A sweeping bear case on the American economy: bad for workers, renters, and savers, good for the biggest tech companies and anyone already holding stocks, gold, or farmland.

• Automation is cutting people out of the loop — Amazon warehouses run on their thinnest staffing in 16 years, robotaxis and driverless tractors need no wage at all.
• If workers lose their paychecks, companies lose their customers, which is why tech leaders now push for a monthly government check instead of a wage.
• Record highs in stocks are a money illusion: foreign cash is hiding in US assets, the Fed must keep rates low to let Washington afford its debt interest, and the dollar quietly buys less each year.
• Falling unemployment looks good but comes from people giving up on work entirely, with more Americans juggling gig jobs and falling behind on credit cards.
• The wealthiest are swapping dollars for gold, farmland, and other hard assets they cannot be printed out of.

Outlook: Expect more automation, more inflation, and a weaker job market, with recession warning signs all pointing the wrong way.