This week we named what’s actually happening to the American economy—Corporate Colonialism, the full realization of the Powell Memo’s 50-year project to hand the keys of democracy to the boardroom—and made the case that the real fight isn’t Trump, it’s the day after Trump. Then we got into the AI financing structures that are starting to look uncomfortably familiar: shell companies, off-balance-sheet guarantees, and phantom liabilities that only become real when everything goes wrong at once. If you get 2007 vibes, you’re paying attention.
This week we named what’s actually happening to the American economy—Corporate Colonialism, the full realization of the Powell Memo’s 50-year project to hand the keys of democracy to the boardroom—and made the case that the real fight isn’t Trump, it’s the day after Trump. Then we got into the AI financing structures that are starting to look uncomfortably familiar: shell companies, off-balance-sheet guarantees, and phantom liabilities that only become real when everything goes wrong at once. If you get 2007 vibes, you’re paying attention.
Chapters
Intro: 00:00:38
Housekeeping: 00:01:28
Quick Takes: 00:02:31
Max Notes: 00:06:33
Killer Left Take of the Week: 00:15:17
Chart of the Week: 00:16:57
Outro: 00:22:47
Resources
Reuters: US retail sales slump unexpectedly and sharply after a summer tax-refund boost fades
AARP: July 2026 Employment Data Digest
The Guardian: US navy veterans and military health experts express concern over USS Abraham Lincoln sailors
CNBC: AOC says she’s been saving up to freeze her eggs. Here’s how much the procedure can cost
npr: ICE plans to outfit officers with electric shock gloves
Truthout: Jeffries Says He Opposes Medicare for All — Which Would Save 114k Lives Yearly
Great Memos: The Powell Memorandum
More Perfect Union: We Tracked the Private Jets Your Insurance Premium Paid For
Bloomberg: Bond Traders Are Agonizing Over $70 Billion of Shadow Credit Backstops For AI Companies
UNFTR Resources
Video: On The Record 08-18-26 (The AI Bubble is About to Burst | Corporate Control of Trump.)
Essay: Trump’s Corporate Masters.
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