Are the Unravelers Unraveling – And Is It Too Late to Matter?

   

Are the Unravelers Unraveling – And Is It Too Late to Matter?

PETER ON THE WRITERS’ HANGOUT PODCAST!

“Something is shifting… They are still breaking things and stealing things. And they will keep trying to break and to steal. But the propaganda magic around the oligarchical coup is fading. Nervous Musk, Trump.” 

 Timothy Snyder, scholar of authoritarianism, posted on Bluesky, February 23rd.

As the hard impacts of the Musk/Trump presidency are implemented, Republican members of Congress are beginning to feel the wrath of their constituents, most of whom did not take seriously Trump’s pledge thoroughly to cull the “deep state” herd. Congressional Republicans are caught between these voters and Trump’s demand for lockstep support of each of his executive orders, his obviously unqualified cabinet level appointees and his cooption of the Department of Justice (from the FBI to the prosecutorial staff) as a body loyalists to his political command. Red states are, for the most part, much more dependent on federal aid – from grants that support local education, FEMA disaster relief (77% of which has gone to red states), Medicaid and federal infrastructure jobs – than are blue states. Musk sees serious cuts to all of these programs.

“When climate disasters strike, funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is just one part of the response. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) also plays a significant role by helping cities and states rebuild after hurricanes, wildfires, and other climate impacts. The Trump administration, which has already taken aim at FEMA, now plans to drastically reduce the HUD office that funds disaster recovery.”

“It’s a move that threatens the entire country—and some Republican-led districts more so. Every single state has had at least one federally declared major disaster due to extreme weather since 2011, according to Rebuild by Design, a project at the Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University that focuses in part on climate resilience.” FastCompany.com, February 21st. That billionaire tax cut must pass, right?

The above protests – one at a Tesla dealership, the other at a GOP dominated town hall meeting – are the visual evidence of a rapid decline in Trump’s approval levels and a seemly majority American dislike of all things Musk. Still, with all this growing anti-Musk/Trump animosity, the Democrats seem a tad like a deer in the headlights… stuttering and not knowing exactly what to do. The internal struggle between progressives (focused on social and cultural issues) and moderates (who chafe at the GOP takeover of economic issues) has stymied a coherent unified Democratic strategy. Elders still rule the party; the young are angry seeking to modernize the response. Get over it! Listen to your traditional voters!

Despite the current peace and stability at our southern border, the mere trickle a of a few attempting to cross north, the battle of urban ICE raids and instant deportations have been mounted with zealous fury, with amazing speed and cruelty… shameful visuals for evangelicals who have actually read the Bible. The negative impact on agricultural, construction and hospitality operations is beginning to mount… as small businesses (e.g., small restaurants) are closing their doors. As unharvested crops lie rotting in the fields, as housing construction slows or comes to a complete halt.

Both Trump and Musk are enjoying making life miserable for millions of federal employees as they seek unlawful responses from civil servants, trolling federal employees (see the above Trump meme) and describe poor Americans receiving some federal assistance as the “parasite class.” That the majority of red states, the voters the MAGA is used to counting on, have significantly larger percentages of people living below the poverty level, hasn’t yet awakened GOP members of Congress to a shifting sense of betrayal from their once immutable base. The pledge of reduced costs has actually produced higher prices with proposed tariffs threatening to push consumer prices through the roof. The faith of so many MAGA voters in the economic expertise of Trump and friends seems to have been shattered.

Just half of spending on discretionary consumer goods is covered by that fairly small niche of Americans earning over $250K/year. Wal*Mart, which is generally viewed as retail catering to lower income buyers, has projected a going forward decline in retail sales, which has appropriately tanked the stock market. Tesla sales are off by 16%, but we have yet to be sure this is part of a continuing trend. Starbucks has announced a huge layoff as well. There is an increasing realization from a large cadre of people who voted for Trump that they have become the expendables in a mad race to implement massive tax cuts for corporations and the highest earners. Yet so many Americans have cut their spending levels to the bone, another hit to the economy, as they come face-to-face with Trumpeconomics.

The notion of a balanced budget, restraining a federal deficit that is wildly out of control (with rising interest rates plus the incredible cost of implementing Trump’s “arrest, detain and deport” immigration plan, projecting even more out-of-control deficit levels), is clearly targeting reducing benefits to everyone other than that privileged monied class. Billionaires rejoice. IRS staffing is down. Regulations protecting consumers from predatory businesses are out. Environmental issues are slowly deprioritized as climate-related disasters amp up. And the GOP is hell-bent on cutting their taxes even if this means shutting the government down to get there.

Everything is up for sacrifice, even our national security. “The Central Intelligence Agency is conducting an assessment of their own security after a White House email about civil service layoffs appeared to compromise the names of certain undercover officers, reported CNN on [2/24].

“This damage control, reported CNN, is ‘just one of multiple aftershocks from President Donald Trump’s push to take a jackhammer to the federal government — including the CIA. The administration’s efforts to cut the workforce and audit spending at the CIA and elsewhere threaten to jeopardize some of the government’s most sensitive work, current and former U.S. officials familiar with internal deliberations say.’” Raw Story, February 24th. Who cares if Russia is delighting in being able to track CIA operatives in their most sensitive work. After all, Russia is Trump’s new BFF… and Europe has already noted that the United States no long supports or understands Europe. Ukraine? Where is that again?

In the end, immigration restraints – even as Western nations’ birthrates fall below replacement value – remain biggest issues in the global rise of conservative neo-populism. As costs rise because of a lack of workers, will voters understand that we threw the baby out with the bath water? Does constantly rehiring fired essential workers suggest that there really is no rebuilding plan? As these former federal employees find solace in litigation, how many qualified people will eschew federal jobs like the bubonic plague? Fixing what was broken in a month may take decades to repair.

I’m Peter Dekom, and what is obviously missing in the Musk/Trump slash and burn approach to seeking budget and tax cuts, which benefit only the rich, is normal careful planning and BALANCE!