Trump is pompous, pragmatic and productive
Beneath a veneer of righteous indignation about Trump mannerisms, is opposition to his agenda largely a matter of economics?
He was labeled an Islamophobe for implementing a travel ban on seven of over 40 predominantly Muslim nations which were actively sponsoring terrorism or had failed as the result of it.
He was cited as anti-immigrant for opposing open borders and immigration policies devoid of skill set and asset consideration.
He was termed a racist for correctly acknowledging that there were bad actors on both sides in Charlottesville – White Nationalists, Black Lives Matter Marxists and Antifa Anarchists. Few have benefited more from his policies than those of color.
An unapologetic advocate of free enterprise, Trump was elected by “deplorables” who had witnessed the middle class decline from a majority of Americans to a plurality. His opposition was and remains largely globalist and socialist in nature. It was not long after inauguration that the goring of sacred cows commenced, each carrying a financial consequence.
Globalism is predicated upon the subordination of sovereignty to an overseeing body and a redistribution of assets from countries like ours. With the ascendance of Jesuit Jorge Mario Bergoglio to the papacy, but one piece remained to complete the puzzle, the election of Hillary Clinton. For these and a bureaucratic deep state, international in scope, the election of Trump was a disaster.
Internationally, Trump incurred the ire of NATO by bringing attention to the 25 of 29 members which had ignored their defense spending commitments. You see, globalists postulate the argument that the economics of trade will replace military hardware as the weapon of choice. Clearly however, the likes of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea have different points of view. On trade, he exercised leverage in the interest of addressing imbalances by threatening protectionists with protectionism.
Withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord required little more than a cost/benefit analysis. For a miniscule theoretical benefit, the United States would bear most of the trillions in cost. Ironically, thanks to the natural gas production of a fracking industry which the previous administration attempted to destroy, no country has come close to our reduction in greenhouse emissions.
Domestically, disenchantment with Trump policies and proposals is not difficult to find.
He expects the able-bodied unemployed to work for benefits and departing members of Congress to delay the monetization of their service as lobbyists. “Swamp” wages have been frozen and the ranks of the federal employees reduced by 16,000.
He has authorized a 5 percent cut in spending for all cabinet departments but defense. Those in the largest of our blue states will be paying their fair share of federal taxes. VA hospitals will no longer enjoy a monopoly on caregiving to the most deserving among us.
Big Pharma has been “jaw-boned” into postponing price increases. The stranglehold which public sector unions have had on our everyday lives will be reduced as a result of the Janus vs. AFSCME Council 31 decision. This sampling is not the product of an ideologue but a pragmatist.
In 2019, healthcare premiums are projected to decline in a dozen states and increase by an average of only 4 percent in the remainder thanks in great measure to the effective repeal of the individual mandate, the authorization of association health plans and a reversal of restrictions on limited duration health coverage. Wages next year are expected to increase by 3 percent as the result of tax and regulatory reforms. Neither would have been expected had conventional decisionmaking prevailed.
That a person, once nearly bankrupt, is holding our country to account for decades of reckless decision-making may be the greatest irony of all. Like it or not, he is the castor oil that we needed and deserved.