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No. It is not a sign of government failure. It is an indication of a way too heavy government structure. Indians are paying for their love of government jobs and hiring twenty where two are needed. Indians are paying for the failure of their governments of all colors in managing “less government, more governance”. The economic challenges posed by COVID is a major but temporary cause.A very brief background - During Arab Israeli war of 1973, the petroleum products prices shot up internationally. The Government of India realised that this was the opportunity to enhance the taxation with the facility of blaming high prices on OPEC countries. Ever since, every single government, Central or State, of every single political party used this methodology to raise funds through indirect taxes. Nobody, repeat nobody, thought of trimming the burgeoning government structure which consumed major part of the state revenue.With this background there have been two dominant thought processes in managing the petroleum products.The first way is the P. Chidambaram method - Issue oil bonds and let future pay for the present comforts. What Dr. M. M. Singh had stated in the year 2008 was “Let our nation remember that issuing bonds and loading deficit on oil companies is not a permanent solution to this problem. We are only passing on our burden to our children who will have to repay this debt.” He further stated in the year 2012 that “the subsidy on petroleum has grown enormously. Where would the money for this come from? Money does not grow on trees. The last time we faced this problem was in 1991.”The second way is the present method where tax slabs are adjusted constantly in order to ensure that the state revenues do not dip and at times help generate additional funds.People who think that only Indian governments, Central or State, live off petroleum related taxation should see this chart where, unfortunately, India is occupying the premiere positions.Now let us come to the Indian reality. The petroleum rates in four metros areWhy do we have such wide disparity in the rates of petroleum products?In fact, this disparity is even more pronounced across the country. A bit dated, four weeks, report sayPetrol price in Mumbai as compared to other citiesMumbai offers the costliest petrol in the country as compared to other state capitals. It made history a few weeks back when the petrol price crossed Rs. 90 per litre. Delhi has the lowest price for fuel bordering the Rs. 80 mark. Rajasthan has the highest rates for petroleum products. Patna and Bhopal also have high prices of petrol wherein the prices hover in the range of Rs. 87 to Rs. 89 per litre. The cheapest petrol is sold in Port Blair (Rs. 70-74), Panjim (Rs.75 – 78) and Agartala (Rs. 80-83).Petrol Price in Mumbai, Petrol Rate Today - ( 22 February 2021 ) - ₹ 96.98/LTrThe above report has brought out the component parts of fuel prices.Components of petrol prices in IndiaThere are many components that add up to the petrol prices in India.Customs Duty : It is the tax imposed by the Government of India and currently hovers around 7.5%Import Parity Price: It is the combined price of petrol paid by all oil marketing companies at the port.Free on-board price : When oil marketing companies purchase crude oil from international markets, it is called free on-board priceRefinery Transfer price : Price paid by oil marketing companies to transfer crude oil to refineriesInland Freight : Transportation cost paid by oil marketing companies to transfer petrol from refineries to retail outletsDepot Price : Owners of retail outlets need to pay a fee to buy petrol or diesel from oil marketing companiesFreight : Transportation cost for purchase of crude oil from overseas by oil marketing companiesImport charges: There are few charges that make up the Import charges. Insurance, port dues, ocean loss are some of themExcise Duty: Duty imposed by the Central Government for importing crude oilWhy are petrol rates so high in Mumbai?Mumbai has been the most expensive state capital as far as petrol prices are concerned.The state of Maharashtra levies one of the highest VAT slabs in the country. In fact, there are two VAT slabs. Petrol pumps in Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai have to shell out a VAT of 39.12% which is a percentage point less than the rest of the state.And this is not just the story of Mumbai. Similar to Maharashtra government, governments of Rajasthan, MP, WB, Assam, Kerala, Telangana, UP etc etc have been depending on revenue generated from fuels.How fuel prices are used for political purposes is best described by the following report.Four states lead the way; cut taxes as fuel prices skyrocket in countryAmid spiralling fuel prices, four states have cut taxes to provide relief to consumers. Rajasthan had last month announced a reduction of Value Added Tax (VAT) from 38 per cent to 36 per cent, followed by the poll-bound state of West Bengal, which cut VAT on petrol and diesel by Re 1 yesterday. Assam has also withdrawn an additional tax of Rs 5, which was imposed last year to generate revenue amid the Covid-19 crisis. The state of Meghalaya has given the biggest relief by cutting Rs 7.4 per litre on petrol and Rs 7.1 on diesel. It has also cut VAT on petrol and diesel by Rs 2.In a nutshell, the Petroleum products prices have 67 to 70% taxes and rest comprises of the cost of crude, refining, profits of oil companies, freight charges and commissions of dealers. And the Central government which last gave a relief in taxation in the year 2018 has contributed equally to the mess as the State Governments. Rest of it is only a lot of political noise from either side for electoral advantages.What is the solution then?In my opinion, the solution is complex and needs to be enunciated uniformly by the governments and acted upon over a period of time.Declare a “no bonds, no subsidy” principle for petroleum products. Our children must not be made to pay for our comforts and destruction of nature. Low taxation is the reason why US is polluting heavily due to use of petroleum products.Declare a policy of reduction in the government spending. The wage bill of the governments