Remember when building anything in America required navigating more red tape than a Christmas present? Well, plot twist: the government just decided those rules don’t apply anymore. At least not if you’re building the future.
While everyone was arguing about election maps and Twitter drama, something way more important was happening in the basement of bureaucracy. The feds basically said “screw it” to decades of regulatory gridlock and flipped the switch on what I’m calling the “One Rule” economy.
Here’s the deal: For years, if you wanted to build a pipeline, factory, or even a decent-sized lemonade stand, you had to survive a gauntlet of 50 state regulators, thousands of local zoning boards, and enough environmental impact studies to kill a forest. It was a system designed to say “no” to everything.
But then AI happened. And suddenly, saying “no” became an existential threat to American dominance. So the government reached for the ultimate political sledgehammer: Federal Supremacy. Translation? “Move fast and break things” is now official policy—but only for the chosen few.
The VIP Treatment
The “One Rule” is basically executive orders on steroids that tell state and local regulators to sit down when it comes to AI infrastructure. Think of it as Manifest Destiny 2.0, except instead of railroads to the Pacific, we’re bulldozing through bureaucracy to build data centers that could power small countries.
Take Project Stargate—a $100 billion supercomputer that makes the International Space Station look like pocket change. In the old world, this would’ve spent two decades in “permitting hell.” Now? It’s getting the wartime mobilization treatment.
Then there’s Project Genesis, which sounds like a sci-fi movie but is actually the government’s plan to onshore the entire AI supply chain. We’re talking lithium stockpiles in Nevada, uranium mining in Wyoming, and “Silicon Heartlands” sprouting up faster than you can say “national security.”
The Rigged Game (And How to Play It)
Let’s be real: this is a rigged market. If you’re a “National Champion,” the government will find you land, power, subsidies, and sue anyone who tries to stop you. If you’re not in the tent? Good luck fighting the same regulatory nightmare that’s existed since the Carter administration.
This is why the “Magnificent Seven” tech stocks are decoupling from everyone else. They’re not playing the same game as the other 493 companies in the S&P 500. They’ve got the federal government as their wingman.
So how do you invest in a world where Uncle Sam picks winners? Stop looking at price-to-earnings ratios and start looking at proximity-to-power ratios. Focus on companies building the “physical layer”—construction giants, natural gas utilities, and miners securing strategic materials.
The era of “hands-off” government is dead. Whether you love it or hate it, the machine has a life of its own now. The smart money isn’t fighting this trend—it’s riding it. Because when federal supremacy clears the runway, valuations don’t just grow incrementally. They get repriced entirely.
Welcome to the “One Rule” economy. The house always wins, but at least now you know which house to bet on.