Trump x Putin: The Newsletter

Intro

Welcome to the Newsletter. Each week, Cameron Lee Cowan wraps up the headlines with commentary that will make you sound smart to your friends and family. This week, we are talking about President Trump’s Russia summit in Alaska and the next big change in the job market.

The World is Hard, This is Not

Each week I send out the latest headlines, the latest videos from The Cameron Journal and commentary about the week’s events. If you’re new here, my name is Cameron Lee Cowan M.A. MFA, and I’m the Creative Director here at The Cameron Journal. You can learn more about me on the about page. I do research and commentary on politics, culture, and the world around us.

Remember, The World is Hard, This is Not.

Updates

I think I’m going to melt from another week of high temperatures. I am glad that my air conditioner can manage to keep up with the strain. This week was a busy one but I was tired and a little off my game. I wasn’t feeling top notch. That is always a frustrating experience. I tried to take a little extra time to rest up. I am one of those people who gets over-tired and can get sick if I don’t stop that pattern early on. I’m taking a bit of a lazy week and only doing 2 stories for the Newsletter this week.

My new series on Millennials based on my new book has finally concluded. Thank you to everyone who replied, commented, and read all the articles. I am looking forward to putting this book into your hands on September 12.

Sometimes I find it hard to stay centered in a world gone crazy between the occupation of DC and the summit with Putin, the world seems more crazy than ever. When will it end? How will it stop? These are the questions can keep you up at night. I understand why every life coach always tells you to unplug from the news for your mental health. Unfortunately for me, the news is my business and so I can’t unplug. That’s good for you because all you have to do is read this and stay up on things. That’s why I’m your chronically online friend; I’m online so you don’t have to be.

That all being said, I do think it is important to stay centered in these days. I am going to get some more rest and I’ll see you next week.

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America’s Lost Generation

My next book will be out soon, and I’m taking new pre-orders now. America’s Lost Generation catalogs the story of Millennials and what went wrong for America’s largest and most educated generation. They did everything right, and they have been net losers in today’s America. So what happened? I discuss that and more in my new book.

The Headlines

Don’t forget to join me on Monday for The Cameron Journal Newshour to catch on everything happening in the world!

Putin and Trump Kiki in Alaska

On Friday, President Trump and Vladimir Putin met at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska to talk about the situation in Ukraine. In the post-summit press conference, Putin remarked that they were close on a deal and had “made headway” but that there were “a few points” but that the two men “mostly agreed.” By Saturday, President Trump announced that he was no longer pushing for a cease-fire, but that he was now aligned with President Putin’s goals for a sweeping peace deal. This is a departure from Ukraine’s stance on the matter which required a cease-fire as a condition of negotiations for a peace treaty.

The summit was cut short, Russian officials thought it was to last 6–7 hours, but the two men only had a 1-1 with translators (which is a power move by Putin, he speaks fluent English) and did not go to a larger meeting with other officials.

On departing, Putin said he would be seeing Trump again “very soon” and said, “next, time in Moscow.” Trump laughed and said, “maybe” and that he might get “a little heat for that” (meeting Putin in Moscow) but that he could see that happening. There are a few interesting details that have leaked out as well. Putin rode with Trump in the Presidential Limousine (the Beast) from the tarmac to the base facilities. Also, Trump had a B-1 bomber fly over head while they were meeting outside.

I’m not sure why everyone thought this would be the meeting that would lead to some kind of peace deal beyond the cease-fire idea that the White House had floated, but there was certainly some hype about it. Hillary Clinton remarked that if Trump could get a deal done for Ukraine, that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize. President Zelenskyy will be in Washington on Monday to discuss the summit with Trump, although he said that they had already spoken by phone. President Trump spent most of the flight back from Alaska on the phone with NATO leaders.

My read on the situation is that there is still distance on the land deal that Putin requires. There is also the question of Ukraine’s continued security, and whether that includes membership in NATO or not. Putin has said flat-out that Ukraine cannot join NATO. Which reinforces my original thoughts on the war that this had nothing to do with NAZIs in Ukraine (although that is true) but it had everything to do with Kyiv having a non-Moscow aligned government in power. That election in Ukraine was what started this mess.

Although this is probably a PR victory for Putin, showing him as equal with the most powerful man in the world but also a victory for Trump. Putin reinforced the Trump narrative that if he were elected in 2020, the 2022 Russian invasion would not have happened. There are two ways to think about this statement. The first is that Putin is just giving a little favor to Trump. The second is that Putin is right and the Biden administration was either too antagonistic about the whole thing, or they did not jump to action as Putin massed troops. I think the second statement is hard to be certain about. President Biden rang the alarm early on an Ukraine invasion, when the narrative (especially online) was that Biden was warmongering and there would be no invasion. I even had a friend tell me I was crazy for believing it would happen. Biden was proven right. The incompetence of the Biden administration can’t be understated. It was the Obama administration that let Putin annex Crimea without a shot fired about it. Was Biden too antagonistic then? Possibly. I think in either case, it was a favor to Trump because now Trump can call that a narrative win.

