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Comment by cs702 | Hacker News Reader

This reads like something that normally would be written about an underdeveloped country, which, lacking established institutions and rule of law, is run by a kleptocracy for the kleptocracy. Yet we're talking about the United States. It's embarrassing for the country on so many levels. Unbelievable.

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I saw an armored Mercedes car on the streets of Denver for the first time a couple years ago. I have seen dozens of them in Africa and Latin America, but it was a really depressing moment for me when I first recognized that in my home town.

I think that people who are not well traveled are not even aware of this slide, but we have been moving towards becoming a highly stratified developing nation for 20 years now. The armored car is just one striking example, but there are dozens more I can think of off the top of my head.

I concur, but coming from a more historical/legal perspective.

The U.S. has always fundamentally been like the Central and South American countries, just with a thin layer of Lockean rule of law and property rights.

That layer is quickly eroding. The U.S. will become more like Mexico or Argentina (for instance) over time.

Love him or hate him, Trump did a lot to advance this timeline. You can see that his style is much more reminiscent of Central and South American politics. His followers want to replace the Lockean style with a political system built around a strong central personality.

A Mexican friend, long living in the USA, told me how much the Trump family reminded him of corrupt elite families in Mexico: "The dad thinks he's above the law and constantly cheats on his wife. The sons wear their hair slicked back and boast about how good they are at business even though they've never done anything in life but sponge off their dad's companies. And the daughters think they are glamorous fashion models and dream of owning a lifestyle brand."

You can see the same thing in thailand where the rural voters voted in a corrupt billionaire. Eventually his attractive daughter took over.

Politics is downstream of culture, and as the demographics of the country shift more towards those of Mexico or Argentina (for instance) we should not be surprised when our political climate reflects that.

If that were true, I would expect the demographics of the supporters of the current administration to be skewed towards immigrants, especially from Central and South America, and I would expect to see opposition to the current political climate from the demographics most culturally different from those- non-immigrant, white males.

But it seems to me the opposite is instead true. Are you perhaps suggesting the non-immigrant, white males supporting the current political climate look up to the immigrants as role models?

Yes, but that is an entirely separate phenomenon from the one I was raising.

Immigration is not the reason the U.S. is not losing the Lockean "rule of law and property rights" layer.

It's losing it because other ideas have come to predominate the intellectual landscape.

Being in Denver, that particular example may be related to someone in the cannabis industry. The bank lockouts and cash build up that's common in that industry make individuals in it prime targets for robbery[1]. With extreme violence[2] involved in some cases, it'd make sense for those stuck in this situation to invest in things like an armored vehicle if feasible.

While still a situation that's a direct result of and reflection on US policies, it may be a more specific issue than a general national trend towards greater stratification.

[1] https://www.coloradopolitics.com/opinion/at-risk-of-robbery-...

[2] https://www.firstcoastnews.com/article/news/nation/fugitive-...

This had nothing to do with marijuana. They usually use GMC Suburbans + men with rifles, but sometimes you see Brinks armored trucks too. I am quite familiar with the weed trucks.

For actual money runs, yes. But as the personal vehicle for a successful marijuana business owner?

Why are you assuming that? You just really want to force weed into this story somehow, is that the prism through which you see the world?

Why would such a person need a different sort of vehicle than any other successful business owner?

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