturbing developments that's going on in the United States here regarding how Americans, some of us, are going hungry. Another word, starving. There is not enough food. For a wealthy country like the United States, and you have the trends that is predicting you will have up to 50%— yes, you heard me— up to 50% of the population going hungry. That is very disturbing as to what lies ahead. So I'm going to be providing you my own insights, my own analysis based on facts. I have the links to the references that I found doing the research for it, and I'll share all this with you, and I'll take some questions this time around towards the end. So, but first, let me say hi to our wonderful community. As always, Leanne, good to see you. Arch Crusader, good to see you as always, and many thanks for your continued support. So Arch Crusader is the one that gives a lot of super stickers for the channel. I want you— I want to acknowledge that one. So thank you so much. Zan, good to see you. Casey Wong, as always. Catherine, good to see you from Germany, uh, good to see you here. Willie Holman, as always, from West Memphis. I'm American citizen from Oregon, good to see you. Soccer 088, uh, hopefully you had your wish came through when I had the giant bahndari yesterday. So good to see you here. Uh, as always, uh, Alex Tarokin, good to see you once again. Uh, who else is here? Uh, US Navy vet, oh, good to see you, man, and happy to have you here from the state of New York. Uh, good to see you here. We'll be talking about SNAP, uh, today as I move forward. Uh, uh, Mazhar, good to see you, Mazhar, as always, good to see you. Terry first time I see you here. Good to see you. Great stuff, more please. Thank you very much and appreciate you being here. Igor, as always, good to see you. Uh, Daniel, good to see you here as always. And Cherry, uh, Cherry Tomanos, good to see you here. So, all right guys, I do have some housekeeping items. I'm going to do headlines, uh, in this live stream. I am not going to do geography and history of the United States. I'm going to do it some other time because it's a little bit lengthy. I used to teach, uh, the US government, and I will touch on the history aspect of it, but I decided to do it next time because I have a lot of stuff to cover, uh, uh, in, in this particular, uh, live stream today. So, uh, as I mentioned, just for those who just joining us here, what I'm going to be talking about today, it has to do with the, uh, uh, uh, uh sort of starvation. I, I, I don't feel comfortable using the term, but it's reality. It can be, and you know, some Americans are going hungry, and this is almost, uh, uh, led us to ask about the failure of the system in its entirety. So this is what I'm going to be addressing this today in this live stream. So, uh, for housekeeping, I have, uh, of course next week I will finalize the date and the time with Dr. Yan Liang for her come to come on our, uh, on my channel here, uh, and for you to, uh, listen to what she has to say. She is, uh, very, very, very knowledgeable in her field of economics, and there's something you want to have a better understanding also. Also, I will be addressing on Monday, I will be addressing what's going on in Nigeria. There is more than meet the eyes. And this has nothing to do with the Christians protecting the Christians. I will say, if it is the issue, why not protect the Christians in India? So the double standard of the United States. So I will be addressing this topic for you in detail, so make sure to join me on Monday next week. So, so let's do headlines. I only have two for you. This one has to do with the former president, the incompetent former president Biden, and this has to do with his knowledge. Yes, his knowledge, uh, according to Huffington Post, and I used to write for the Huff Post, uh, Biden ignored the information about Israel's violation of international law. So it was reported yesterday, and this is citing, by the way, uh, this is not just a, a headline We're talking about 3 sources from inside the government who used to be former US officials closer to Biden. So, so this— here is what they stated. They stated that the former president, Joe Biden, that is, was briefed on in late 2024 on information about Israel war on Gaza that raised concerns about the US and Israel officials violating US and international law. But Biden rejected the suggestions from the advisers and went ahead with the support of the US in the genocide that took place, that's still taking place. So what a shame, what a shame. So, uh, this is one thing you can't, you know, it, it, it You know, sad to say, but is the reality. American politicians have no shame whatsoever. So, uh, second headline has to do with Washington accusing Iran. Of course, anytime I see this, I know what's coming. This is the, uh, uh, her name is Inat Kantz. She's the Israeli ambassador to Mexico. Okay, so here is what Washington is saying. Washington accusing Iran of plotting to assassinate the Israeli ambassador. Of course, Mexico denies all these allegations. Nonsense. Well, it is nonsense because here is what I'm going to share with you, and you can reach your own conclusion. So the United States yesterday accused Iran of plotting to assassinate the Israeli ambassador to Mexico. While Mexico, of course, denied the existence of such a plot, and Tehran considered it media fabrications, which I can see the logic into that argument. So, so both, uh, US media outlets, Reuters and the AFP, Associated Press, uh, quoted unnamed US officials Anytime you hear this unnamed US officials saying that Al-Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is the IRGC, began in late 2024 to wave the threat of a plot to target Ambassador Inat Gantz, uh, uh, which is ambassador of Israel to, to Mexico, which was thwarted this year and no longer poses a threat, end of quote. Well, you can see the double duplicity. If the, uh, if the plot was hatched few months ago and you just warned it today, why didn't you react to it earlier? You can just tell something doesn't add up. But at the same time, don't dismiss this fabrication for what might lie ahead. Remember the Iraq invasion about the weapons of mass destruction? Remember now with Nigeria, which I'm going to talk to you about next week? Oh, we got to protect the Christians, which has nothing to do with, with Christians in, in, in Nigeria. So you got my point. So this, I just wanted to share this with you. So let us get in into our topic about really the food shortages that's taking place in the US and how some Americans are going hungry. So, and