Arthur E. Sowers is a resident of Harbeson.
Donald Trump’s executive orders — and many other actions started, or started, wobbled and yet to be finalized — have initiated U.S. government reorganization processes that are far beyond anything in history. After two months of our president’s second term, not only is more bad news than good news coming out, but numerous polls are showing growing disapproval with both Trump and Elon Musk on handling the economy.
Trump has been insisting all along that he will bring us into a “golden age,” but what comes to my mind is the sinking of the steamship Titanic on its maiden voyage. The postsinking investigation revealed an unwise captain, design flaws and numerous equipment shortcomings that could have been remedied before the maiden voyage. Instead of diligence, the brains of the designers and engineers were emphasizing hype and hucksterism over safety. Below is a partial explanation of why the “Make America Great Again plan,” as Trump 2.0 is running it, is already sinking.
The history of recent large U.S. corporation reorganizations and mergers, taking place over five to 10 years — and even with considerable planning — still showed a 70%-80% failure rate.
An internet search on this string, “what percentage of new businesses fail,” will give you many links to data showing that 50% of businesses launched by practical, talented, well-meaning — but nonpolitical — people still end up in the dumpster after five years.
So, we have a hot air-blowing politician who makes a promise too good to be true, and half the people fall for it.
Trump promoted the idea that we need 1.) large cuts to government spending (which will cause great economic hardships) and 2.) increased tariffs to help government cash flow. Increased tariffs will also cause increases in prices at stores. So, his two solutions will bring us two new problems to replace two old problems.
Trump pushes a low-tax ideology because low taxes are better for everyone. However, in reality, this is not always true. For example, the Wikipedia article, “Kansas experiment,” explains that Gov. Sam Brownback’s 2012 House Bill 2117 gave the largest Kansas income tax cut in history. But it ended up failing to stimulate enough growth to offset the cost of the tax cut. This ended up increasing the state debt. The bill was repealed in 2017. According to another article, Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (2017) didn’t work, either.
Trump is pushing massive cuts in all the functions in our whole government. They are causing primary disruptions, which, in turn, will cause secondary disruptions. All this is happening without planning or justification. One article says the chances for a recession went from 20% to 40% in one month.
Another article interpreted what Trump said as a warning that your Social Security may be cut. And our world trading partners are all mad at Trump for tariff increases that are almost acts of war. In Canada and Europe, boycotts have started against USA exports. Foreigners are canceling vacation visits to the USA. A record number of Americans have applied for British citizenship to escape Trump. Another article revealed interest in escaping from Trump by the increase in Americans applying for Irish passports. These trends are all going in bad directions.
While Trump 2.0 has been shrinking our real government, a private and expanding “shadow government” has been replacing it.
Designated as the Department of Government Efficiency, it is a nongovernment organization created by Trump. It is totally outside of the law and outside of our Constitution. In the future, I would expect that Trump may create more NGOs under his sole and complete control. They will not be transparent. But they will still be financed by your tax dollar, or your tariff dollars, while taking over to become a real, substitute “Trump deep state” of its own. One article said at least 18 Republican states are setting up their own “DOGE clones” that will cut more jobs and state government spending, further increase poverty and push us into a recession sooner.
But here is the thing. The Trump deep state is just like the “king’s court” in a medieval kingdom. Everything is “for” the king. Loyalty is the price. The king is always right and never makes mistakes, and you will always “bend the knee.” But, if mistakes are ignored, it will be due to blind loyalty. Blind loyalty, in turn, is a form of confirmation bias, and that is a fallacy. Dissent is illegal and unthinkable. Criticize the king, and the king will say “off with your head.” No recourse. No appeal. No due process. No mercy.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
