Today's Financial Revolutionary War

Today's Tyrants Aren't like the past Red Coats—They're in D.C. in the Black Suits

By The Coastal Journal | Featuring Greg Crennan, Chief Market Strategist, Golden Coast Consultants

As we celebrate America’s 249th birthday, we must remember what ignited the first American Revolution: ordinary people who had enough of being economically exploited by a distant power. The Revolution wasn’t just about tea—it was about sovereignty and free markets. The British taxed without consent, inflated colonial debts through currency restrictions, and stripped local control over trade and money. The tipping point? A tax on something as basic as tea. Not because it was burdensome in cost—but because it symbolized submission to a power that no longer represented the people.

The British Currency Act of 1764 barred the colonies from issuing their own paper money. The result? A strangled economy, a shortage of hard currency (gold), and the rise of underground rebellion. Colonists didn’t just want lower taxes. They wanted independence. And they understood then what we’ve forgotten now: that economic freedom is political freedom.

“Would you tell me please, Mr. Howard, why should I trade 1 tyrant 3,000 miles away for 3,000 tyrants 1 mile away? An elected legislature can trample a man’s rights as easily as a king can.”
—Benjamin Martin, The Patriot (2000)

America wasn’t founded on fireworks. It was founded on fury—against taxation without representation, monopolies enforced by the Crown, and fiat currency schemes that devalued colonial labor.

So what happens when today's tyrants wear suits instead of crowns? When wealth isn’t confiscated by royal decree, but through inflation, debt monetization, and insider-run markets?

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The Middle Class Revolutionary War

Since 2000, the US dollar has lost -50% in purchasing power (reported)

and in the last five years alone, the U.S. dollar has lost nearly -25% of its purchasing power. That’s not a prediction—it’s arithmetic. Compounded inflation of 5% per year erodes your ability to live, save, and retire.

Since 2000:

• Housing costs have risen 212%.

• Healthcare premiums have increased over 250%.

• College tuition has ballooned by 180%.

• Childcare costs are up 115%.

And during that same period, real (inflation adjusted) median household income has only increased by 17%.

Meanwhile, the U.S. national debt has exploded from $5.6 trillion in 2000 to over $37 trillion in 2025—a 543% increase. The Congressional Budget Office projects over $20 trillion more in deficits over the next 10 years. This isn't stimulus—it's systemic theft.

( we wrote more in detail about the deficits here 1. Deficit 2. Project Inflation )

The American middle class, once 61% of the population, is now just 46%.

The number of Americans living paycheck to paycheck has surged to over 62%, even among households making $100,000 or more. Credit card debt has hit a record $1.34 trillion, and savings rates have plunged to near-historic lows under 4%.

And yet, the top 10% of earners now hold nearly 70% of all U.S. wealth. The top 1% controls more wealth than the entire bottom 90% combined.

This is not the result of innovation—it’s the result of manipulation, policy distortion, and insider advantage.

While the media hypes “green energy” and “AI revolutions,” politicians pump markets with subsidies. In 2021, EV tax credits spiked Tesla and Rivian. Retail investors bought in. Rivian is now down -90%. Lucid is down -95%. Tesla is down -40% (from its record high in December 20224). The EV tax credit is being phased out, and the insiders have already cashed out.

The CHIPS Act poured billions into Nvidia, Intel, AMD. Stocks surged. The media praised innovation. But AMD is down -40% since its peak. Nvidia, despite still hovering near record highs, is propped up by deferred revenue, inflated receivables, and speculative flows. It's not growth—it's a mirage.

This isn’t capitalism. It’s a rigged casino. It’s state-sponsored asset inflation. It’s a massive transfer of wealth—from the wage-earning middle class to the politically connected elite.

Nancy Pelosi’s trading account has allegedly grown over $500 million since 2018—outperforming every hedge fund in America. She’s not alone. Over 100 members of Congress have traded stocks tied to committees they serve on. This isn’t “freedom.” This is systemic corruption.

Modern Day American Patriot

“If you mean by "PATRIOT," am I angry about taxation without representation, well, yes, I am. Should the American colonies govern themselves independently? I believe that they can, and they should.” —The Patriot

The current Republican Party under Trump ran on lowering the deficit and cutting government waste, yet the latest bill Trump wants passed is one of the largest spending bills in U.S. history.

And here’s the screwed-up part: it makes the middle class poorer. There are no $3,000 stimulus checks like in 2020—just massive tax benefits for the rich in coastal states who own million-dollar homes, thanks to the expansion of the SALT deduction cap. Americans should be furious. Where are the patriots? Only a handful exist, like Rand Paul

and Thomas Massie, still fight in Congress and the House.

The patriots are few now—but that doesn't mean we can't grow. What happens when Congress passes trillion-dollar spending bills with no real plan to pay them back, and the Federal reserve prints to fill the hole?

“An elected legislature can trample a man’s rights as easily as a king can.” —The Patriot

This Fourth of July, while millions celebrate liberty, too few realize it’s quietly vanishing—not by foreign invaders, but by DC Black Suits via crony capitalism, fiat fraud, and call options.

🔒 Want to join the Modern Day Patriot? Want the latest on the ADP Jobs data? Protect your wealth from financial tyranny? Join The Coastal Journal’s Team Today!