MARKET PERSPECTIVE

By J Mulraj

March 8- 14, 2025

Lessons in mis-governance

Image created by Bing

A controversy has broken out in America about the use/misuse of Autopens. These are mechanical devices use to automatically create multiple signatures, used by celebrities (to give thousands of autographs to fans),  and by US Presidents. They have been in use for some 200 years.

The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, launched an inquiry,  called the Oversight Project, which revealed that Joe Biden used the Autopen to sign virtually every official document (all signatures were perfectly identically, impossible for manual signatures) except the letter stating his intention to withdraw from the Presidential race.

This letter was signed by him. See this video

This raises the doubt about whether Biden, who was observably suffering from dementia (he could not find his way out of the stage he gave a speech on, even once stretching his hand to shake with an imaginary person!) was aware of, and authorising the documents, or whether there was a group of unelected persons running the Government.

If it’s proven that Biden had not, in fact, authorized the use of Autopen, perhaps even being unaware of them, it would create a political upheaval. The documents would become null and void (including Presidential pardons) and the decisions unwound.

The Autopen has become mightier than the sword!

America is the world’s largest economy and the things now being discovered and disclosed reveal the appalling levels of mis-governance. DOGE has uncovered that Social Security cheques were being sent to people long dead; some 4 million cheques were sent to those over a hundred years old. USAID was dispensing money to fund ridiculous projects in distant countries, some of which were inimical to American interests. It seems as if the system had no feedback loop, little verification, and no accountability.

The problems created by Biden, including open borders to illegal immigrants, some of whom were criminal elements, the stoppage of fracking, for environmental reasons, transforming America from an energy surplus country, to an energy short country, depending on OPEC + for energy, with geopolitical implications, and the ignoring of Russian pleas to discuss the risk of  allowing Ukraine NATO membership, leaving it, bereft of options to discuss, invade Ukraine in a senseless war. The Autopen disclosure makes one wonder whether Biden was fully aware of the consequences or whether a cabal of unelected representatives was calling the shots on his, hazy, behalf.

Donald Trump is trying to correct that wrong. His efforts are being thwarted by several vested interests who prefer it’s continuance, in order to promote their perverted interests or to profit from it.

A similar lackadaisical approach in monitoring funds is also used in the absence of monitoring weapons supply. Watch this video  in which Col Douglas McGregor reveals that deadly, British made, Javelin, a man portable missiles, which cost a quarter million dollars each, are available with Mexican drug cartels! The very ones Trump is fighting with, to stop the flow of fentanyl which is killing Americans. Is it not madness that weapons given for free to help Ukraine, in order to ‘protect democracy’ are sold by a handful of Ukrainian leaders, thus giving them a personal incentive to prolong the war (leaders willingly allowing their youth to die is democracy???) to Mexican cartels who buy  them with funds derived from selling fentanyl to Americans and who use them to fight American forces? Does no world leader see the poignant bathos of funding wars?

Here is an observation. The Russian invasion of Ukraine started in Feb 2023. Since then there has been no election in Ukraine (Zelenskyy won an election in 2019) on the pretext that holding one amidst an ongoing war is not possible. Yes, in 2024, Russia held a Presidential election amidst the same war.

In other countries, which supported the war, the leaders have been thrown out by the electorate. These include Biden in USA, Sunak in U. K., Dragi in Italy. Leaders of Germany and France are likely on their way out. The electorate has more sense than their hypocritical leaders who promote wars. Their support is ostensibly to promote democracy.

The root cause of the conflict was the existential threat Russia faced if Ukraine were allowed into NATO. The current 30 day ceasefire proposal, accepted by Ukraine, calls for European, armed, contingents of peacekeepers, to be based in Ukraine uphold the ceasefire. That was the Russian objection in the first place! So Russia has, for now, rejected the ceasefire. It wants a permanent truce which will address all concerns. It feels betrayed by France and Germany in the previous Minsk agreement. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has publicly admitted that the West never intended to stick to the Minsk Agreement, which was just to give Ukraine time to re-arm itself. The 30-day ceasefire proposal could be the same.

Supposing an agreement is not reached, and the senseless war continues. The next question is this – does NATO have the military infrastructure to keep manufacturing missiles to provide them to Ukraine? It does not!

Ultimately Ukraine would, bereft of weapons and short of men, lose. Are EU leaders so devoid of the capacity to think, and so soulless to be impervious to feel, that they would continue to fund a losing war?

If a negotiated end to the Ukraine war is achieved, that would be wonderful news, and would boost stock markets. A US negotiating team is in Russia to discuss it (if only Biden had the mental acuity to agree to discussions before the war, they wouldn’t be needed now).

Good governance, and sensible leadership, is of vital importance to a world on the brink of self destruction. The global polity is behaving like dinosaurs heading towards a Jurassic Park.

Last week the BSE Sensex closed at 73828, down 504 points over the week. The stock market was closed on Friday for Holi, the festival of color. Let us pray that we witness a negotiated end to the war, and can use a water gun to spray the colours of global peace, yellow, purple and white, and not Javelin missiles to splurge the red of blood!

In domestic news of interest, Starlink, the Elon Musk company that allows satellite based communication (instead of terrestrial cables) is set to enter India, in partnerships with both Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel. This indicates a willingness of Indian policy makers to adopt technologies that serve a social purpose. The Indian Government is, like all other Governments, under Trumpian pressure to lower high import tariffs, meant to protect domestic players.

Perhaps next on the cards are EVs (electric vehicles) and, maybe, humanoid robots. In USA we will soon see the introduction of FSD , or unsupervised autonomous vehicles. Combined with TAAS, or Transport As A Service, an UBER like service, FSD will significantly reduce the cost of transportation. Humanoid robots will very significantly lower the cost of manufacture. China has embraced robots in a big way and all countries will. Those who do not embrace new technologies will become less competitive. Those who do will march ahead.

Recall that China, under Deng Xiaoping, embraced free markets in 1980, a decade before India, under Manmohan Singh did. In that decade, China raced far ahead. Result? Today China’s per capita GDP is USD 13000; India’s is $ 2500.

If, in order to protect ourselves, we delay in adopting emerging technologies, after another decade, the gap will widen further.

We need wars to end, the global polity to be mature, and spending to be diverted into the welfare of mankind instead of it’s destruction.

It would be great if the leaders use their autopens to press for peace!

Comments may be sent to jmulraj@asiaconverge.com