The Vampire State: Thirty Years of the Great American Drain

In 1995, Billy Corgan snarled that the world was a vampire. We thought he was talking about the spiritual boredom of the suburbs. We were wrong.

​Thirty years later, the metaphor has become a business model. America has transitioned from an investment into a predatory subscription service. From the toxic chemical loops of the grocery aisle to the death of the free public square, the system is now designed to harvest its citizens rather than protect them. While the defense budget nears a trillion dollars, the "Survival Tax" is pushing the middle class to a breaking point.

​This is an autopsy of the Great American Drain. It is an investigation into why being "poor" in a communal society often feels richer than being "successful" in an isolated one. More importantly, it is a look at the "American Refugees" who are finally deciding to stop being the fuel for a machine that never sleeps and never satisfies.