44 • Stocks in US and international companies that have a positive return to both inves- tors and the general economy. • Expect Asian and frontier equities to pro- vide good returns. Best short-term investment opportunity: • No way to know – stick to disciplined allocations. Scenario #2: Global Musical Chairs https://pension.solari.com/2018/01/02/sce- nario-2-global-musical-chairs/ A commitment to human values, environ- mental stewardship, and market economics are constrained by a failure of national and global cooperation. This results in contin- ued high levels of debt, military expendi- tures, and disaster capitalism. Weighting = 60% (Up 20% from 2017) • Multipolar World • Negative Return on Investment to Taxpayer While the forces of centralization are not able to assert global control, the inability to maintain effective governance or markets in many areas results in intense and sometimes violent and destructive competition for natural resources. Like the game of musical chairs, as chairs get pulled, some areas and countries suffer signifi- cant hardship and depopulation. Donald Trump and the Republican Party face significant challenges in the 2018 elections. While they have managed to keep the stock markets rising by protecting corporate monop- olies with health care policies, tax reform and the defense budget, the harm to GNP growth of monopoly rather than free markets contin- ues. The result of Trump’s administration is mixed. The record is defined by partisan grid- lock and, because greed overcomes gridlock, by “piratizations.” The piratization falls short of duplicating the “Rape of Russia” but further corrodes trust in government and corporate leadership. There are similar tensions through- out many of the developed nations. Per capita incomes in Asia converge with those in the G-7 nations as the developed world’s middle class diminishes in a long slow financial squeeze. Food shortages lead to depopulation and mass migration from Africa and the Mid- dle East. As a result of the forces of a unipolar order breaking down, there are still far more pock- ets of productive human development and civilization than in a unipolar world. If your country or area “keeps a chair” and is able to build markets and trade with others that do as well, you are in a finer world than either of the two unipolar scenarios. Critical strategic assets include arable land and water. As a result of food-producing capaci- ty and increased energy self-sufficiency, the Anglo-American alliance enjoys a significant strategic advantage – including US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Global tensions continue over GMO policies and the patenting of life. The continued waste of resources on war, secu- rity, and covert competition, however, means that the human race struggles under high debt loads and under-investment in infrastructure, renewable energy, education and the arts. Investment in space remains protected. The advancement of civilization is much slower. Global inequality persists. Scenario #2 – Implications for 2018 Opportunities to create value: • Focus on your home, your business and your community: make sure you are adding value within a country or place, which is likely to keep a chair. Geography matters. • Look for opportunities with new technol- ogies to take advantage of decentralization and globalization. III. 2018: GET READY, GET READY, GET READY! Like the game of musi- cal chairs, as chairs get pulled, some areas and countries suffer signifi- cant hardship and depop- ulation.