Tag: Trump Administration

Tariffs sound great if you say them fast enough. Protect American jobs! Punish foreign cheaters! Bring back factories! Make America great again! It’s the kind of thing that looks terrific on a bumper sticker and terrible on your grocery receipt.

Here’s how tariffs actually work: they’re TAXES. Not on foreign governments. Not on multinational corporations. But on you, the consumer. You want to buy a TV, a car, a refrigerator, or maybe some diapers made overseas? Boom — extra cost, courtesy of Trump’s “Big Beautiful” tariffs. It’s like someone slashing your tires, then charging you for the tow truck while claiming they’re protecting your freedom.

Now, in theory, tariffs are supposed to protect domestic industries. They raise the price of imported goods, so American-made stuff becomes more competitive. Sounds reasonable, right? Well, in theory, I’m also supposed to eat kale and do yoga every morning. In reality, things are a little messier.

Here’s the dirty truth: the factories those tariffs are supposed to protect? They’re gone. Packed up, shipped out, and rebuilt in countries where labor is cheap, unions are banned, and environmental protections are a myth. Tariffs won’t bring those jobs back — not because we don’t want them, but because the companies that moved them overseas have no intention of returning. Why pay an American worker a living wage when you can pay someone a few dollars a day with no health care, no pension, and no regulations about dumping chemicals in the river?

And who helped set that up? Surprise — both parties.

Yes, Republicans have long worshipped at the altar of “free markets,” but let’s not forget it was Bill Clinton, the self-declared “New Democrat,” who signed NAFTA and sold it like it was the next moon landing. We were told it would open markets, lift everyone up, and lead to global prosperity. What it actually did was crater entire towns in the Rust Belt and devastate small farmers in Mexico, who suddenly had to compete with subsidized corn from Iowa. You want to talk about immigration? NAFTA created an economic refugee crisis before anyone was even using the term.

Meanwhile, large multinational corporations got fat, happy, and tax-sheltered while local communities — here and abroad — were hollowed out like pumpkins on Halloween.

Now in 2025, Donald J. Trump has returned to the Oval Office with another round of brilliant economic wizardry: massive new tariffs on China, the EU, Mexico, and basically anyone who doesn’t serve fries with a side of nationalism. These tariffs were billed as a way to “protect American workers” and “stick it to foreign adversaries.”

What’s actually happening? You guessed it: prices are up, wages are stagnant, and the stock market is falling faster than you can grab your ankles! American farmers can’t export their crops, retailers can’t afford inventory, and manufacturing is still not coming back. Oh, and our allies? They’re slapping retaliatory tariffs on our products like it’s a game of economic dodgeball and we’re losing badly.

And who pays the price? Not the CEOs. Not the politicians. It’s working-class people — the same people Trump promised to fight for. The irony is painful. It’s like watching someone set their house on fire to stay warm.

But here’s the kicker: this isn’t just an American problem. When the U.S. starts a tariff war, the ripple effect slams into low-wage workers across the globe. Factories in Vietnam lay off workers. Small exporters in Mexico can’t sell their goods. Families everywhere lose their economic foothold. So much for “America First” — this is more like Everyone Last, except for the ultra-rich who keep cashing in no matter who’s bleeding.

Tariffs are great politics — they sound tough, they feel patriotic, and they give the illusion of control in a chaotic world. But they don’t fix the root problems. They don’t rebuild lost industries, reverse decades of outsourcing, or re-invest in communities that have been left behind by automation, greed, and a bipartisan obsession with corporate profit over public good.

If you want to help working people, don’t slap a tax on their shoes. Raise wages. Invest in infrastructure. Enforce labor standards. Stop subsidizing the companies that offshore jobs and stash profits in tax havens. That would actually work.

But that’s complicated. Tariffs are easy. Which is why we keep getting more of them — even as everything gets worse, and Trump is smiling like he just pulled off the greatest deal in history — while the rest of us foot the bill.

There’s this idea out there — a loud, angry idea — that progressives are trying to take something away from conservatives. That we want to ban your religion, seize your guns, force you into abortions, and open the borders so we can replace you. It’s everywhere: on cable news, in social media echo chambers, in speeches designed to scare instead of inform.

But the truth is… that’s just not what we’re about.

