$STT

Crony Capitalism: The Force Destroying Western Civilisation

Western civilisation is being dismantled from the top, Shayne Heffernan argues, by a crony capitalism that picks winners through capital, regulation and the Fed. The top 1% of US households hold 32.5% of net worth, up from 22.9% in 1990, while the 50th to 90th percentiles fell from 36.1% to 28.8%. Insured banks fell from 17,901 in 1984 to 4,238 in 2026, listings have halved since 1996, and the median first-time buyer is 40 by the realtors' count. His fix: radical transparency and openness.