Trump Continues His Unrelenting Attack on Americans’ Economic Well-Being
Live and Let’s Fly
Denying the economic experiences struggling Americans are relating as well as the data telling the story of rising prices and stagnant wage growth, Donald Trump called the now politically central issue of affordability a “Democrat scam.”
Not only has Trump basically turned a blind eye to the economic hardships Americans are suffering, even worse, it seems like practically every day he and his Republican allies pursue some measure to make the affordability crisis even worse, evidencing his unrelenting attack on Americans’ economic well-being.
The Republican-led Congress, now infamous for kowtowing to Trump, left town without taking any action to address the ballooning healthcare costs set to cripple millions of Americans with the expiration of the Affordable Care Act subsidies. Republicans refused to renew them.
Trump’s silence on this issue has been rather deafening; he has shown little to no leadership or care regarding healthcare crisis that portends devastation for millions of people.
Expert economists and business leaders across the board testify that Trump’s irrational tariffs have increased costs for Americans, explaining the basic truth of tariffs Trump in his colossal stupidity refuses to absorb: foreign businesses don’t absorb the costs of tariffs, consumers do.
Or, perhaps it’s not that Trump won’t absorb the truth but that he just doesn’t care.
Or, even worse, as his behaviors suggest, his attack on Americans is intentional, as every day he ignores Americans’ pleas and refuses to take basic steps that would improve the economy overall for everybody and make American lives better.
Most recently, Trump and the Republicans have continued this assault by halting energy projects that promise to contribute to lowering utility costs for Americans and by creating policy that devastates struggling farmers across the nation and those Americans weighed down by student loan debt.
Last Monday, Trump halted construction on five offshore wind projects that would power up to 2.7 million homes on the east coast, even as Americans suffer sky-rocketing electricity costs. Even Trump’s allies have called the move “incredibly reckless” when the nation faces increasing energy needs which, if not addressed, threaten energy security and the overall economy that relies on energy production, not to mention the rising costs Americans face.
So, Trump halted projects that could lower energy costs for Americans and which are necessary for national security and for the functioning of our economy. They’d also help us address the climate crisis.
This action does not seem to benefit Americans in any way, to put it simply.
And then last Tuesday, in the thick of the national outcry about affordability, Trump announced the federal government will start garnering the wages of student loan borrowers in default.
Really? This move doesn’t just seem tone deaf; it seems intentional—not an effort to help Americans in economic distress, but rather an effort to exacerbate that distress.
Remember when evil President Joe Biden tried to relieve Americans of the burden of student loan debt? Remember how Republican attorneys general sued him for trying to make life more affordable for Americans and the now highly partisan Supreme Court sided with Republicans in denying student debt relief to millions of Americans?
Providing student debt relief would actually be a measure that would boost the economy overall for all Americans, as a 2018 study from the Levy Institute indicates, removing economic barriers that prevent Americans from buying homes, starting families, and more.
Moreover, it would be wise for America, as many European countries do, to look at making higher education as an investment in people that makes the nation and its economy stronger. Currently, for the most part, individuals pay for their education to develop themselves into the workers American businesses and government, and our society overall, require. It would make sense for all to share the cost of this investment through taxes, since all benefit.
It would be a win for all. Trump and the Republicans don’t care.
Rather, they say, let’s take your wages, while our policies on tariffs and healthcare are already making it difficult for you to afford a basic living. And, let’s pass that Big Beautiful Bill giving corporations and the wealthiest Americans even bigger tax breaks.
These decisions don’t seem like ignorance or stupidity; they seem intentional, brutally so.
And Trump continues to attack farmers whose work and products are essential to the lives of all of us. While his policies have destroyed markets for many farmers, especially Ohio soybean farmers, costing all American taxpayers who foot the bill for economic bail-outs, Republicans have slashed federal and state aid that supports regenerative farming practices the protect crops from drought, allowing farmers to bring in more revenue while ensuring food supply.
As with student loan debt relief, this funding needs to be seen an investment in America’s economy and future, not just helping individual farmers but protecting the nation’s food supply and national security.
Similarly, Republican policy in Wyoming is preventing farmers from installing solar energy equipment to help decrease exorbitant energy prices that threaten their ability to continue farming and ranching.
These policies just don’t make sense, unless they their intent is to enrich specific interests, such as those of the fossil fuel industry, at the expense of individual Americans and the obvious interests of the American nation overall.
Again, it seems like every single day Trump and the Republicans do something to make the economic lives of Americans worse.
I guess we’ll see what’s in store tomorrow.