As far as the point of if the invasion would or would not have happened with Trump in power, I think that has more to do with the relationship between Trump and Putin. Trump is far more Russia-friendly than Biden (or most of the Democratic Party for that matter). That may have helped ease the tension but I think the fundamental tension of Ukraine wanting to join the European Union and possibly NATO was simply unacceptable to Putin who doesn’t even see Ukraine as a country, but more of a runaway province who needs to come home (think China/Taiwan).

At least the pics of F-35s flying off the wing-tips of President Putin’s IL-96 plane were cool.

Business of One

I’m adding this video on job security because I’ve been sitting on this video for a while and haven’t had an opportunity to post it:

https://youtu.be/4DbiPqu5e3s?si=kPvdAxNJhy4oRvJP

As we all know, the job market is a disaster right now, and finding a job for anyone seems about impossible. Between automation, AI, and layoffs, it seems like finding a job has come to be a major chore for even the best employees. But perhaps, something is starting to fundamentally change in the job market.

I follow a recruiter/employment influencer (yes, we have those now) on Tik Tok. Last year, we got into a bit because she posted a video saying that if you’re highly qualified and have a ton of experience, that you should have no problem having a job. I couldn’t resist replying and telling her about my experience. She made a video reply which was interesting, but still didn’t address my main point: you can do everything right and still lose.

Fast-forward to today, and her tune has changed. She isn’t even encouraging people to look for jobs anymore. Now, she is focused on helping people become contractors, consultants and a “business of one.” The trend toward a more decentralized employment environment is not new at all.

My Nana told me how, in the 1980s, this narrative had already begun. In her 40s at the time, the advice was to become a business of one and to think of oneself as a business rather than an employee joining an organization. I think this was partly due to the changes that were made in the economy by the mass layoffs as shareholder capitalism became the new standard. Gone were pensions, health insurance and stability offered by large companies and instead, employees became fungible labor units to be moved around as necessary to keep expenses down and profits up. The ghosts of Lee Iococa and Jack Welch lives on.

Given the changes in the labor market, the idea to become your own business and offer services, or at least act like that in a W-2 setting, is quite likely a good idea. I have worked in that way for years (for better or worse) and it does have some benefits. However, I don’t think most people can handle the instability that goes along with working in this way. Income is variable, clients come and go, and that means you have to save during the good times to be prepared for lean times. As we know, people are notoriously bad at saving.

And the rest of the economy is not ready for this change. You can be a business owner with revenues of $500,000 and still not get approved for a mortgage. Most folks in that position either have a working spouse to get the mortgage or they elect to an S-corp, make themselves an employee with a regular salary and then apply for the mortgage (this process takes 2 years). When it comes to all forms of credit, it is far easier to get approved for a loan when you’re a traditional employee.

Then there’s the simple part of stability. Not knowing where you’ll be working, or if you’ll be working, creates an extra stress for working people, even in the upper income brackets. I have a friend who is a brilliant designer in tech, very well compensated, and he decided to go out on his own for a while. I advised him on how to do it and helped him get set up. He lasted 2 years before getting back into a firm because, “chasing clients was too much work.” And that’s the difference of being in business, rather than, just going to work. I spent quite a bit of time doing that myself and while I am used to it, it is tedious and was something I did not miss the last time I was in regular employment in the mid-2010s.

All in all, I don’t think this is such a positive change. It is certainly the way things are going, but I think it will cause more chaos and stress on an already stressed out population. I will write more about this in my Linkedin Newsletter which focuses on the future and what’s changing in the world of business.

Interesting Video of the Week

https://youtu.be/LDdPag-3FoI?si=ge7qfaOw-cABtp37

I’ve written about the missing men in the workforce before. Estimates place it at around 10 million. And there’s one singular question that has plagued people, where did they go? I can tell that most of the people who write this stuff don’t know anyone who is working class because I can tell you right where they have gone: the grey economy. There are many jobs that aren’t “jobs” in the way that we think about them. They are mostly service jobs, but they pay in cash at time of service and guys can make plenty of money doing them. Some of them you might have heard of like power washing, window cleaning, landscaping, farm work, and more.

When I owned a shop, our window cleaner was not with a company. He was a guy with a bucket that we paid each time he stopped by. There are many guys who will work as sub-contractors on construction sites on basically a cash basis (much in the same way undocumented workers are paid). These guys don’t have a company. They have a truck and some tools, and they show up and do work and get paid (hopefully) right away for the work. If you’re lucky, they are brilliant and now the tile in the bathroom looks like a roman mosaic. As a guy, the fastest way to get money in your pocket to survive is to show up at a construction site early in the morning with boots on looking for work, even if it’s just picking up tools.

This adds up to a secondary economy that is uniquely suited to men who aren’t having luck in the mainstream job economy. In this video, we learn more about this jobs crisis and what it means for the functioning of the real economy.

Articles of Interest:

https://www.cameronjournal.com/camerons-10-insights-from-americas-lost-generation/

https://www.cameronjournal.com/states-with-the-best-worst-community-colleges/

https://www.cameronjournal.com/boomer-narratives-obscure-hard-truths/

Keep up with The Cameron Journal Podcast and The Living Joke

The Interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tF6R4UMiKw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xvsq_Zp-o7k

The Cameron Journal Newshour:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz9f2yS1H78

The Living Joke:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PaO_XiwAMY