cannot be allowed to balloon uncontrolled. Government’s Salary Budget: A Misplaced Focus - CBGA India says “At the Union Government level, around 8.5% of the total Union Budget goes to pay the salaries of Central Government employees as of 2018-19. At the state level, this ratio ranges from as low as 12% in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, to a reasonably higher figure of 26% in Kerala, 25% in Rajasthan and around 30% in special category states like Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Assam. Thus, the expenditure on salaries is one of the major components of expenditure budget.” This must change.Bring Petroleum products under the GST regime so that this multiple taxation regime can end. Let them define a 40% slab for GST with a lower cap for falling prices of crude oil and strengthening rupee but this uncontrolled, non-transparent method must come to a close. Petroleum prices can not be captive of political games played by different parties, all parties included.We import 80% of our fuel requirements. It is time that we aggressively push for alternate fuels which are as near carbon neutral as possible and are renewable apart from the fact that they must be in abundance in India.This list is not an exhaustive one. The knowledgeable may add their points but unless we address the real issues we shall only be fighting the phantoms of our perceptions, respective perceptions that is. And this battle will be eternal.Note: All information in this answer, except my opinion and history, is drawn from Google. I tried to give the credit by attaching reports. Any mention missed must be inadvertent.

Bitcoin is currently experiencing a bull run and its not stopping anytime soon.What Is A Bitcoin Bull Run?In finance and economics, you may have heard the terms ‘bull market’ and ‘bear market’ being used. These are references to the overall trend a chart is showing. If a chart is bearish, this means the trend looks like it’s going down. Conversely, if the chart is bullish the trend indicates the price will continue to rise.Every three years or so, we approach a period known as the ‘Bitcoin Bull Run’. Nobody knows exactly when a Bitcoin bull run will begin or end. However, some key indicators can help traders predict when trends have reversed.Bitcoin’s bull run history indicates that a bull run will occur shortly after the halving event. The halving event occurs every 3-4 years or so (or every 210,000 blocks mined). Miners are nodes (computers) that do all the computational processing to mathematically verify transactions and append blocks to the blockchain. For every block added, the miner receives a reward in Bitcoin. At each halving event, the reward for miners is cut in half.Mining Bitcoin is an expensive business and when the halving event occurs, mining profits are reduced significantly. Quite often, it can result in miners making a loss for several months. The price of Bitcoin needs to increase up to a point where it is profitable for miners to create Bitcoin, else the system would collapse.The amount of Bitcoin that can ever be mined is a hard cap of 21 million. The capped supply creates scarcity. The amount of Bitcoin put into circulation is reduced by 50% each halving, thus reducing inflation. Bitcoin is a deflationary asset, meaning that as the value of the dollar decreases, the value of Bitcoin increases.Investing in cryptocurrency is currently a trend but a lot of people do not know where and how to go about it. As far as investing is concerned, www.cryptomartfx,com has become a dominating force in the field by offering commission-free trades in addition to the ability to trade options, cryptocurrencies, and numerous other instruments.The platform provides investors alike with numerous options right from the palm of their hand through an innovative, user-friendly website.It is a tech-based start-up that has placed a lot of focus on changing the investing game by offering clients the ability to invest cryptocurrency without having to pay commissions. This has been the number one drawing force towards it.Bitcoin Bull Run HistoryMining Bitcoin once upon a time could be done through using an everyday home desktop computer. As per the Bitcoin whitepaper, the capacity to mine Bitcoin has become increasingly more difficult as the network of nodes widens and hash power grows. Thankfully, the facilities for storing Bitcoins have become increasingly easier! You can read about the full History of Bitcoin Wallets to discover the first-way people were able to hold Bitcoin. (Spoiler: it included downloading the entire blockchain!)Below, we’ve shown a breakdown of the Bitcoin bull run history over time, and what it can potentially indicate to watch out for this time around. It is important to familiarize yourself with the Bitcoin bull run history when investing in cryptocurrency. This gives you a more well-rounded perspective of the volatility of price movements, and potentially some buying or selling indicators. It’s worth noting though that although history doesn’t repeat itself, it often rhymes.2010 - 2011 Bull RunThe Bitcoin whitepaper was released on Halloween date 31st October 2008. On January 3rd, 2009 Satoshi Nakamoto (the anonymous developer behind Bitcoin) mined the genesis block of Bitcoin. In 2010, the price of Bitcoin soared from $0.0008 to $0.08 in July 2010.In February 2011, history was made when the price of 1BTC was equivalent to $1. This made Bitcoin seem like a legitimate currency to speculators and more appealing to investors. So much so, during the middle of the year, Bitcoin reached its peak bull run price of $31 in June. Toward the end of the year in October, however, Bitcoin was worth just over $2. That was a 94% drop signifying the beginning of a bear market. The largest drop in a Bitcoin bull run history.2013 Bull Run2013 was a strong year for Bitcoin. The Bitcoin hype started strong with WordPress announcing they were beginning to accept Bitcoin as payment in December 2012. In February 2013, Bitcoin was sitting around the peak of the 2011 Bitcoin bull run price, at $31.On April 1st, Bitcoin’s market cap had hit the $1 billion mark, with 1 BTC valued at $104. The price continued to rise to $262 over the