Riding the Trump Tilt-a-Whirl

I want Trump and conservatives to be successful–to govern successfully.  Some people might think living in Trump’s America is like being on a roller coaster, but I think it is more like Tilt-a-Whirl, there is so much action that your head is left spinning and your stomach lurching.  Trump may imagine this is like a dramatic novel, where the action develops in a manner that creates conflict and a crisis and then a resolution and everyone lives happily ever after.  Unfortunately, as we know from Trump’s first term that is not always the case.  You may recall that Reps lost seats in the House and Senate in 2018 and of course Trump managed to get bounced out of office himself.  Reps also lost enormous ground in the states over that time.  Four years of Bidementia’s whacked pro(re)gressivism was enought to bring Trump back.

Has he learned anything?  Not sure, but the early evidence is very mixed.  God bless Elon Musk for trying to bring some efficiency to the federal government but his scorched earth strategy that may work in the private world, isn’t going to fly in an organization made up of 15-20 high-powered cabinet secretaries and others.  Musk is stepping on toes left and right and offending the people he needs to work with.  Most of these people are committed to reducing costs on their own.  So I predict the Musk experiment will be lucky to last 6 months.

The economy is always the top political issue.  Inflation remains troubling, interest rates are high, there is fear among many people about they can maintain, much less improve their standard of living.  Yet Trump and Congressional Republicans are talking about continuing resolutions and budgets that do nothing to signficantly cut spending and rein in deficits.  You cannot fix our financial mess without reforming Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid.  It simply can’t happen mathematically.  So I fear stagflation or worse and the political consequences of that.

Offending other countries that traditionally have been our allies and friends is just stupid.  Whatever issues need to be addressed, and there are issues, could be taken up in a respectful manner.  Canada is a prime example.  We have turned the entire country against us, hurting businesses that depend on exports to that country.  The Trump diehards who ignore the consequences and say we can do whatever we want are justifying bullying and mocking that they would never want to be subjected to.  And even if the underlying issues get resolved, there will be a lingering negative reaction to the US.  No one likes to be mocked, bullied or disrespected.

The problem with governing like you are a Tilt-a-Whirl ride is that no one wants to be on that ride for long.  No one wants all the drama and chaos extending into the indefinite future.  I would like to hope the Trump has or will smarten up, but I doubt it based on past evidence.  And that is bad for those of us who want a small government, true free-market economics, a society based on merit and a peaceful world.