We don’t want anything for ourselves that we wouldn’t want for you. And we’re not trying to force anything on anyone — quite the opposite. What we want is choice, freedom, dignity, and a country where everyone, including you, gets to live a decent life, feel safe, and be treated with respect.

Progressives aren’t trying to make you have an abortion. We’re just saying don’t force us to give birth if we’re not ready, or it’s unsafe, or it’s simply not our path. That’s not an attack on your beliefs — it’s a defense of ours.

We’re not trying to take away your right to marry who you love, worship how you want, or teach your children your values. We just ask for the same freedom in return. Let us live without being told our families are illegitimate, our love is wrong, or our beliefs are a threat to the nation.

We’re not trying to abolish the Second Amendment. Many of us own guns. But we also want our kids to come home from school alive. We want to be able to go to church, the movies, or the grocery store without looking for the nearest exit in case someone with an AR-15 decides to make a statement. That’s not tyranny — that’s grief asking for mercy.

We want safe, strong public schools for all kids — not just the ones in wealthy ZIP codes. We want a fair economy, where teachers, firefighters, and nurses don’t pay a higher tax rate than billionaires. We want healthcare that doesn’t bankrupt families, and housing that doesn’t take two jobs and a miracle to afford. We want clean air, clean water, and a livable planet — for everyone’s grandchildren.

And above all, we want peace. Not the peace of silence or submission, but the peace of mutual respect — of a society that works because we see each other as fellow Americans, not enemies.

We know there are real fears out there. Cultural change is fast. The world is complicated. And for many, things have gotten harder — jobs lost, communities hollowed out, traditions shaken. It’s easy, in those moments, to look for someone to blame. To believe the voices that say someone else is taking what was yours.

But those voices are lying to you. This isn’t a zero-sum game. Your dignity and our dignity don’t cancel each other out. We all lose when we’re divided, and we all win when we invest in each other — when we build a country where everyone can thrive.

Progressives aren’t perfect. We get things wrong. But our beliefs are rooted in hope, not hatred. We want what most Americans want: safety, fairness, freedom, and opportunity.

We just want a country where no one is left behind — not rural towns, not immigrants, not teachers, not LGBTQ kids, not factory workers, not single moms, not veterans struggling to find work. Everyone.

So let’s stop letting fear and misinformation define our politics. Let’s stop shouting past each other and start listening for the humanity beneath the noise. Because at the end of the day, most of us — right, left, or somewhere in between — want the same basic things:

To raise our kids in peace.
To live with dignity.
To matter.

And none of us have to lose for all of us to win.

Let’s give credit where credit is due: when Donald J. Trump promised to “run the country like a business,” we didn’t realize he meant bankrupting it like one of his casinos. Yet here we are in 2025, watching the second Trump administration play out like a badly written sequel with a much higher body count — economic, civic, and moral.

In March and April of this year, Trump 2.0 rolled out his latest masterstroke: a sweeping new round of tariffs on China, Mexico, the European Union, and — for some reason — Canada. Yes, Canada. Because why not punish our neighbor for the crime of selling us affordable lumber and maple syrup?

These tariffs were sold as a “bold strike for American greatness,” but the markets weren’t buying it — literally. Within weeks, global supply chains seized up, inflation reignited, and Wall Street panicked. The Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq tanked harder than a Trump NFT launch, wiping out $9 trillion in value practically overnight. Retirement accounts? Gutted. Pension funds? Vaporized. Corporate investment? Frozen.

Even MAGA retirees who once chanted “Drain the Swamp!” find themselves asking why their nest eggs are suddenly scrambled. The irony? Many of them voted for the man who just torched their savings with a stroke of his Sharpie.

But don’t worry — all this economic pain isn’t for nothing. It’s part of a larger, deeply patriotic effort to… give billionaires another massive tax cut.

That’s right. The Trump White House, flanked by a GOP Congress in full donor-appeasement mode, has announced plans for a $5 trillion tax giveaway to the ultra-rich and large corporations. And how will they pay for it? By finally taking a chainsaw to what’s left of the federal government.

Their plan is simple: Medicaid? Slashed, because apparently access to healthcare is “woke.” Food assistance? Cut, because billionaires are starving for more stock buybacks. 

Disability benefits? On the chopping block — after all, can’t those people just “work harder”? Public education, housing, infrastructure, environmental protections, disaster response? Who needs any of that when we have tax-free yachts?