following weeks before crashing down to $120 within 6 hours. In May, the networking of Bitcoin really began to take off with programmers and venture capitalists meeting at various Bitcoin conferences around the world. In October, the price was sitting at $158 before peaking at $1,153 in December.The following year saw one of the largest Bitcoin exchanges close down after a hack, with over 650,000 BTC stolen. Mt Gox has since been able to recover 200,000 BTC, however, the value of the funds stolen totaled just over $450 million - pushing the exchange into insolvency. In 2014, the BTC price fell 85% bottoming out at $127.2017 Bull RunAccording to Bitcoin bull run charts, Bitcoin started 2017 at around $970. The price swiftly rose to just over $1100, before a steep decline to $730 all within the first 12 days of the year. However, 2017 was a busy year for crypto - with more interest and investors than ever before. The ICO (initial coin offering) model was becoming the go-to for investors hoping to make big gains on new projects launching within the space. Sadly though, a lot of these ICOs were scams, with individuals, teams, or developers shortly disappearing with funds once investors were sold on the project. This led to the ICO bubble bursting the following year, in early 2018.However, in the meantime, Bitcoin was slowly and surely creeping up in price throughout 2017. It reached it’s previous all-time-high level in March, with mini Bitcoin bull runs occurring every couple of months or so, followed by a bearish few weeks throughout the year. On 1st December, 1BTC was equivalent to approximately $10,900. On December 17th, the price had nearly doubled reaching just over $20,000 on some exchanges. This was the top of the previous bull run, before bottoming out at it’s lowest price of $3,191 in March 2020. That’s an 84% drop from its all-time-high levels.2020This year, on December 17th, Bitcoin smashed through the previous $20,000 all-time-high price reaching $24,000, despite the price crash in March due to the pandemic. Bitcoin has bounced back faster and stronger than the traditional financial markets and looks bullish as ever as we enter the new year.Whenever there is a significant move within Bitcoin, alongside the halving event, there is often another narrative coming into the scene. In 2012, the hype was Bitcoin itself, and reaching the $1 mark psychologically made people understand the concept of a digital currency a bit more. The 2015 main narrative which catalyzed the ICO boom, was ‘ETH but ‘X’’. This is referring to the number of projects created that set out to be ‘Ethereum but better’, ‘Ethereum but faster’, etc.The year 2020 has brought about decentralized finance, or DeFi. Hundreds of DeFi applications have been built on the Ethereum network, with more corporate interest and involvement than ever before. This leads us nicely into what could be different about the Bitcoin bull run 2021.What’s Different About The Bitcoin Bull Run 2021?There is more excitement and investors in 2020 than in the entire previous Bitcoin bull run history. This is generating marketwide predictions of new all-time-highs in the Bitcoin bull run 2021, ranging from $50,000 to $400,000 per BTC!Over recent weeks, as Bitcoin smashed $20,000, there have been a few 10-15% price drops, which have been bought up within minutes. There is a lot of speculation with institutional investment, and large publicly-traded companies transferring their liquid assets into Bitcoin. MicroStrategy has now purchased over 70,000 BTC, with holdings worth just shy of $1.6 billion. As of November, Grayscale, one of the United States’ largest hedge funds, holds over 2.6% of the circulating supply of Bitcoin. In addition to this, Grayscale has also started investing in Ethereum, reportedly holding more than 2% of circulating supply also.With such extreme buying pressure never seen before, dips are being bought up in a flash. Questions are being raised as to whether we will see such dramatic pull-backs and price corrections throughout the Bitcoin bull run 2021. Also, more people are searching to learn how to protect their wealth in times of economic crisis. The answer, of course, is Bitcoin.For anyone new to cryptocurrency or unsure how to get involved, check out Ivan on Tech Academy’s Crypto Basics course! It covers everything you need to know to get started investing in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies! Or if you’d like to know more about how Bitcoin works on a fundamental level, have a look at our Blockchain & Bitcoin 101 course. 14-day money-back guarantee!How To Protect Your Wealth When Investing In CryptocurrencyIt is crucial to have some knowledge about how to protect your wealth to be able to save and make a stable living. However, this is not something we are taught in schools. Ivan on Tech Academy is a great place to start learning how to protect your wealth. We offer valuable information, particularly when investing in cryptocurrency, as to how to avoid many beginner mistakes of trading or investing.With the potential Bitcoin bull run 2021 set to likely see more interest and investment than ever before, we have listed a few key tips to avoid getting rekt in the bull market. Investing in cryptocurrency has the potential to drastically change one's life for the better, or worse - if you don’t know what you’re doing.DYOR (Do Your Own Research)This is the top number one tip and can not be stressed enough. See our Essential Research Tools guide if you’re unsure of the best ways to carry this out. Be sure to check out the team behind a project, and see if it fits with the narratives around 2020/2021’s hottest projects: Baseline, Oracles, Lending, Derivatives (read more hottest trends here!).Don’t Bet The FarmDollar-cost averaging (DCA) has statistically been the most cost-efficient way of investing. Investing a small amount on a frequent basis can reduce many of the risks associated with trading. By investing small amounts over a longer period during a bull market, investors often increase the probability of making a reliable profit. Nonetheless, only invest what you can afford to lose. If you want to speculate, make sure that you manage risk.Don’t Be GreedyMake sure to