by the way, as I always say, gloves off in this live stream. I'm not gonna hold back because the facts are the facts. I'm not saying, uh, whatever I'm saying just because I want to be negative. Has nothing to do with negativity. It has to do with the truth and the reality that an average American needs to understand. I feel like this live stream I am speaking on behalf of these Americans who do not have a voice, who do not know what's going on, or they don't have the ability to express their anger at the failure of the government, our government, the incompetent government. So, so here is the thing. What I'm going to do in this conversation, I'm try to sort of examine for you the, the interconnected crisis that's going on right now in the United States. And when I say the United States, I am also referring to the Western democracies per se, because this goes beyond just the United States. So, and, and, and, and I'm gonna touch on the tariffs because the tariffs policies are part of the problem of what's going on that is driving the food inflation, exacerbating this food insecurity which is affecting nearly 50 million Americans. As I said, the research that I conducted, I found some trends suggesting— and this is by academic researchers, this is not some off-the-shelf, uh, uh, article or whatever, we're talking about academia here— the trend that they are suggesting that we will be seeing in the next few years about 50% of the American people going hungry. That is disturbing in the so-called the richest nation on Earth. So, and this is why I wanted to do this for you, and thank you for your voting for this topic because majority of you wants this topic. So I'm decided to do that. Uh, what I wanted to do in this live stream, in this analysis that is, is to sort of documents for you the poverty rise not only in the US but mainly in the Western so-called democracies. And I have two examples for you. Beside the United States is the UK and France. So, and especially when you look at in France, because now France is hit with the 30-year high poverty. The US is facing uncertain future given this, this ill-conceived policies emanating from Washington. So, and now you add to all this, this historic shutdown, which by the way, we shouldn't be proud and using the term historic because it's bad. It's so negative when your government is shut down this long. So this historic government shutdown, which has collapsed now the food assistance for Americans, that's why you You have Americans now going hungry. So disruption— disrupting travel. You have now about 20 to 30% of air traffic, uh, air traffic is going to shut down. And this is where you ask yourself, why aren't we having speed trains that can make up the difference for that? But you need to understand that the lobbyists for the FAA Lobbyists for aviation, those the one blocking any, any developments of high-speed trains in America. You know, when I was in China, all I saw was high-speed train. Yes, there were planes there, people flying. I flew within China in the first trip, you know, and incredible, comfortable, everything reasonably priced. But the high-speed train, majority of, of, of the Chinese travel through that means why aren't we having one here so we don't have to be dealing with this air traffic controllers, whatever. And by the way, just to, uh, ask you here, historically speaking, who do we have to thank for the creation of the air traffic control? Does anybody know under which president the air traffic control became federalized? Let's see if you know. Type in, in a chat box, uh, if, if you know, under, uh, under whose— under which president, uh, the Federal, uh, Aviation or the Air Traffic Controller. Uh, no, no, Alistair Loken, good, good try, but it wasn't Bush. It wasn't Bush. Good try. Someone else, let's see, guys, if there is someone else. Oh, Reagan! You got it, you got it, it was Reagan. Because you all remember the demonstrations, the strikes that the air traffic control— and what they end up doing? Reagan said, we're going to federalize this. So, because here is the thing, if the air traffic controller stays private, we won't be having these problems. We won't be having these problems. And that is part of where this, this problem is. And that is why I wanted to sort of highlight to you This idea of these issues are compounded now with the shutdown that is going on. So, and against this backdrop, you're talking about now the traces. I'm talking about traces because I'm seeing the signs of the American decline, global hegemony, the erosion of these democratic institutions, so-called not only here in the US but wherever democracy is sort of applicable. I give the example of what we talked about yesterday with my guest Jayant Bhandari, uh, and how so-called mother of democracies India clamping down and preventing voters from casting ballot because they didn't want to vote about Modi. So what is this democracy? And when you think about this cascading effects of economic desperation that is going on right here in the United States, because this is going to lead to social instability. So, and I'm going to be providing you some examples as evidence that it is experienced in this Western democracies per se. So here is the thing, so far the SNAP program Just for you to have an understanding about the SNAP program, which by the way, uh, just, just to, uh, understand what this is all about. So the SNAP program as of today covers about 42 million Americans in the United States. So, and usually the beneficiaries of this are low-income families inside the United States that include also families of former military, uh, of, of veterans. This is why if you happen to be an American, you know what I'm talking about. When you drive and you stop by a traffic light and you see some homeless person standing there, so just asking for a dollar or two, do you know that the majority of those people are veterans? The reason I'm saying this, because I pulled over and chat with one of them It was heartbreaking to find out, and especially when I found out the individual was a part of the Night Stalker Force. If you know the military, you wouldn't know what I'm talking about. Night Stalkers are special ops based in North Carolina, Fort Bragg, and all of a sudden he's homeless standing in the streets. You know, I just couldn't— I just couldn't believe it. This is the government that is now disregarding the people who gave their lives. Whether it was for the right reasons, right, beside the point. And those are part of the families that are benefiting from this SNAP program. So