The GOP calls this “fiscal responsibility.” Economists call it “economic sabotage.” But Trump calls it “winning,” and his sycophants clap like trained seals while their own constituents get steamrolled.

Let’s be clear: this is not some accident or misunderstanding. This is by design. Every policy choice — from the tariffs that are cratering the economy to the gutting of the safety net — is meant to consolidate power and wealth at the top while everyone else fights for scraps. Trump and his enablers aren’t trying to govern a nation; they’re asset-stripping it.

We’re not just witnessing inequality. We’re witnessing the deliberate transformation of the United States into a techno-oligarchy, where a handful of megadonors, corporate monopolies, and Trump family sycophants rule while the rest of us are told to be grateful for trickle-down “freedom.”

So when Trump smirks into a camera and calls himself a “very stable genius,” remember: this is the same “genius” who bankrupted a casino. And now he’s bankrupting a country — on purpose.

And the real tragedy? He’s doing it with the cheers of millions who still believe the con.

If there’s one thing Donald J. Trump promised us from the very beginning, it was that he would hire “only the best people.” Of course, in Trumpian terms, “best” translates roughly to “laughably unqualified, dangerously incompetent, and preferably holding some sort of ideological grudge against the very agency they are meant to lead.” Trump 2.0 has made it abundantly clear that his second go-around in the Oval Office is less about governance and more about accelerating the downfall of American institutions—either through sheer ineptitude or, if you believe those pesky national security experts, through a calculated dismantling on behalf of his long-time admirer, Vladimir Putin.

The Justice Department: Law and Order (But Mostly Chaos)

Trump’s choice to lead the Justice Department this time around is none other than Pam Bondi, the former Florida Attorney General best known for dropping a fraud investigation into Trump University after receiving a hefty donation from Trump’s foundation. With a legal philosophy best described as “defend Trump at all costs,” Bondi has transformed the DOJ into little more than a legal shield for Trump’s allies while redirecting prosecutorial energy toward anyone who dares question his authority. The rule of law? That’s so Administration.

FBI: What’s a Federal Bureau of Investigation Without the Investigation?

The FBI, historically tasked with safeguarding national security, now finds itself under the leadership of none other than venture capitalist and professional attention-seeker Vivek Ramaswamy, who once proclaimed that “government agencies should be burned to the ground,” now finds himself in charge of one—though to be fair, he does seem to be following through on his original goal. In his first week on the job, he released a report accusing Ukraine of bribing prominent Democrats, an accusation so flimsy that even Newsmax took a moment to blink. The “evidence” came straight from Russian propaganda networks, proving that either Ramaswamy is deeply gullible or that the Kremlin’s investment in Trump continues to pay dividends.

Defense and National Security: Who Needs Experience When You Have Loyalty?

The Pentagon, once staffed with highly decorated generals and intelligence professionals, is now being run by Pete Hegseth, a Fox News personality whose primary military experience involves appearing on television to criticize actual generals. His first major act? Gutting NATO cooperation and calling for the withdrawal of troops from strategic regions, a move so favorable to Moscow that Putin probably had a celebratory vodka toast in the Kremlin.

The Economic Mastermind Who Never Met a Bankruptcy He Didn’t Like

Meanwhile, Trump’s economic strategy—if one could dignify it with that term—continues to work wonders for America’s decline. His reckless tariffs have sent inflation soaring, and the stock market plunging more than 10% (that’s the sound of your 401K exploding.) His mass layoffs of Federal workers creating uncertainty in a vast array of companies that rely on the services these agencies provide. Leading the charge is his new economic adviser, Howard Lutnick, a Wall Street executive whose main qualification seems to be a deep personal loyalty to Trump. Under his guidance, the economy is being treated like a high-stakes poker game—with America’s working class footing the bill.

Social Security: The Doctor Is In (and Wants to Sell Your Benefits to the Highest Bidder)

Not to be outdone, Trump has appointed a TV doctor—best known for peddling miracle cures and questionable health advice—to run Social Security. His most recent statement? That Social Security should be privatized, because nothing says “secure retirement” like handing seniors’ benefits over to Wall Street. Under his watch, Americans are being told to swap their guaranteed benefits for the latest stock market roulette. What could possibly go wrong? Oh, yeah, I guess we’re watching it now.

