[FRIAM] Musk’s America Party – Some Thoughts from Afar

[Pieter Steenekamp]

I’m not American—but I’m a big fan of the place.

What really keeps me up at night is how both major political parties in the
U.S. seem to have a shared hobby: spending money like it’s going out of
fashion. Year after year, the national debt grows bigger, and the interest
payments grow even scarier. It’s like watching someone keep swiping a
credit card with no plan to ever pay it back.

Now, let me put on my South African cap for a moment.

When South Africa became a democracy and Mandela became president, things
were looking financially grim. We weren’t flat-out broke yet, but we were
close. Mandela then did something very clever: he made Trevor Manuel the
finance minister. Manuel, being honest, told Mandela he knew nothing about
finances. Mandela basically said, “Don’t worry about the details—we’ve got
smart people for that. Just make sure we don’t spend more than we earn, and
I'll politically support you.” And guess what? South Africa’s finances did
great for a while.

(Yes, it all fell apart later when Jacob Zuma came along, but let’s not
ruin the story.)

Back to America.

No, I don’t think the U.S. is heading for an immediate meltdown—but the
idea that it’s too big to fail? Not something I’d bet my pension on. Sooner
or later, the debt monster will come knocking.

Which brings me to Elon Musk’s political adventure. From where I sit, his
main message is: “Hey folks, maybe we should stop spending money we don’t
have?” Whether his new party takes off or not, I think it’s great that
someone is at least ringing the alarm bell.

Even if nobody listens, I’m 100% behind the effort. Musk is taking a huge
personal hit—his companies, his wealth, all of it’s being affected. But if
it helps America become more financially sensible, I say hats off to him.
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