now, studies conducted recently have shown that this program, the SNAP that is, has helped families at least sustain some nutrition, some health level, if I may use the term, and psychologically prevent them from depression. Because when you go hungry, when you have nothing to eat, you fall into depression. And those are the most vulnerable groups in our society. So, and here is the sad part: despite the existence of approximately, to my knowledge, about $5 billion In a reserve fund that is supposed to be used under such circumstances, they have not been used. It shows you just the incompetency of Washington. And when I say Washington, I am referring to the president administration, I am referring to Congress, and I am referring also to other governors around the country. So, and this is why the federal authorities decided not to resort to this reserve fund to help Americans, not let them starve. So, and it just shows you where things are. So millions of Americans now are at risk of starvation. It's just mind-boggling to be even using the term starvation right here in the United States. And I am afraid it's going to become the norm. And this due to incompetencies of the US government and of course a corrupted Congress. So we are looking at the real challenges that exist right here. The first one starts with the rising food costs. So inadequate minimum wage relative to the living expenses that exist, the gap in the social safety net programs that exist, and of course the regional disparity that exists in food access, even when you go from one state to the next. So, and of course what, what was helping a little bit is this SNAP program. So you look at, for example, the school meal programs for the kids. You know, we are aware of that them children in some elementary schools, they don't have food in a weekend. They are only able to eat during Monday through Friday school time because of lunch at school. And that shouldn't, shouldn't exist in the so-called richest nation on Earth. Nation, uh, richest in what? So this is why you have the food banks now providing assistance, but the food banks are running out of food, and that's leading to legitimate debate. And this legitimate debate is really whether the government is able to do its functions properly, efficiently, because the policies so far are not effective. The funding is not sufficient enough when we are sending billions and billions of dollars to Ukraine, corrupted country, when we are sending billions to Israel. What for? And Israel have free healthcare, free education for its citizens. And come on, you know, you gotta, you gotta, you gotta talk reality here. And this is again where you start to ask, did Trump policies also contribute to this problem? And a majority of the scholars agree that it did exacerbate the situation even more, because there is substantial evidence now that Trump's tariff policies have contributed to the rise in food prices. And I'm going to share with you numbers. So the data, the direct data that is now since Trump came to power. So the direct impact on food, uh, cost— economic analyses estimated that tariffs have raised food cost by about 3.4% in the short run, and with sort of— you have the prices expected to stay at about 3% higher in the long run. An average family here in America cannot afford that. So when you have grocery prices going up just in August this year, August 2025, going up at their fastest pace in about 3 years. So the tariffs cited as a major contributor alongside some other issues. And yet we are going and sending our tax dollars to Ukraine. What for? Sending it to Israel? What for? Sending it to aid to Jordan? What for? Sending it to Egypt? What for? And this is why most Americans didn't get it, that these tariffs is the American consumers that's going to be paying it. And why this matter for food security? It's because if grocery prices go up substantially while wages are stagnant, it directly reduces the purchasing power for families already struggling with food costs. It doesn't take genius to figure this out. And the problem with this is that most of the trends are suggesting that this is going to worsen moving forward. When you consider— here is the problem also— when you consider an average family in America is living paycheck to paycheck, so where is this richest nation on Earth? What, what? That's baloney. That's nonsense. That's like when you hear about the American president or the leader of the free world. What free world are we talking about? Stop this nonsense, because it is nonsense. And most of us Americans, some, I shall not generalize, not willing to hear the truth because the truth doesn't have to be sort of soft-spoken, doesn't have to be quoted or coded, that is. Truth has to be said as is. This is what matters. And this, I'm starting to ask the questions, is poverty now descending on American citizens like what we see in the UK, like what we see in France, in addition to some other Western, uh, countries? It's legitimate question to ask because to me I'm looking at the trends. So when you think about— and I'm gonna give you some stats here— when you— and I'll talk about the United States first. When you think about the poverty rate in the United States, I have some pictures to share with you here. Uh, by the way, this is LA, Los Angeles. Yeah, forget about what you see in the movies. Los Angeles is not the Hollywood Boulevard. That's just one part of a much bigger city. You have to go to the places where you see the massive poverty. You will say to yourself, am I in the United States or some poor country? This is the harsh reality that the government is not willing to accept and let American people know. So the poverty rate in the United States in 2024 and 2025, so the data that has been provided, of course they're gonna have you believe that is descending. Another word is getting lesser and lesser poor people. But, but the facts on the ground says otherwise. They are very concerning in some areas. Of course, we're talking about the collective West in general. So for the United States, the stat— the stats that's coming out of Labor Department is stating that, oh, the poverty rate in America has fell by about 10% in 2024. Are you gonna believe that? It's no different than what the US said in the same year, that the inflation is not going up, the inflation is only 2.4%, when in reality it wasn't. The former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was really lying to our faces. So, and at that time, and even if you go with the stats of '23 and '24, it was affecting about 36 million Americans. So, and