Trump: The Manchurian President or Just a Monumental Moron?

All of this, naturally, leads to the question that has plagued us since 2016: Is Trump merely a blundering fool with an ego larger than his actual assets, or has he been a willing Russian asset all along? His cozy history with Putin—defending Russia at every turn, parroting Kremlin talking points, and actively undermining America’s global standing, crashing the economy, and destroying the federal intelligence services—suggests that, at the very least, he’s an unwitting pawn. At worst? Well, let’s just say that if a former KGB officer wanted to install a puppet in the White House, he probably couldn’t have picked a better candidate.

Whatever the answer, one thing is clear: the United States, under Trump 2.0, is looking a lot less like a global superpower and a lot more like a banana republic run by a reality TV star who just happens to owe a few favors to a certain Russian leader. But hey—at least the rallies are still entertaining.

Nothing unites a country quite like a common enemy. And if you don’t have one? Well, you can always manufacture a few. Just ask the media conglomerates and the Republican Party, who’ve turned division into a billion-dollar industry. Workers against unions, Black against white, native-born against immigrant—it’s all part of the grand illusion. But when it comes to the real divide, the one between the ultra-rich and everyone else, suddenly we’re all just Americans. Funny how that works.

Turn on the news—any channel, pick one—and you’ll be treated to a spectacle of outrage. The elites who own the networks know that a divided public is a distracted public. And a distracted public doesn’t notice when wages stagnate, when healthcare is treated as a privilege, when billionaires hoard wealth like dragons sitting on piles of gold. Instead, we’re too busy blaming each other. The blue-collar worker is told the union is bleeding him dry, the struggling white family is told immigrants are taking their jobs, and middle America is told city dwellers are the enemy. And so, we fight amongst ourselves, while the ones at the top laugh all the way to the bank.

It’s a perfect con. The same politicians who cut taxes for the rich and deregulate industries to pad corporate profits are the ones screaming the loudest about “working-class values.” The same billionaires who fund think tanks to convince us unions are evil are the ones profiting off our cheap, overworked labor. They talk about family values, but their real family is a tight-knit club of CEOs, hedge fund managers, and lobbyists who make sure the system works exactly as intended—for them.

And yet, the truth has always been simple: it’s not Black versus white, native versus immigrant, worker versus union—it’s them versus us. The top 1% owns more wealth than the bottom 90% combined, and we’re supposed to believe our biggest threat is each other? Please. It’s time to wake up. The real battle isn’t left versus right; it’s top versus bottom. And as long as we stay distracted, we’ll keep losing.

So, the next time a talking head tells you who to blame for your problems, ask yourself—who signs their checks?

by Robert Cain

Is it the right to shout from the rooftops, to gather in protest, to buy and sell whatever our little capitalist hearts desire? Is that what freedom is? Because, if so, we should all be feeling pretty free right about now. Yet, strangely, there’s this gnawing sense that something’s off—like we’re walking around in a nation that calls itself “land of the free” while people mysteriously disappear into unmarked vans, and somehow that’s just another Tuesday.

Remember the 1960s and 70s? The civil rights movement, women’s liberation, labor organizing—it was an era when Americans dared to demand that freedom apply to everyone, not just the chosen few. The streets filled with people who understood that freedom without justice is just a marketing slogan. And they fought, bled, and sometimes died to make real change. Laws were passed, minds were shifted, and for a brief, shining moment, it seemed like the arc of history might actually be bending toward justice.

Fast-forward to today, and it turns out that arc is a lot more rubbery than we thought. Because now, in this new golden age of law and order (read: state-sponsored kidnapping), we’ve got government forces snatching people from the streets and shipping them off to El Salvador’s most notorious prison. A place so infamous for its brutality that even actual dictators might wince. And all of this without due process, because who needs the archaic right to face your accuser when you have a government that already knows who the “bad guys” are?

Ah yes, freedom. That cherished principle we are told justifies every war, every tax cut for the wealthy, every surveillance program, and every corporate bailout. But when it comes to something as quaint as the right to a fair trial? Suddenly, we’re told that security is more important. That we should trust the authorities. That if you weren’t guilty, you wouldn’t have been disappeared in the first place. How convenient.

So what makes us free? Certainly not just the Constitution, which these days seems more like a list of suggestions. Not the Supreme Court, which increasingly serves as rubber stamps for executive overreach. And definitely not the idea that we all have rights that can’t be taken away—because clearly, they can. So, are we truly free?

