On April 7th, 2025, CEA Chairman Steve Miran delivered remarks at the Hudson Institute that are, frankly, hard to categorize—somewhere between audacious and absurd.
In the official White House transcript, Miran proposes that the United States should be financially compensated by the rest of the world for the “burden” of providing global public goods—such as the U.S. dollar and Treasury securities, which underpin the international trading system.
“The U.S. provides the dollar and Treasury securities, reserve assets which make possible the global trading and financial system which has supported the greatest era of prosperity mankind has ever known.”
– Steve Miran, April 7, 2025
In response, Arnaud Bertrand offered a scorching critique on X, calling the speech:
“…the most dishonest piece of economic reading that I’ve ever had the misfortune to lay my eyes upon.”
He continues:
“What Miran is thus proposing is effectively demanding vassals make payments for the privilege of already making payments—a double tribute system where countries first subsidize American living standards by accepting dollars as reserves, and then must pay an additional fee for the ‘burden’ this supposedly places on the US.”
— @RnaudBertrand
It’s an excellent breakdown—eviscerating, justified, and clearly sourced in real economic history. But here’s where I want to add something a little different. Something… polymathic.
The Deeper Pattern: When Hegemony Poses as Martyrdom
What Bertrand lays out is the surface-level insanity of the argument. But dig a little deeper, and this speech signals a far more telling psychopolitical shift: we’re entering an era where dominance is reframed as sacrifice, and where hegemony starts wearing the costume of martyrdom.
This isn’t just bad economics—it’s imperial roleplay.
Throughout history, declining empires have used the same script. When the benefits of power become harder to justify, those in charge start portraying themselves not as privileged, but as put-upon. Not as beneficiaries, but as burden-bearers.
It’s Rome claiming the cost of policing the provinces. It’s Britain insisting it civilised the colonies. It’s the Ottoman Empire lamenting its thankless stewardship.
Steve Miran’s speech isn’t an economic proposal—it’s a ritual of imperial self-pity, the kind that precedes retrenchment, not revival. It’s the U.S. saying: “We are still the center of the world, but only because we suffer for it. And now you must compensate us for our suffering.”
That’s the real twist. The U.S. isn’t just demanding tribute. It’s asking the world to pay for the right to continue paying tribute—a double layer of financial and psychological submission.
Where This Leaves Us
When monetary dominance is no longer sufficient, and narrative control becomes the last tool in the chest, history shows us we’re near an inflection point.
So while Bertrand exposes the naked absurdity of Miran’s policy, we should also register what it signals: not just delusion, but a civilizational stage—a transformation of privilege into grievance. A moment when the emperor not only demands taxes, but asks to be thanked for wearing the crown.