this is where that sort of support from the government programs has, has helped a little bit, but not much, not much. So even if we go with the argument that poverty is stagnant when measured more comprehensively, I mean, personally, and I speak for myself, will I trust what the government is saying? No. And this is the much bigger problem that is now facing some of us Americans, is how much trust in the government has been eroded. You can't trust Washington, whatever it says. So, so despite official stats showing improvements, I won't trust it. I won't buy it because I see— I go in the streets, I go in the corners, at least where I live, in the city, I know where to go and see. And more traveling is the future outlook. This is again what, what really concerns me the most, because the Congressional Budget Office estimated that under the one so-called big, big beautiful bill, you know, act that passed on July 25th— you're all aware of that— the bottom 10% of household, we lose— yeah, we lose about $1,214 every year. So while the top 10% will gain about 13,626%. I'm gonna provide you the link where I got this information, and you can read it yourself. And decide for yourself. Let's talk about France. France shows a more worrying trend that is going on because France has registered concerning numbers with the poverty rate reaching its highest level since 1996, basically rising from 14.4% in 2022 to 15.4% in 2023. So France is at risk. Poverty rate reached now 16% as of December 2024. And you know what? The younger people in France are affected the most, and we affected by about 20 2% of those between the age of 18 and 24 which are at the risk of poverty. How about the UK? And I got some pictures for you from the UK. And once again, we're not pointing fingers here, I'm just showing you. And I'm going to show you pictures from Houston, state of Texas, pictures from New York, pictures from California. So let me start with the UK. Uh, where is the UK? Right here. Just one picture to show you. In the UK, over 1 in 5 people, or 14.3 million individuals, were in poverty in 2023, with 21% of the population affected. And this, by the way, it includes 8.1 million working-age adults. 4.3 million children and 1.9 million pensioners, meaning people who receive pensions. It's not enough, they're still living in poverty. What's alarming in the UK is that the child poverty rate is higher at around 3 in every 10 children. So poverty This is why it's getting very, very bad in the UK, very bad. And yet the UK also sending its money to Ukraine. Good luck. So as of 2025, we're still in the UK, approximately 14.3 million people in the UK are considered living in poverty. And I'm talking about the recent, uh, uh, uh, stats as of the end of December 2024, with 4.3 million children, 8.1 million working age, and 1.9 million pensioners living in poverty. So a, a big concern is that the child poverty is increasing. For the third consecutive year in the UK. And by the way, we seeing the same reflection of that here in the US. So, and especially in the UK, is because the group like families with children or the ethnic minorities or the disabled individuals, those the one that are experiencing disproportionately higher rate of poverty for a simple reason. The rising cost of living has exacerbated the problems within the UK and Europe writ large for about 14% of households in the UK, and that applies to the entire Europe, brother Europe. And when you say— when I say Europe, I am also referring to the collective West, so-called. This leads me now to talk— let me show you pictures, by the way, of, uh, of Houston right here in Texas. People living in the street. So I'm going to show you a picture in San Francisco right here. I'm going to show you a picture of Alabama County in Alabama, state of Alabama, right there. And this is where, if we are to say we are so rich, why we having poor people? Why the government is inefficient? And this is LA, by the way. So, and this leads me to ask the much bigger question, because this inefficiency and incompetence in the government, is this a reflection of the US global hegemony that is coming to an end? You know, as a geopolitical analyst, I have to ask the fundamental question: is the US global hegemony coming to an end? Simple as that. So when you ask the experts— and when I say experts, I'm talking about expertise in academia, I'm not talking about YouTubers here, let me just put this out straightforward, and I don't shy away from saying the things that matter— when we're talking about experts, we're talking about academic credentials, we're talking about professional experience. You spend decades working in a certain field that you acquired the necessary expertise for you to talk intelligently, objectively, and substantively. So the expert consensus is suggesting that US global hegemony is declining. Indeed, I've been arguing this since 2003. Especially when I made the case. I remember in Washington at the time, and I was like, you know, you guys need to understand that the world is changing, and it's changing gradually, whether we like it or not. And you better have strategies in place to deal with this in the next 15, 20 years. And here we are. So when you think about this problem of the US decline because it's, it's, it's reflected through the policies. It's not just that, it's the structural decline markers that exist within the system. This is why I asked the question, is this the failure of the system? And the answer is yes. So when you have the structural decline markers, for example You think about the US share of the global GDP has fallen from 50% in the mid-20th century to approximately 15% today, when adjusted, of course, for purchasing power parity. When you think about BRICS, you know, its output of goods and services amount to about 34 to 35%. Of the global GDP. The US is only 15%. So, and when I looked at the research modeling about this vis-à-vis the great historical, uh, great power that is projects, it's the, it's a turning point. It's a turning point when it comes down to American global primacy. So simple as that. So because the US right now, through this, uh, Americans going hungry, through this massive national debt, through this wasteful spending, through the policies that you have individuals inside the government that are not qualified to be there to begin with, all this exhibits the key markers for a decline. I'm not even talking about the internal divisions that exist. And don't get me wrong, both the Republicans and the Democrats are two faces of same coin. Don't think this also