have a strategy in place for taking profits. Are you willing to hodl for a year? 10 years? Perhaps you want to allocate a small portion of your portfolio to more speculative assets. For instance, you may wish to dabble in some volatile new altcoins. When doing so, consider an exit strategy. How high a return do you want to get from this trade?It’s important not to be greedy during the Bitcoin bull run 2021. Never take out a loan to buy crypto. Only ever invest what you can afford to lose, and finally, never bet the farm!Avoid Getting Rekt By TaxAt the end of the financial year get an accountant to calculate your tax due and cash it out in fiat by the end of December. Any gains made between January and December within a year must be calculated. Many people did not consider this in previous bull runs. After making substantial gains, followed by a price crash without having taken profits, left a lot of people in debt to the taxman the following year. For the Bitcoin bull run 2021, this will be calculated from gains made between January 1st - December 31st, 2021.BSI IndicatorThe Ivan on Tech Academy BSI Indicator for TradingView is a next-generation tool that combines on-chain analysis with technical analysis. Using the BSI Indicator helps you time the market with way more success. Furthermore, the BSI indicator can help you find tops and bottoms with greater probabilities. Using this you can find the perfect time to enter and exit a trade!Bitcoin Bull Run 2021 SummaryIn summary, Bitcoin has shown some extremely volatile price action over the years. This is definitely something worth bearing in mind when investing in cryptocurrency. On the other hand, this time around, the Bitcoin bull run 2021 appears set to have institutional backing, waiting to buy up the dip if the price crashes!Investing in cryptocurrency has never been easier. Thousands of Bitcoin ATMs have been installed around the globe. There are new exchanges and protocols to gain exposure to Bitcoin without the responsibility of holding private keys. For example, in October we saw the announcement of PayPal integrating cryptocurrencies for its 300+ million users. People can easily buy and trade Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies with one of the world’s largest payment merchants.Another global payment merchant giant, Visa, has announced several partnerships throughout 2020, introducing crypto debit cards. This is a perfect example of how using and spending cryptocurrency is set to become mainstream with this kind of adoption.Be careful - doing your own research and taking full responsibility for your wealth management is key to learning how to protect your wealth. Hopefully, these tips will help you in making decisions when investing in cryptocurrency.Are you new to investing and trading? Check out the Technical Analysis 101 course by Ivan on Tech Academy, to learn all you need to know to get started! Knowledge of technical analysis will provide you with an edge in the coming Bitcoin bull run 2021, understanding the emotions of the charts. Also, our FinTech 101 course is ideal for anyone wanting to learn more about the integration of crypto into the traditional financial system!

To be absolutely sure, I feel like a true revolution in the US is a remote possibility even under the most volatile conditions. The American people have over 225 years of experience with respecting democratic traditions and the principle of laws above men, to include a bloody Civil War to look back on if ever in doubt of the consequences of failing to resolve differences peacefully (as well as a bloody Revolution that left America devastated, but that aspect of our fight for freedom does not get taught in schools as much).In short, Americans vastly prefer to resolve issues at the ballot box rather than with the ammo box.However, the question does not ask whether a revolution is likely (that’s elsewhere), or whether it would be successful, but what might trigger it. So that’s what I have limited my response to. Although the following scenario might not be probable, I feel it’s the most plausible for what could trigger a revolution in modern America.It’s 2020, and Americans have had it with the two-Party system. Two decades of “Do Nothing” Congresses fighting with successive Administrations, who have turned increasingly to governance by executive decree rather than by law, have left America with no clear domestic agenda while economic and social pressures mount.For decades, major polling firms have tracked the plummet of Americans’ attitudes towards and confidence in their government, and in recent years their moods have been at record lows. At times, even “0%” confidence has been within some polls’ margins of error.Meanwhile, gerrymander-protected Congressmen cushioned by generous campaign donations continue to protect those with access rather than advocate for the nation as a whole. “We’re just responding to the will of our constituents,” they say, even though ever more of them run in decreasingly competitive elections.The disputes in domestic policy are no longer ideological – it is no longer a matter of parties disagreeing with their vision for America – but truly the advantaged versus the disadvantaged. Wealth inequality has transformed from a topic of conversation to something people confront on a daily basis.The 2016 election was one of the most uninspiring in most Americans’ memories, with voter turnout at an historic low and enthusiasm gone beyond the Parties' truly faithful.Two years after the election, faced with still more of the same, the American people decided to make their frustration more apparent, and their resolve channeled into several victories for dark horse, third-party candidates in the 2018 Midterms. It was only a handful of members, but enough to reduce the Republican majority in the House to single-digits. Third-party wins in New England Senate races denied both Parties a majority in the Senate.Political observers expressed their hopes that the voters’ clear message of frustration with the lack of progress in government would force the parties to be more compromising in their agendas, but it did not come to pass. The president, too, did not back down in the face of the