Livin’ in a Populist Paradise

In the first 48 hours of President-elect Donald Trump’s ascendance to the throne (yes, he’ll be installing a throne), the moves that have been made are straight out of the populism playbook.

The people were angry and felt abandoned by the coastal elite and the moneyed class.

Well, they can now claim a victory. Here are the key highlights of what’s gone on so far:

1. Investment bankers, capital markets, asset management and Too Big To Fail banks have seen their stocks soar 20 to 30%. It represents the biggest two day windfall for stockholding  financial executives I’ve ever seen. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo shares took off as though they were shot out of a cannon. That’ll show ’em.
2. The transition team is starting to take shape –  hedge fund guys, private equity guys, real estate tycoons, bankers, Beltway Insiders. He’s the CHANGE candidate, after all!
3. The Mad Dog of the People met with Barack Obama and called him “a good man.” He congratulated and praised Hillary Clinton. But where are the leg irons? Why aren’t these people in a paddy wagon? “Lock her up! Please?”
4. The name of Jamie Dimon – who exemplifies the corporate and banking interests that supposedly “corrupt” this country and the government – has been floated for Treasury Secretary. “Isn’t Dimon some sort of Jew?” they’ll ask . No, he’s third-generation Greek-American. Is that pure enough for you? “I bet it’s actually ‘Diamond’ and he’s a secret Jew. We need to get to the bottom of this!”
5. Massive deregulation for the financial sector was reaffirmed. Dodd-Frank and the Department of Labor’s fiduciary standard for retirement investments are all on the chopping block. They’ll be stripped and defanged piece by piece, as will consumer protections offered by the CFPB – again, this is textbook We The People stuff. William Jennings Bryan is smiling down from his eternal farmstead in the clouds.
6. Any moment, our coastal elite tax breaks will arrive. We’re told this will be taken care of in the first 100 days. Thank god. As we speak, there are .01-percenters who don’t know where their next luxury high-rise might be coming from.
7. The Affordable Care Act is getting a blanket party immediately. With control over both houses in GOP hands, it’s not long for this world. 24 million people who have just gotten coverage for the first time – in both red states and blue cities – will get something else. Possibly.

Stocks are racing higher, bankers and hedge fund managers are accepting executive roles across the administration and rules protecting the poor and disenfranchised are being fed into the shredder. Can’t wait to see what’s next.