has to do only with the current president. Yes, the current president contributed to this, but don't forget the one before him and the one before him. It's the system. And this is why, in my opinion, I'm seeing this as the great key markers for this decline that is going on. And when you think about the current trajectory for the US, so because the world— yeah, the whole world is exiting, meaning is leaving the US hegemony as the global system, because the global system has shifted from that Cold War bipolarity as it was, which was between 1945 almost to 1990, or 19— yeah, 1990, 1989 to be exact, but 1990. So it moved from that bipolar, uh, bipolar, uh, uh, uh, system to a unipolar. That was back then. Which, by the way, it was under the American Empire, so-called, 1989 to 2007. And I, I promise you guys, next time I talk about the US, I'll do the history and geography because it's important to understand one aspect in history. And now you look at the current multipolar, uh, order, which is no, no doubt about it, is typified by China's rise. You know, I've been arguing this in the— as I said, the beginning of 2000s. You guys don't see— when I was— when I received the call from the Pentagon, when I went to the military and so forth, they reached out to me. Anyway, without getting into details here, and I, I said, well, myself, I said, you know, I'd like to go learn Chinese. And you know what the question that I got? Why? Why would you want to learn Chinese, Mr. Oh? And I said, you don't see what's coming, do you? And I realized the people are looking at the end of their nose. They didn't see far enough. And this is exactly what is going on right now. So you have this rising global competition that we cannot compete with. You have the internal division exist right here. All this signaled the waning of the American hegemony. So, and we are, let alone, we are facing a widening income gap, inequalities that exist here, political polarization that exists, and of course, almost like, you know, we have no, no, no collective purpose anymore. When you stand as a nation This is something I liked when I was in China and I saw my first year, which by the way, the community funded that trip and I thank the community for that. And it was during the national holiday and I'm seeing so many are traveling within China itself. Half a billion people travel during the holidays and just how it's almost was like this unity is because they are content with what their government is doing for them, because the government is supposed to work on behalf of the citizens. And I said to myself, oh, how much I wish we have something like that. And here is the sad part here, is that these current policies that we have are accelerating, and they are accelerating the decline Once again, I'm talking based on the research conducted by scholars and academia. Most of the scholars who are in the know argue that Trump's current policies have hastened this decline. We're not just blaming Trump. Let's be fair. You don't just blame one individual. It's an entire system. And this, by the way, didn't start last year or the year before. This starts back in the mid-'80s when the US decline start to erode. So this is where the, the Trump administration has accelerated this fractured industrial order. So, and you look at with what we doing in the world, you look at now what are we doing in Venezuela, for example. You look at, we fomenting tensions in the South China Sea, we pushing Philippines to war, we want to go to Nigeria, we want to arm Japan, we want to arm North Korea, South Korea, Australia, we want to take over, you know, Middle East, it's a mess because of us, we creating that, allowing Israel to do whatever. All this, it comes to a point where the strength of the American will disappear, and it is disappearing. So this is why Trump is only sort of bringing a hasty end to the so-called the American Century. It's over. And this is why you have this key debate among those experts, because the American— one thing is sure, the American dominance is waning. Whether we like it or not. Of course, there are those who say, oh no, no, no, no, no, no, Dr. O, there is no such thing. We still are the major power. Yeah, to a degree, but overall, if I am to conduct a survey today around the world, you will be surprised. But the US is on a timeline and severity of this decline. And what you're seeing For Americans going hungry is an exhibition of that. Of course, like I said, there are those who will say, oh, it's gradual decline, it will take next 50 years. I don't think so. I am looking at the next decade. America will be somewhere else, will be another country. This accelerated collapse— and I feel comfortable using the word collapse, because I live here and I see, I know what to look for. So what is clear is that the American predominance can no longer depend on so-called this network of alliances and so-called military dominance to maintain its influence, because we've been exposed. Look at us against the Houthis or Ansarullah, just one example. We're not even talking China yet. So this is where I am, I'm, I'm arguing that what you are seeing with this food insecurity— because here is the other question that, you know, as, as, as, as an observer, and I is concerned, is concerning to me big time, because the other question that I had to ask within this context of the food insecurity is that— and I'm going to ask you this, guys, please just answer yes or no. In your opinion, will food insecurity in the United States lead to social chaos and unrest? Let me repeat, in your opinion, will the food insecurity in the US lead to social chaos and unrest? Let me just see what your answer is. Based on what you know. Oh, Piano Man, you say yes. Uh, Bamsoy, yes, eventually. Francis Tango, yes. Jig, uh, Jigwag say yes. Uh, not agree. Yes, it will. Uh, Sergeant, they will, uh, but they won't revolt. I see your point. Uh, Val, you, you put, uh, let me share this with the community. You know, Dr. O, it will be used as an excuse for widespread martial law. You got a point there. I want, I want to rule that out. Uh, uh, Lock, you say no, it will not lead to that. Okay, good, good answer. This is the beauty of having a conversation. We gotta hear all perspectives. We might disagree, but beside the point. In our community, we listen to each other, we exchange ideas. But suffice it to say— and thank you for answering that— suffice it to say that I am finding myself asking this question because this is a consequential question. So that's, that's to me just— I am looking at other examples around