independent victories, and continued to use Congressional paralysis as reason to govern by executive order.Going into the presidential election, a charismatic, independent candidate who promises to take the fight to the established Parties grows a large following. His campaign is dubbed “Shock Therapy” for a “flat-lining” America.Despite rising support in the polls over the spring, the Commission on Presidential Debates, controlled by the Democratic and Republican Parties, goes on record as saying that it will exclude the candidate from the debates. This sparks outrage from multiple quarters – not just the candidate’s supporters – and after a demonstration outside the first debate turns violent, the CPD extends the Independent an invitation for the subsequent two debates.The Independent shines on the national stage, eviscerating the Democratic and Republican contenders, who come across as tired advocates for the status quo, unable to rise above ideology for the good of all. He surges in the polls, money and volunteers flood his campaign, and by October there are projections that he could, against all odds, secure an electoral victory.Party stalwarts and pundits, however, cast off these projections as wishful thinking, and claim that their internal polls show no signs of a mass defection towards the Independent.For the remainder of the month, Americans are bombarded with campaign rhetoric that oscillates from combative to panicked, with partisan commentators going well out of their way to demonstrate just why their candidate is all but assured of victory and what that will mean for the country.November 3, 2020Voter turnout in 2016 was down dramatically from 2012, as neither Democrats nor Republicans were particularly enthusiastic about their candidate – to say nothing of the independents’ thoughts – but early signs are that this year’s election has surged to 2008’s level, if not higher.The first polls close at 6 p.m. Eastern time, but it is not until 7 p.m. that results can be announced for certain States. Whereas in elections past the networks are easily able to declare a slew of winners at this hour, the only state they call with certainty is Vermont for the Democratic candidate.It is not necessarily a cause for alarm, though, the pundits say. Voters should be used to the traditional battlegrounds of Virginia, Ohio, and North Carolina being called later in the evening. They gloss over that the reported vote tallies are alarmingly low for the traditional Parties. After some nail-biting, however, Kentucky and West Virginia are sorted into the Republican column soon after 7:30.When 8 p.m. rolls around, normalcy appears to return to the electoral landscape. The traditional Northeast, Democratic strongholds roll over to the Democrats. Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, and Oklahoma are called for the Republicans. Battleground states Michigan, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Missouri are too close to call, but as the pundits stated before, this should not be unexpected.But when a wave of votes comes in from Virginia, the status quo narrative comes to an abrupt end.The Independent candidate has won the Commonwealth with over 40 percent of the vote. At 8:30, when Arkansas predictably goes for the Republican candidate, North Carolina and Georgia are called for the Independent.Then Ohio goes.Then Florida.Commentators try to remain confident as they make projections about what the rest of the country might do, but it becomes apparent in just a matter of minutes that the electoral math is not looking good for the major Parties. Most concede that the Republican candidate will be unable to get the 270 votes needed to win the election, but surely the Democrats will hold Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, among others, and have a narrow victory.However, too many States remain in play, and the uncertainty grows the longer they remain uncalled.Late in the night, the math becomes clear: In order for the Democrats to win the election outright, they must take at least eight of the twelve outstanding States. Their window narrows once it appears that Missouri will be a toss-up between the Independent and the Republican. More results come in, and New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Colorado fall convincingly for the Independent.There’s no way around the reality of the election’s results anymore. Bewildered pundits declare an event that has not happened in the United States in almost 200 years: Nobody has won a majority of the Electoral Vote, and so the election will have to be decided by the next Congress.On Wednesday morning, the final results are even less comforting to any American who went to bed hoping the election would be settled definitively.Americans split their vote almost perfectly three ways, but the Democratic candidate edged out a slight victory in the popular vote: 35.8 percent against the Independent’s 32.3 and the Republican’s 31.9. The Independent candidate, however, appears to have prevailed with the electoral vote, earning 198 votes to the Democrat’s 186 and the Republican’s 154.Down ticket, a wave of third party candidates have been elected to the House of Representatives, but still nowhere near enough to secure an outright majority. Republicans, still benefiting from the redistricting that followed the 2010 Census, while no longer in the majority, control the most seats.Only one more third-party candidate is elected to the Senate, but the chamber’s edge is to the Democrats.Across the country, the Parties mobilize armies of lawyers and volunteers to dispute the election results before the States can certify them. Yet even if the Democratic and Republican Parties won all of the legal contests where there’s the best chance of victory, the Independent still won too many States indisputably for either of them to secure a majority in the Electoral College. It’s obvious to all that the best they can do is weaken the Independent’s position before the matter is taken up by the incoming Congress.The legal battles continue through December until, as happened 20 years prior, the Supreme Court forces the States still in contest to end their recounts and certify winners so that the incoming