But true freedom is not given; it is demanded. Lincoln understood this when he fought to preserve the Union and end slavery, and FDR knew it when he declared that “freedom from fear and want” were just as essential as speech and assembly. We, the people, are the guardians of our own liberty. The Constitution is not a relic; it is our shield, and we must wield it. When our representatives trample our rights, we must stand up as those before us did, with the unshakable belief that democracy is not a spectator sport. We march not just for ourselves, but for future generations who deserve better. The power has always belonged to us, and when we rise together—undaunted, unafraid, and unwilling to accept anything less than true justice—then and only then are we truly free.

Ah, America the Free! Where you’re free to work, free to hustle, and most importantly, free to live in constant fear that a single medical emergency will financially ruin you. That’s not a flaw, folks—that’s the design. Corporations have spent decades lobbying against universal healthcare, paid leave, and every other public safety net, not because they ‘believe in the free market,’ but because they believe in keeping you scared enough to never quit your job.

Health Insurance: The Ultimate Corporate Leash

Ever wonder why your health insurance is tied to your job? It’s not because it’s the most efficient system (spoiler: it isn’t), but because it’s the most effective way to keep you compliant. Want to switch careers? Start your own business? Take a break to care for a loved one? Haha, good luck! Unless you want to risk a five-figure ER bill or rationing insulin, you’d better stay put. Your employer isn’t just paying you—they’re owning you.

Lobbyists to the Rescue! (For Corporations, Not You)

Enter the heroic corporate lobbyists, bravely fighting against universal healthcare and paid family leave, all in the name of ‘freedom.’ And by ‘freedom,’ they mean your freedom to remain dependent on their scraps, and their freedom to keep wages low while your benefits barely keep you alive. These champions of capitalism have spent billions ensuring that you’ll never have the security to walk away from a bad job. Because a worker with options? That’s a dangerous worker.

Fear as a Business Model

Here’s the real genius of it all: they don’t even need to pay you more to keep you around. All they have to do is make the alternative so horrifying that you’ll cling to your lousy job like it’s a lifeboat in shark-infested waters. Need proof? Look at every major attempt to pass universal healthcare in the U.S.—corporations scream ‘socialism!’ while quietly cashing in on your dependence. Meanwhile, in countries with universal healthcare, people switch jobs, start businesses, and—brace yourself—actually live without crippling anxiety. Terrifying, right?

The Corporate Trap Continues

So the next time you hear a politician say we ‘can’t afford’ universal healthcare, ask yourself: Who really benefits from keeping you one medical bill away from disaster? (Hint: It’s not you.) Because as long as you’re afraid to leave, they don’t have to pay you more, treat you better, or compete for your labor. And that, dear worker, is how corporations make fear their most profitable product.

by Robert Cain

Art by WickedLocal

Ah yes, Donald Trump, the champion of the common man! The billionaire real estate mogul who spent his life stiffing workers, dodging taxes, and stuffing his gold-plated penthouse with the tears of unpaid contractors. But somehow, when he rants about the ‘elites’—the very club he’s belonged to his entire life—MAGA think he’s not talking about himself. That, my friends, is the magic of Trump 2.0: Fake Populism.

While he tweets about bringing jobs back and ‘draining the swamp,’ what does he actually do? Cut taxes for the ultra-rich. Deregulate Wall Street. Hand out corporate welfare like it’s Halloween candy and slap tariffs on everything he can pronounce. And let’s not forget: when his rabid fans cheer for ‘America First,’ they apparently mean America’s billionaires first. Because who else benefits from slashing corporate tax rates and gutting labor protections? (Hint: It ain’t you.)

The Corporate Welfare Bonanza: Your Tax Dollars at Work (for CEOs) –

Let’s talk about real welfare queens—the kind where the government hands out cash like a game show host, but only if you’re already a billionaire. America, land of the free (markets) and home of the brave (CEOs who lobby for taxpayer-funded bailouts). Our government generously hands out hundreds of billions in subsidies every year to corporations that are somehow too big to fail but too fragile to pay taxes. From fossil fuel giants to big banks, Uncle Sam is practically a corporate ATM. And guess who foots the bill? That’s right—the same working-class taxpayers Trump pretends to fight for.