the world when the population was squeezed. I will even go back in history to France when the gap start to be widening between the poor and the re— the rich in a society in France at the time. What happened to the King of France? Put him on la guillotine, was done for. French Revolution, what led to it? It's exactly what we are witnessing right here today, just in a different time and a different setting. So, because what you're looking at, there is some sort of— when you think about it, if you are to analyze this, analyze the relationship between food insecurity, economic distress, and social stability in the US, you will find out that food insecurity, okay, food insecurity social unrest and the— you— and, and, and chaos, this some sort of have a common— and have a common link. And this is based on a research because the trajectory is very concerning. So because most of the experts who've been asked about this question, they're saying we are projecting— and I put this in quote because I found it as is in the research We are projecting an imminent chaos, end of quote. And here is what the evidence suggests, and I'm gonna share it with you. So the immediate crisis that we are dealing with right now, you have 47.4 million people in the United States living in a food insecurity household, okay? This is in 2023. Guess what happened to that number? It increased by about 3.2 million from the year before, and it increased by about 13.5 million from the year before, meaning 2021, 2022, 2023. So, and this represents about 1 in every 7 households, which means what? Nearly 20% of children across the United States are going hungry. We are also talking about rural areas. This is why MAGA in rural areas are turning on Trump. And this is where the projection is, is that the child You know, child food insecurity, another word, child starvation, let's just say it as is, is going to be reaching as high as 50%, and that in itself leading to the accelerated deterioration. That is exactly what's going on. So, so the situation is appearing to be worsening, and the Trump administration, or Of course, decision in September that he will end the annual food insecurity survey has exacerbated and contributed to a much bigger problem. So, and that tells you right there, Trump had no idea what he was doing. What Trump doesn't know— Trump, he just listened to whatever. Trump is not equipped for the position he's in. Simple as that. So, because you have to think of the big picture, now you think about the psychological and the health consequences of this food insecurity or, or starvation of children and some families. So, and I'm not going to be talking about depression, anxiety, social isolation, difficult— difficulties in concentrating at work or school, chronic conditions, you know, usually a psychologist will be well equipped to address that. But that doesn't mean I will not bring it to your attention to be aware of. My big concern has to do more with the unrest, social chaos, because that is what I see coming. Because here is the thing, even the government, Washington itself, own statement, its own statements acknowledges the connection. Food insecurity combined with the factors, with, with other factors, can lead to price spikes, social unrest, political tensions, and conflicts. And I'm going to provide you the link where you can read on all this, should you decide to do so. This is again where the, the problem, uh, that I am concerned about is because historical precedents exist, and this historical precedents, precedent suggests that societies experience growing unrest when a large segment of society face economic desperation. But of course, the timing depends on whether conditions stabilizes or deteriorates further. And I don't see the conditions stabilizing here, is the other direction. So the deeper concern that these researchers have found sort of that, that what Trump did with cancellation of SNAP, the, the food programs, and, and the policymakers who are incompetent and corrupted, they just couldn't take stand, will certainly, will certainly contribute to what was going on. So, and the shutdown in itself is just adding more chaos and conflicts to what's going on. So the US is currently experiencing the longest government shutdown. This is not something to be proud of. That really shows our incompetency on the global stage. It shows how ineffective our government— it questions now the system in itself, that is, merit, questions the so-called democracy, questions the so-called the right of a citizen to prosper and questions, of course, question, of course, the role of the government in serving its constitu— its constituents or its citizens. That is, that is part of where the problem. But when you think about the impact this shutdown having on average Americans are substantially and rapidly escalating. So you think about, and I'm going to give you a few examples, the scale of disruption, just basics. In the government, you have about 1.5 to almost 1.6 million federal employees. So they have either been furloughed or are working without pay. I had to go yesterday to the airport, okay? Those are federal workers for the DHS, DHS, the Homeland Security. You know, they're working but no pay. What kind of— your moral will not— your morale rather will not be what it is if you are working without being paid. Isn't that what capitalism system is all about? There is no free lunch. But this is the scale of disruption that exists. And as a matter of fact, many of those federal employees are on track to miss another paycheck. By the end of this week. So over 1 million federal workers are working without paycheck, and that includes air traffic controllers. So how about if you privatize air traffic controllers? Let private sector take over. This is what happened when you have an inefficient government. And I'm not saying that the government should not play a role I'm saying when the government is inefficient. But the most immediate crisis of all this is the food insecurity or food assistance collapse. And I feel comfortable using the term because this aspect is hitting vulnerable Americans the hardest. The SNAP program, which was funding, has run dry now. And the states are scrambling to issue some sort of, uh, assistance of sort. Well, why are we still sending billions of dollars to Ukraine? Why are we giving money to Israel? Why are we giving money to Egypt, Jordan? You know, why are we even giving our money outside? I'm not against helping, but you help somebody in need, not at the expense of your citizens going hungry. So, and I'm not even talking