Congress can perform its Constitutional duty and elect the next heads of government.The result of their decision causes Missouri to flip to the Republicans, while New Mexico and Michigan edge to the Democrats. This causes the Independent to fall to second place in the electoral count, to only 3 above the Republicans, with the Democrats climbing to above 200.A week following the Supreme Court’s decision, the electors of the Electoral College meet in their respective State capitals. Throughout the week, many commentators have used their respective media platforms to urge the Independent’s electors to be faithless, believing that he will have no mandate to lead, and spare the country the agony of having Congress decide the election.Between having lost the lead in the Electoral College through partisan, acrimonious recounts and a Supreme Court ruling and being bombarded daily by pundits who believe their candidate should simply concede, the tens of millions of Americans who voted for the Independent begin to stitch a narrative together that the Parties are conspiring to nullify the impact of their votes. If anybody should bow out of the election, they say, it should be the Republicans, who placed third in both the electoral and popular votes.There are faithless electors in late December, but not from the Independent camp – and not many. Only one elector from each of the major Parties casts a vote for the Independent, which is not enough to skew the expected outcome: The Democrat leads, but not enough for victory.Americans now get a sobering lesson in the little-regarded Twelfth Amendment.With none of the candidates receiving a majority of electoral votes, the House of Representatives will be given the task of selecting the President of the United States. The Senate, the Vice President. But whereas each Senator is given the power to vote, in the House, each State Delegation gets a single vote. Moreover, the Twelfth Amendment restricts the selection of Vice President to the candidates who received the two highest numbers of electoral votes, thus eliminating the Republican candidate from consideration. In the House, all three leading presidential candidates are eligible for consideration.The Independent won the most electoral votes before the recounts, but there are only a handful of senators unaffiliated with the major Parties, and are no third party-dominated Delegations in the House. The Democrat won the greatest share of the popular vote before leading in the Electoral College, and the Democrats have the most Senators; but the Republicans, who lost both the popular and electoral votes, control an outright majority of Delegations in the House.January 4, 2021The new Congress convenes and immediately passes a resolution to meet in two days to count the electoral votes. Knowing the electoral situation, the House adopts rules for the counting of ballots that are identical to those passed in 1824, to respect the historic precedent and ensure consistency. After these votes and the recess of Congress, quietly, the Republican and Democratic Congressional leaders meet to discuss a compromise.The leaders agree that nobody wants to see the Independent candidates secure high office, but the question is how to block this from happening without upending the other Parties.In the Senate, the Republicans are urged to support the Democratic candidate for Vice President, as theirs is ineligible for consideration anyway. Republican leaders balk at the proposal, but are eventually persuaded to provide enough support for the Democrats to secure a one or two-vote victory – provided there are no Democratic defections.But what do the Republicans get in return? Democratic support in the House for the selection of the Republican candidate as President? The Democrats reject this. The Republicans trailed too far in the polls for that to be a legitimate possibility.Then what?If the Republicans in the House support the selection of the Democrat as President, then the Democrats will, in turn, support the election of the Republican Speaker of the House. In turn, the Vice President will resign – perhaps in exchange for a high profile cabinet position – and the then-President will select the Speaker as the new Vice President – the Speaker then replaced by another Republican. This would give the Republicans control of House leadership and tie-breaking capacity in the Senate which, given its narrow divide, would not be insignificant.The Republicans are less than convinced and offer no promises.January 6, 2021In the days since Congress convened, it appears to be ever more apparent that House Republicans are poised to select their candidate as President. Even though they came last in the election, they retained control of a large majority of State Delegations in the House. While only a few Republicans have gone on record with their express intent to vote for the Republican candidate, others point to the rules laid out in the Constitution and the necessity of honoring the law.Some Democrats and independents flirt with the possibility of a walkout unless Republicans agree to choose between the leading two candidates, but they simply do not have the numbers to deny the Republicans a Quorum and stall the vote.Tens of thousands of Americans have descended on Washington and Capitol Hill, demanding that their votes be respected. But as the demonstrators come from all camps, and the pressure on Congress already enormous, the protest does not appear to be a particularly persuasive force for those in the Capitol’s halls.A few minutes after 1 p.m., the joint session of Congress convenes in the House of Representatives to verify and count the electoral votes for President and Vice President. As expected, the result is206 for the Democratic candidates169 for the Independent candidates163 for the Republican candidatesThe joint session concludes, and the Members of Congress return to their respective chambers to select the President and Vice President.The Senate is first to go, not as a matter of custom – when the Senate was called upon to select the Vice President in 1836, the Presidential contest was not in doubt at the same time – but because it is easier to organize the roll call necessary to elect the