I wasn’t going to get into all this much here… but really, how can I not?
The Sad Show in Washington DC keeps getting worse.
Russ Vought — key architect of Project 2025 — tapped by Trump, to wield a strange and devastating power: impoundment.
Trump has said he’s going to use impoundment of funds to override things Congress does that he doesn’t want them to do. He can hold back monies — impound them — even though Congress designated those funds. (It’s a murky power of the executive, at best, but he used it in his last term to hold back funds from Ukraine. Some have suggested that he was already working for Putin back then.)
Russ Vought… swell. That would make this author of the end of the American Experiment(1) an extremely powerful person. One who has to be cow-towed to at everything and still might spit in your soup, just because he can.
So, not even in office yet and already Trump is setting up ways to get around his all-republican Congress. He’s already trying to “trump” his supposed allies.
Congress is mumbling about this as probably illegal, even the Republicans in Congress, but will they have the guts to stand up to him if it turns out to be an abuse of power? Or will it be like The Roman Senate during the Caesar’s: mortally afraid to disagree with Power.
Between Vought and Musk… both occupying roles not disapproveable by Congress, all of the Federal Government should be out right now looking for legitimate work(2). Wonder how Musk and Vought will get along? Their announced roles will overlap a bit.
Turns out this is Trump’s way of delivering on his promise of “more cash in everyone’s pocket,” by lowering cost of government, thereby lowering taxes. Lower taxes will require revision to the tax code, but I haven’t seen any rhetoric about revising the tax codes, yet. And if it does require a tax code revision, that’s going to be at least two years before the public sees “more cash in their pockets” and that bumps smack up against the next election cycle, with probable higher costs on everything and a greater unemployment. He (the Republicans, at least) could lose Congress then.
Unless… well, we’ll see, won’t we?
I see also he’s announced a 25% tariff on stuff from Canada (that means higher drug prices primarily, and some higher car prices) and Mexico, and 10% on Chinese goods. 20% on ALL imports, and a duty of least 60% on products from China. (Tariff and Duty on Chinese stuff: that sounds like 70% cost increase on a LOT of stuff Americans buy. Wonder if he’s analyzed the effect on the computer industry? America doesn’t make chips any more(3), and is years away from getting into full swing on that, in spite of the recent federal funding to rebuild chip factories. Stock market reaction to these tariffs and duties was mixed, but generally positive. Can’t say I understand any positive aspect of this.
Hmph. Maybe I should be making notes here: for my “American Diary” book, following in the footsteps of William Shirer’s Berlin Diary.
Phooey… sad how Humans keep wasting clock cycles, resources and lives repeating the same old tired stories instead of truly moving forward. Nothing in recorded history has ever told a new story. And here we are seeing the same old cycle once again.(4)
It’s never been the Executive that has the Big Impact on the America’s economy. That’s Congress’ job. The original division of power was the Executive leads the nation in the world, while Congress takes care of the internal matters, such as the economy, jobs and infrastructure. But the last 30 years Congress’ time and effort has been increasingly tied up with fighting the other party, instead of doing their job. That left holes in the system, and president after president gradually took over the jobs Congress wasn’t doing any more… and then, and then… Oh well. This isn’t a history book. Not yet.
I hear that some of Trump’s supporters — folks who voted for him — are already disheartened because the economy didn’t instantly change following election day. Huh? He’s not in office yet people! And what the President can do to affect the economy really isn’t that much. But to be discouraged with a guy who’s not even assumed power yet because some strange magick didn’t happen instantly? How far from reality these folks have drifted.
What have Americans become? The proper descriptives defy me.
Is any of this good? Is any of this bad? The future will reveal.
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(1) Project 2025 is a nightmare document that would turn America in to a religious dictatorship, ending all appearance even of individual freedom. Watch out everyone who is not White, Male and Wealthy. You can find the document online and download it. To read at your leisure. A mere 922 pages. You can hide anything in such a vast tome.
(2) Not necessarily a bad thing, trimming the government. It’s bloated beyond belief now. The largest bureaucracy in recorded history. But… you cut a bundle of government offices all at once and you put maybe a million people out of work in the course of a few months and the nation’s economy will suffer big time. Unemployment will skyrocket. That’s if those offices are cut in quick order.
(3) That was NAFTA’s doing. Made it easy and CHEAP to move all the factories out of the conutry. And with the cold war with the Soviet Union caput (as it were) there was no longer any perceived issue of national security around chip manufactuer. Short term thinking, that was.
(4) The usual cycle is Republic to Democracy to Fascism to Dictatorship. It’s happened over and over and over… yet people don’t seem to get it.
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