about the travel disruption. And this is again why I brought the idea of the speed trains. Can you imagine if we had speed trains? Will we be running to this issue now? No, no, we won't. And the big— them— the big concerns of them all, for me personally, is that more than 8 thousand children has lost access to Head Start. Head Start is program for the learning aspects and so forth. Military families are also experiencing acute hardship. Military base food pantry in Kansas City saw a 300% increase in traffic as service members' families sought assistance. We're talking about veterans. Shame on our government, you know. I wonder why when I asked Michael, my son, I asked him, do you want to go military? He said, forget about it. And I asked why. He said, you know, how can I count on a government that doesn't take care of the veterans? And he drives now, he goes out, he say, I see outside I see you got a point there. Add on all the top of all this is the political stalemate, the stalemate that exists between both the Democrats and Republicans. That's why I'm saying, especially for my American audience, don't get swayed. Oh, now is the turn, Democrats going to do better. They will not. There is an agreement between both parties behind the scenes. This is why you only have two-party systems in ours. They were not allowed third party. You have to understand, you have to wake up, see the reality. And this is nothing new, by the way. This was settled when the United States was formed. So the Founding Fathers did plan on this this way for it to stay. And for the last 150 years, the system has been controlled that way. So when you think about the, the Democrats going to be talking about, well, we're going to have to extend the Affordable Care Act and, and all that stuff. Republicans, on the other hand, they're going to say, no, we will not if you do this and do that. How this is going to serve the American people? Why the corrupted members of Congress are have to be submissive to AIPAC? You know, as a matter of fact, yesterday, by the way, yesterday in Congress, the efforts, the effort to end the government shutdown have faltered. It faltered again in the US Senate. Yesterday. It tells— it shows you right there, you know. Will those members of Congress or even the president himself, will they care about average American? No, no, because these people don't have to worry about food prices. They don't have— they, they live in a parallel world, but they don't understand the long-term damage to all this. So, because you're going to have to realize the long-term impact of what's going on, this dysfunctional, uh, government and the policies and so forth that impacting now the air traffic, healthcare, food inspection, uh, in whatever else. Yeah, it just, it's just a long-term impact will be much worse. And since I mentioned to you earlier about France, UK, Europe at large, it leads me also to ask, you know, a question that I need to ask with all this going on: is democracy on its last leg in the US and the collective, uh, uh, West? Or let me rephrase it in a way: Is democracy on its last leg in the US and other so-called democracies? Because to me, it's, it's an important question to ask. So, because we can't assume that things are not connected, because here is the harsh reality. You know, if you know where to look for information. There have been studies and analyses conducted on this particular topic, and you know what? The state, the state of democracy globally and in a Western world is going down. For example, you think about the evidence suggests that democracy is experiencing a severe crisis globally and mainly in the West, especially here in the United States. And by the way, the analysis was conducted this year. And when I think about the global picture, is even dire. The quality of global democracies hit an all-time low as of the end of last year, 2024, with the overall Global Democracy Index score falling from 5.52 in 2006 to a historic low of 5.1 in 2024. And this is according to CSPI, and I'm going to provide you the link for this. So once again, you can read it at your own time when you have time to— if you want to read up more. So when you look at 45 countries Okay, 45 countries, as is the argued, autocracy comprising more than 3 billion people, or 40% of the world population. And for the first time, for the first time in 50 years, there are more countries moving in the wrong direction than so-called democracy. So, but if I am to think, and since we are talking about the United States here, about the United States specifically, the US has been demoted from a full democracy to a flawed democracy since 2016. And this with the 32% of Americans finding sort of authoritarian regimes as the best solution for governance. The degree of the democratic erosion here in the United States, you know, it is severe. It's backsliding. The thing is the distinctive speed by which it's going. And I can touch on this, I'm not gonna get into it, but if I am to touch on it, for example, from what the NSA, for example, will do with your access to computer, your phone, collecting all that information about you and all that gives them an idea. You know what I mean? I— even this platform, you all know what happened way back, or even recently, investigation regarding this, how many videos have been removed because they were critical of some aspects. So this is again where you see, uh, this, this, this distinctive speed by which it's going. And of course, with the arrival of Donald Trump It just— the US so-called democracy is being put to test, you know, more than ever. But again, you know, if we are to talk about this democracy, you know, why aren't we taking care of our own people first? In a democracy, you're not supposed to let your people go hungry. You know, is this what we always say about North Korea, that people are hungry? Well, if we are to say at least there are a different system. But you can't claim that when you're doing the same thing. And this is where the problem here in the US, you know. And here is the thing: when you have the pace of autocratization— so autocracy, basically, that's what it means— and this was based on a on a, on a, a researcher, researcher whose academic background focuses on the study of democracy. This is not somebody talking on top of his head. So, so here is what he's saying, is that if this current trend continue, the United States will definitely no longer qualify as a democracy before the end of this year. So, and that applies also to Western Europe. France was degraded from a full democracy to flawed