Vice President than it is for the House to take the roll of Members, appoint Representatives as State tellers, cast and tabulate its ballots.By the time the House has confirmed that all 435 voting Members are present, the Senate has, by a larger than expected vote of 78-22, supported the Democratic candidate for Vice President. The news is instantaneously received in the House as its Members mull over their votes.One by one, Members hand their ballots into the Deans of their Delegations, each of whom then proceeds to quietly tabulate the States’ votes with another Member observing. They then wait for the Clerk to call the roll by State.As each State is called, the Sergeant-at-Arms carries two boxes to Delegation, wherein are placed two, identical ballots which declare the States’ selection. He carries one box to each side of the Rostrum, and once all boxes have been collected, 100 Members, two from each State, divide equally to tally and verify the vote of the House.The Republican candidate has prevailed.The presiding officer struggles to bring order to the Chamber as Democrats and independents loudly protest the result. Democratic leaders corner their Republican counterparts to demand answers, but are stonewalled. What are they going to do? Reveal their conspiracy to the public?Outside the Capitol, the scene is even more raucous, and several protesters are detained over the next several hours as many attempt to strike out at Members or otherwise make their disapproval known more physically. Many more protesters are hospitalized as fights break out between rival camps.On the airwaves, commentators and pundits try to play down the shock and anger. “This is how the system works,” they say. “Who should be surprised? Shouldn’t we be relieved that the Constitution has prevailed through this crisis?”Mere hours after Congress’ selection, the President and Vice President-elect hold a joint press conference in which they pledge to help bridge partisan divides and work for all Americans. “We have heard you,” they say. “Now it’s time to move forward.”In other days, these arguments might have prevailed, but Americans no longer believe in “the system.” The system has sheltered the advantaged while doing less and less for those trying to get ahead or scrape by. The system is defending its stagnation and the status quo. The system has obliterated tens of millions of votes for new representation and handed the government over to the minority.Nor do they believe that those in power are capable of bridging partisan divides. They have heard this rhetoric before, and ad nauseum, for far too long and with far too little to show for it to believe it this time.The Independent candidate, though incensed by him and his running mate being shut out by Congress, tries to appeal to people to respect the rule of law and challenge “the corrupt bargain” in coming elections. He promises to form a stronger Party to secure electoral gains in the years ahead and forever shatter the current system.Americans, by and large, are not having it. They no longer want to wait for the next election, or the next, to sort things out. Their anger is real, in the moment, and on the surface.On social media, a passage from America’s most sacred document goes viral:We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.It is soon, and then often, accompanied by an amalgamation of quotes from revered Founding Father, Thomas Jefferson:Every constitution then, and every law, naturally expires at the end of 19 years. If it be enforced longer, it is an act of force, and not of right. . . . It might be indeed if every form of government were so perfectly contrived that the will of the majority could always be obtained fairly and without impediment. But this is true of no form. . . . Various checks are opposed to every legislative proposition. Factions get possession of the public councils. Bribery corrupts them. Personal interests lead them astray from the general interests of their constituents.The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.January 20, 2021Seven-hundred thousand people are in the nation’s capital to attend the country’s 58th Inauguration, but it is hard to find the relatively few people who are there to celebrate if not the incoming leaders, the nation’s tradition of peaceful transfer of power. In cities around the country, millions more have gathered in public areas in protest to the incoming administration.At noon, when the President begins the oath of office, he is almost drowned out by the rise of jeers and curses from the crowd. These persist through his very short address to the agitated masses, in which he seems to be begging them to believe that a new age of unity is at hand that will benefit all Americans.When he and the Vice President retreat into the Capitol at the conclusion of the ceremony, their security advises that they forego the parade down Pennsylvania Avenue. The number of arrests has already hit triple-digits, and the crowd moving from the Mall to the route threatens to overwhelm the security in place.They dismiss the recommendation – cowering in the Capitol might only provoke further anger – but they agree to delay the start of the parade, in the hopes people will surrender to the bitter cold and begin to disperse, and to remain in the limousine.The parade was supposed to begin around 2:30 p.m., but does not commence until an hour and a half later. The strategy of hoping the combination of cold and impending sunset would help disperse the crowds has worked to an extent, but it has meant that the devoted demonstrators still lingering are even more riled up.As the motorcade makes its way down Pennsylvania Avenue, the protesters’ response is intense, but mostly vocal – at first. Farther down the road, crowds begin to push against the barricades as the motorcade comes in sight, only to be pushed back by police.Between 9th and 10th Streets, eggs and, in defiance of the cold, shoes are thrown at the presidential limousine, and the motorcade begins to accelerate. But before the President and Vice President can make it to the safety of the White House, a protester becomes the spark that ignites the conflagration.At 13th Street, the corner of Freedom Plaza, as the