UnitedHealth and the Art of the Medicare Scam:

And now, for the grand theft that nobody talks about enough: UnitedHealth’s Medicare scam. ProPublica has been screaming from the rooftops about how UnitedHealth and other insurance behemoths are bilking Medicare Part D for billions—by overcharging the government, manipulating billing, and denying care to actual human beings while making record-breaking profits. It’s simple: they collect premiums, deny services, and rake in cash while your grandma struggles to afford her insulin. That’s the free market at work, folks! But don’t worry, the executives at UnitedHealth are doing just fine—millions in bonuses ensure they don’t have to choose between food and medicine.

Bernie Sanders: The Last Guy Standing for the Working Class:

Meanwhile, the real populist, Bernie Sanders, has been shouting into the abyss for decades about how oligarchs are looting the country. The guy has the audacity to suggest that maybe, just maybe, billionaires shouldn’t exist in a country where people die because they can’t afford healthcare. Radical, right? The real populists have been laying out the receipts for years—how capitalism, in its current form, serves the few at the expense of the many. And yet, Bernie is the one labeled ‘extreme’ while the government hemorrhages trillions to corporations.

So Who’s Really Fighting for You?

So next time Trump or his copycats tell you they’re ‘fighting for the working class,’ ask yourself: Do they mean higher wages, universal healthcare, and corporate accountability? Or do they mean more tax cuts for their billionaire golf buddies while you fight over the last loaf of bread at Walmart? Real populism puts people over profits. Fake populism convinces you to cheer while they rob you blind. 

Your move, America.

by Robert Cain

Art by Malc McGookin/Independent Australia

Ah, the dawn of Trump 2.0—the sequel nobody wanted, but here we are. The President and his merry band of cronies have been making the rounds, warning us about the “painful” times ahead. Austerity, trade wars, and economic upheaval—sounds like a real party! But let’s get serious: who exactly is feeling this so-called pain? Spoiler alert: it’s not the billionaires.

While Trump and the Republican Party line their pockets with more tax cuts for the ultra-rich, the working class gets to experience the thrill of mass layoffs, skyrocketing grocery prices, and an economy teetering on the edge—again. You see, it’s all part of the grand economic strategy: Make America Grovel Again. Because nothing says “winning” like watching your paycheck shrink while corporate profits soar.

And let’s not forget our good friend Elon, wielding his metaphorical (and sometimes literal) chainsaw, gutting institutions left and right so he and his Silicon Valley pals can play government like it’s just another tech startup. Regulatory agencies? Who needs ‘em! Infrastructure? Overrated! Public services? Privatize everything and charge you a subscription fee just to exist. But don’t worry, they’ll tell you it’s all for innovation.

Meanwhile, grocery prices remain stubbornly high—because why lower them when you can blame inflation while padding corporate margins? The same playbook, different year. Yet, somehow, the very people getting crushed under this economic catastrophe are still being sold the fantasy that Trump and his billionaire buddies are on their side. It’s almost impressive how they keep falling for it.

And let’s talk about those brilliant trade wars. In Trump’s infinite wisdom, he’s decided the best way to stick it to our allies is by slapping tariffs on everything that moves. European wine? Tax it to oblivion. Canadian lumber? Make it unaffordable. Chinese imports? Let’s just keep escalating until it’s impossible to buy a toaster without taking out a loan. American farmers and manufacturers? Oh, they’ll just have to suffer, but don’t worry, they can always apply for those taxpayer-funded subsidies (which somehow seem to benefit giant agribusinesses more than actual farmers). Economic nationalism has never felt so expensive!

And if that’s not enough, there’s always the looming threat of military action in the name of… what exactly? Greenland, you say? That’s right—because in between golf rounds, Trump’s fantasy of buying Greenland has somehow escalated into a full-blown delusion of invading it. Nothing says “America First” like strong-arming a country that didn’t ask for this nonsense. Who needs diplomacy when you can just threaten military action over a chunk of ice?

So who’s feeling the pain? Not the billionaires. Not the hedge fund managers. Not the oil barons, the tech overlords, or the political elite. It’s the teachers, the factory workers, the single parents, the retirees, the small business owners—all watching their livelihoods get sacrificed at the altar of “economic patriotism” while the rich laugh all the way to their offshore accounts.

