Trump sends America into a downward spiral

In less than 75 days, Mr. Trump has made us poorer, weaker, less healthy, less prepared for the future, less competitive, more isolated, and less free.

Photo Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

All those rich folks who thought only of their tax cuts are now finding they have something in common with the rest of us.

They lined up to support Donald Trump in the election. They threw money at him after he won. They bowed down and changed their corporate policies to curry favor. A lot of good it did them.

J.P. Morgan woke up just hours after Trump declared economic war on working Americans and much of the rest of the world. They told us,

We view he full implementation of these policies as a substantial macro economic shock not currently incorporated into our forecasts… these policies, if sustained, would likely push the US and global economy into recession this year.

You have to ask yourself, how is it that a company whose job it is to assess risk did not plan for tariffs Mr. Trump campaigned to impose. They discounted the possibility even after Trump called tariffs the most beautiful word in the English language. They were blinded by promised tax and regulatory cuts.

Now their portfolios are tanking, and they find they are in the same boat as the rest of us commoners. And yet, they are still reluctant to row. Jeff Bezos even announced a new Trump Store on Amazon. Others are secretly hoping we ordinary Americans will do the work to restore our freedom and prosperity while they watch from the comfort of their private islands and yachts.

Graphic credit: Reuters

In less than 75 days Mr. Trump has made us poorer, weaker, less healthy, less prepared for the future, less competitive, more isolated, and less free. With everything at stake, those rich folks need to grab an oar and row with the rest of us.

We are poorer. Layoffs this month are the second highest ever. The only worse month was when COVID hit in Trump’s first term. Equity markets are falling. Even though Trump inherited the strongest economy in the world, recession is now all but certain. Inflation is going up again. Real disposable income growth is predicted rapidly to turn negative.

We are weaker. Our defense establishment shared war plans in an unsecured online app and in sworn testimony our intelligence chief does was unsure about what is classified. Allies are no longer willing to share intelligence information with us. Our navy is wasting tax dollars floating around our southern border while the defense chief orders preparations for war with China. The military cannot recruit sufficient soldiers and sailors, and they are purging talent if it is black or female.

We are less healthy. The experts who kept drugs safe to take and food safe to eat, those who tracked disease outbreaks and prepared for environmental disasters are gone. A measles outbreak continues to spread in the U.S. and virus reservoirs, made possible by the withdrawal of USAID internationally, now make the outbreak of new diseases far more likely.

We are less prepared. We enter tornado and hurricane season with significant cuts to the national weather service and to NOAA. This means we will not get the warnings we need to move to safer ground when storms hit. FEMA is on the chopping block, so after a disaster we are on our own.

We are less competitive. The insane attack on universities and on science means labs are closed. An entire generation of young post-docs and P.h.D candidates now seeks work in other counties and other fields. The next great innovations in science and medicine will happen elsewhere. The next great companies built on those innovations will not be American.

We are isolated. Our former allies in Europe and elsewhere are now uniting to stand against the United States. The German government called the tariffs, akin to an act of war. Meanwhile, NATO countries have warned the United States that an invasion of Greenland would be an actual act of war. Across the world, leaders are considering how to retaliate against American aggression.

We are less free. Books are banned. Words are banned. Schools are ordered what history to teach and what facts cannot be spoken. Museums and are directed to redo displays to conform to the new orthodoxy. Important arts institutions are taken over. Federal grants are withheld to any who dare disagree. Private companies, starting with big law firms, are threatened unless they agree to work for the administration. Meanwhile, the government is disappearing people off our streets and into foreign prisons with no due process, and the administration through an illegal executive order intends to undermine voting and cement its tenure in power.