barricades fail, a man is able to break through the police line and charges at the presidential limousine, rock in hand. He lets it fly, managing little more than to scratch the limousine’s paint, but in a fraction of a second is tackled by a combination of police and Secret Service.That alone might not have been enough to enrage the witnessing crowds, but the law enforcement officers, themselves riled by the hours of confrontation they have endured, break discipline and launch into a brief but brutal assault on the president’s assailant. It looks less like the protester is being arrested and more as though he is receiving a summary punishment.More protesters break free of the barricade in order to rescue their comrade, only to in turn be tackled and assailed. Pushing and shouting gives way to punches, and in minutes Freedom Plaza and the avenue are the site of a melee.Media outlets try to avoid broadcasting scenes of the violence to reduce the risk of provoking the millions watching at home; but as law enforcement and crowd control units rush down Pennsylvania Avenue to contain the violence, those who had remained after the limousine had passed take advantage of the thinning police lines and spill out onto the parade route.There’s no hiding the crumbling security situation anymore, and the nation’s capital is plunged into rioting not seen since 1968.Across the country, most of the crowds dispersed soon after the President was sworn in, but many remain in lasting protest, and are mostly peaceful. Once violence erupts in the capital, however, many local law enforcement agencies attempt to preempt the risk of disorder in their own cities and move in to clear the crowds.In all cases, their plans backfire. City after city witnesses the emergence of riots, until soon there’s hardly a State untouched by the anger spilling out from a fed-up population.Road to RevolutionThe Inauguration Day Riots are mostly quelled by week’s end, with isolated incidents lingering through to the end of the month. The final toll is comparable to a natural disaster. Dozens have been killed, with thousands more seriously injured. Property damages surpass one billion dollars.Although the violence has subsided for now, most recognize that Pandora’s Box has been opened. Grievances against the government are spilling out from all quarters, and respect for lawful authority has plummeted. More and more rallies turn violent at the merest hint of a crackdown, which creates a feedback cycle: Law enforcement arrives to the subsequent rally in bigger numbers and with more gear, convincing the protesters that their rights will not be respected, agitating them to violence, provoking a larger response, and so forth.Eventually, jurisdictions begin denying all demonstration permits in order to ease tensions, but this only sparks a rise in illegal protests and acts of civil disobedience.Congress, in the meantime, has ground to a halt. Democratic leaders, still chaffed by the Republican rejection of their compromise offer, refuse to support any scrap of the Republican agenda in the House and use an array of tactics to stall business in the Senate. Moreover, they refuse to confirm any of the Republican President's Cabinet nominations without concessions, leaving the whole of government starving for leadership. The handful of third party Representatives and Senators have given up on attempting to bridge the divide, and instead serve as conduits of public anger at the intransigent government.Meanwhile, down Pennsylvania Avenue in the White House, the President and Vice President often quarrel on the rare occasions where they speak, and the Administration has yet to put forward a clear agenda for moving the country out of its crisis of confidence.Americans’ largest, collective disapproval of their government comes in April, as a record number individuals “fail” to file tax returns. Recognizing the tax revolt, in a rare act of bipartisanship, Congress first passes a law to extend the filing date to the end of June with no penalties for those who did not file by April 15 – but with increased penalties thereafter.The June deadline, however, is not met with an increase in tax returns being filed, but a several-million strong protest on the National Mall. It is the first protest since the Inauguration Day Riots that articulate national demands for changes to the government. There are calls for a Constitutional Convention.Their demands are met with regurgitated rhetoric.In August, after a summer of news about tax evaders being arrested, redistricting favoring incumbents, and the failure of bipartisanship to make meaningful progress in Congress, the electorate’s anger erupts again as Members of Congress, on recess, duck and dodge at town hall meetings and other public events. Several events turn violent. Eventually, Congressmen stop appearing in public altogether.When Congress reconvenes in September, there are angry crowds at Capitol Hill to demand why the Congress has failed to act on an array of measures, with bills to approve a Constitutional Convention among them. Physical confrontations are rare at first – the police are quick to isolate and remove troublemakers – but the thin veneer of peace does not last long against the storm of discontent.On the afternoon of Friday, September 17, as Congress tries to rush through morning business so they can head back to their districts, protesters are successful in surging past the police lines and force their way into the Captiol Building, storming the House Chamber. The Floor is empty, as it usually is during business hours, but their occupation is a major victory in its symbolism and effect.Energized by the scene of their compatriots in command of the halls of Congress, protesters across the country storm and occupy their State assemblies, forcing legislatures in most States to follow in Congress’ footsteps and hastily adjourn.The message is clear: Americans no longer support the rules of the status quo, and no amount of rhetoric will be sufficient to placate them. Two centuries after the end of its first revolution, the American people have risen up again to revoke their consent to be governed under the ruling order.The Second American Revolution has begun.