the same way. And this also creates a much deeper threat to what's going on regarding the, the, uh, uh, sort of in, in other countries. When we say, for example,, uh, in India since, since we talked about this yesterday, you know, uh, why India will shut down millions and prevent millions from voting, you know? Isn't that their right under so-called democracy? So, but again, are you gonna trust Modi's government or even our government? And I'm not picking on India here because we have the same problem here, you know, the system is flawed. And that is the reason why I wanted to bring this to your attention. Let me see if you have any questions. I will answer them for the— first of all, I want to say thank you to Francis Tango for your continued support. Francis, truly appreciate you. Uh, what about job opportunities? Uh, that's another conversation altogether, Francis, because the big concern now— there is a concern in the United States regarding the layoff that is on the horizon when the, uh, AI is fully implemented. It is a big concern coming up. So, so, so thank you very much, Francis, for this one. Oh, you got another super sticker here. Truly, if you are hungry, should you go to work or not, Dr. O? You won't function properly. A lot of people, uh, once again, thank you, Francis, truly appreciate you. A But just to give you an idea about the link between— and again, I am not a psychologist. Dr. Stewart will be well qualified to talk about this since his specialty, uh, he's qualified, he's a certified psychologist, but also his, his, his specific domain is brain chemistry. And if you understand how the brain chemistry works, especially vis-à-vis its link to food, you know, you know, uh, if you don't eat well you're not going to be— you don't have enough energy. Your, your, your, your clarity of mind will not be there. Your energy will be down. You'll be lethargic. You, you just have no desire for whatsoever. You won't be, you know, food is essential. Of course, that comes with what type of food do you eat? Are you eating junk food or are you eating quality food? You know, and again, I agree— I disagree with those who said Well, the good food is so expensive, Dr. O. I am not denying that. I'm not denying that, but you don't need to go and buy, you know, do I go and buy a $35 steak? No, I don't. You know, I don't, but I will buy a good quality steak that is grass-fed. And I know that there is no GMO in it and so forth, because eating well is very, very important. And now when you have Americans going starving, it just— I'm seeing the big picture here, guys, the bottom line of it. I'm seeing the big picture. Concerns me about where the country is here, the United States, is headed. But I've been also critical of the government and will continue to be no matter what. I will continue to be because that is the duty and the right of a citizen to criticize the government is a duty. You're not being negative, you're not being this, you're not being that. It's because somebody has to speak truth to power. You know, I feel, you know, this live stream here, I'm speaking on behalf of those Americans who do not have an opportunity to express their anger, to express their frustration, to express their concern.— and of course to share with the rest of us. You know, if we are united as a nation, everybody needs to know what's going on with the country. But we are not. And that again leads me to ask the question about, you know, is the system in itself coming to an end? Because there are quite legitimate questions about the viability of the so-called capitalism. And again, I look at the model of China. I'm not saying we need to adopt the China model, might not work for us here, but I am seeing at least when you have a competent government that is working on behalf of its citizens, the projects it creates, the, the how they facilitating the livelihood of an average citizen. I'm not talking about handout, I'm talking about the opportunities the government is creating. And this is again why the US does not want the Americans to be aware of the developments that exist in other countries. And this is why I am debating at this time and make a decision at the end of the year whether to go again for my third trip to China. But this time it's going to have to be a specific region We'll get to that in due time. So, but suffice it to say, you know, the concern that I see here is that more and more people are worrying. I am— when I go groceries and I watch, people are looking at the prices but also debating, do I buy this now or not? You see less and less people in a grocery store. Some shelves do not have certain items, which wasn't common to see here in the United States. And again, to me, it's not about criticizing the government. It is about being proactive. And if my duty is to speak the truth, then that's what I will do. Because you reach a point in your life where you're going to start asking yourself What am I here for? What am I doing? If you are to just sit, eat, sleep, and, and that's not an existence. That's a hollow existence. And you better look inside and start asking the questions that matters regarding your existence. And that's how I feel for why I wanted to address these topics. As a matter of fact, moving forward, I will be addressing at least once every 2 or 3 weeks, I will be addressing topics pertaining to the US here because I need Americans to understand. I need Americans to wake up. You know, I don't have millions of subscribers, whatever. I, I— that ain't my, my objective. You know, another word, I don't have a large audience. I don't have sponsors, otherwise I will move this to the next level. I work with what I have, and this is what I have right now. I have my mind, I have my knowledge, I have my drive, I have my determination, and I have you, my community. And that's my objective for all this. So, and with this, I'm going to end. I wish you a good weekend, safe weekend. Enjoy it, and I look forward to seeing you next week. So Uh, uh, for those who wanted to, uh, support the channel, should you decide to do this, here is the link for that. I would greatly appreciate your support. As I mentioned, I don't have supporters here. I don't have, rather, uh, uh, yeah, uh, a sponsor. I have you. So I'm gonna put the link for you in the description, and many thanks in advance for this. So Uh, to those who say thank you, you are most welcome, and I truly enjoyed being with you guys, and I look forward to seeing you next week. As always, remember, geopolitics impacts your daily life in more ways than one. Till next time, bye-bye.