Painful times ahead? Absolutely. Just not for the ones writing the rules.

In the grand theater that is American politics, there emerged a recurring theme: the Republicans Declared “Government is Broken!” then would seize the reins of power, steer the economy into a ditch, while giving their corporate billionaire buddies huge tax breaks, and then, with feigned innocence, declare, “See? We were right.” A Self-executing prophecy. Enter the Democrats, stage left, armed with mops and buckets and a desire for “good governance”, go about cleaning up the mess. Let’s look back on this economic “double- speak”, from 1980 through the Trump sequel that nobody asked for.

Reaganomics—Trickle-Down or Trickle-On? – The 1980s ushered in President Ronald Reagan, who championed “trickle-down economics,” a delightful fairy tale where showering tax cuts upon the wealthy was supposed to benefit everyone. Spoiler alert: it didn’t. While the rich luxuriated in their windfalls, income inequality widened, and the national debt tripled. The economy did grow, but much like a soufflé—impressive on the surface, hollow underneath.

Read My Lips, No New Competence – George H.W. Bush, inheriting Reagan’s deficit and adding his own flavor of economic malaise. Despite a brief flirtation with fiscal responsibility by raising taxes (breaking his own “no new taxes” pledge), the economy slipped into recession, and Bush Sr. slipped out of office.

Enter Bill Clinton, who, despite his Neo-Liberal policies and personal indiscretions, managed to preside over an era of economic prosperity. All be it, he presided over massive off-shoring of jobs to Mexico and China, slash the social safety net for millions of Americans and deregulated the financial markets the would eventually lead to the “great recession”, he raised taxes on the wealthy and managed to balance the budget, achieved a surplus, and oversaw robust GDP growth. The unemployment rate dropped from 7.3% to 4.2%, and the economy added 18.6 million jobs. The rich still got richer, but at least the rest of America got a small piece of the pie.

Mission Not Accomplished! – George W. Bush took the stage and promptly passed massive tax cuts favoring the wealthy, engaged in costly wars, and deregulated the financial sector. The result? The Great Recession of 2008—the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Job losses mounted, the housing market collapsed, and the financial system teetered on the brink. “Mission Accomplished,” indeed.

“Yes, We Can”… fix this – Barack Obama inherited an economy in free-fall. Through stimulus measures and financial reforms, the economy slowly recovered. The unemployment rate fell from 10% to 4.7%, and the stock market rebounded. While not without faults, the administration’s efforts stabilized the economy and set the stage for a decade of growth.

Donald Trump entered with promises of economic greatness. He enacted tax cuts that disproportionately benefited corporations and the wealthy, ballooning the deficit. Trade wars ensued, manufacturing jobs didn’t return as promised, and income inequality widened. The economy did see growth, but much of it was built on the successes of the Obama administration, while Trump’s fiscal policies were chaotic at best.

Joe Biden took office amidst a pandemic and economic turmoil. Through stimulus packages and infrastructure investments, the economy saw a resurgence. Unemployment dropped, and GDP growth resumed. However, challenges like greed-flation (where companies used the excuse of  supply chain issues to gouge consumers) and collusion among the oil industry combined with a bird flu outbreak that effected egg prices remained, giving the right wing the talking points they needed.

Against all odds and perhaps reason, Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office. His second term began with a flurry of executive orders, tariffs aimed at our allies, dismantling the watch-dog agencies, and firing tens of thousands of federal workers . The stock market, initially buoyant on the belief that more tax cuts were imminent, began a downward trend. Inflation remains a significant issue, gas and grocery prices, especially eggs, continuing to soar. Unemployment which stood at 4.1%, begins to tick higher, and the overall economic outlook looks like a train wreck waiting to happen. 

This pattern is unmistakable: Republican administrations often implement tax cuts favoring the affluent and increase military spending, leading to higher deficits and economic instability. Subsequently, Democratic administrations are left to navigate the fallout, striving to implement policies aimed at broader economic recovery and fiscal responsibility. The data underscores this trend: since World War II, GDP growth has averaged 4.1% under Democratic presidents versus 2.5% under Republicans.

So, the next time the GOP proclaims that “government is the problem,” one might consider who has been at the helm during economic downturns and who has been tasked with the cleanup. Perhaps it’s time to break this cycle and advocate for governance that prioritizes the many over the privileged few.