Trump must find his grip on reality quickly
Every four years, Americans get a chance to choose a new president. The opportunity amounts to a sort of referendum on the state of the nation. This past election, the referendum came down as a mandate or change. Hillary Clinton, the loser of this race, was regarded as the establishment candidate. Donald Trump, the winner was generally seen as the anti-politician, anti-establishment candidate.
Believe it or not, I voted for the latter. My vote was as much for Trump as it was against the crooked, corrupt system that gave Hillary her nomination. I never could square her role as a secretary of state, the department’s highest position with her misuse of her private email server. I never knew what to make of all the speeches Clinton gave for big bucks while she was talking to moneyed corporate elites.
In essence, I couldn’t see rewarding her bad behavior with a good result. Many other people felt this way as well and, in part, that’s why she lost the presidency.
Now, with the ascension of Donald Trump to the Oval office, I find myself a little bit confused and with some questions. Some of these questions arose in the interim period between Trump’s election and his inauguration. One was in regard to intelligence findings about Russian computer hacking. The other was in respect to Trump’s skepticism over how real global warming is. With respect to the former subject, Trump was reluctant to accept the findings of 17 intelligence agencies. They all found evidence pointing to Russian interference in our election for the president. Trump questioned their findings and down played their conclusions.
In regard to the latter subject, global warming, the president acted uncertain about the reality of global warming. Specifically, he stated “no one knows for sure if it’s real!” He said this in the face of overwhelming evidence and consensus to the contrary. What stands out here, at least to me, is the separation from reality between what most people think and what he chooses to believe. When 17 intelligence agencies all arrive at the same conclusion, that’s because there is compelling evidence and proof to support such a determination.
When most of the world’s nations get together, as they did in Paris in December 2015, and decide to try and do something about global warming, that’s because global warming is real and it’s happening. It surely serves no one’s best interests to debate and deny this. It certainly behooves our executive leader to recognize and understand this. Our security at home and status abroad cannot be enhanced by the type of thinking I’ve cited and criticized.
I’m calling on our new president to look at things in a different way. I hope to expect that he can take a more realistic and practical view of the matters which come before him. I not only would like but prefer that President Donald Trump succeed in his stated quest to “make America great again.” Yet success cannot be had by denying or ignoring reality. You cannot be successful by putting a fox in charge of a hen house. When your nomination for Labor Department, Andrew Puzder (since withdrawn, but presented nevertheless), has a history with his workers of underpaying them, stealing their wages, and forcing them to work in unsafe conditions, you can’t expect to succeed on behalf of the American people.
Admittedly, Donald Trump acts and operates as a maverick; he rounded up followers by telling them, “You’re my only special interest.” He also pledged to “drain the swamp” in Washington of special interests and corrupt insiders. Most of all, he promised to “make America great again.”
Surely, President Trump is old enough to recall what once made America great. It was a time, a bygone era, when the economic pie was growing, and every American who worked hard enough could expect to cut himself or herself a slice. The “crumbs on your plate” was not the serving, and this time period was marked by the belief of the older generation that the younger generation would grow to be better off.
Alas, those days are done for most, and the unifying thread binding generations together snapped a long time ago. According to Nobel Prize-winning economist Lester Thurow (now deceased), the 25-year period following World War II was a boom period. It saw living standards rise by 68 percent. However, this period ended in 1973 (the first year of OPEC and the oil embargo). According to David Cay Johnson, there followed a 33-year decline in living standards. It was marketed by a loss of ground to inflation for the bottom 90 percent of income earners. In addition, the purchasing power of social security dwindled by 22 percent since 2000. So, the American Dream (again, for most) is dead and died a long time ago. The question for President Trump and all of us is this: what should we do to ensure future generations live better than past generations?
One of the best answers to this question is presented by Pat Buchanan, a strong Trump backer and prominent national columnist. Buchanan is proposing the president push for a value added tax (VAT) on manufactured goods. Such as tax is common practice in western European nations. It usually stands at 15 percent and applies to all goods shipped in from foreign nations. This policy sends a strong message to manufacturers: make your product at home or pay a stiff fee.
Another approach the new president might try is to stop talking about lowering the corporate tax rate, and start talking about raising the federal minimum wage. Corporations already know that two-thirds of American firms, according to the award-winning investigative magazine Mother Jones, pay no taxes. 42 percent of working Americans make less than $15 an hour. This is shameful in the richest nation on Earth, and it’s why the federal minimum should be doubled to $15 an hour. Even at this rate, it would be only two-thirds of the national average, which is $25 an hour, according to the federal Department of Labor.
Additionally, President Trump and his Republican backers should stop talking about tinkering with popular programs such as Medicare and Social Security. Most Americans don’t want these entitlements cut or privatized, they want them strengthened and expanded.
Finally, this administration needs to halt its grandstanding and political posturing over Obamacare. Republicans may harbor as their most fervent wish repealing and replacing Obamacare, but their choices are simple. Either they provide us with the kind of health insurance they take, or craft an option different from Obamacare that they themselves would take. Otherwise let them resolve to not let one of the 22 million newly insured under Obamacare go without coverage.
In closing, a great opening and grand opportunity looms large before President Donald J. Trump. He has succeeded in elevating himself to be a rare non-politician to occupy the Oval office. He now can seize his opportunity and act in one of two ways. He can play the politician and toe his party’s line. Or, he can choose to become a great person and fine leader by doing the greatest good for the largest number of people.