American society in the era of Trump could see harmful economic policies | Opinion

With Trump in the White House again, it’ll be very interesting to see what unfolds in America over the next four years. We’re on uncharted, and perhaps ominous, ground.

Facilitating this development, the Democratic party once again displayed their incompetence by selecting a presidential candidate closely associated with inflation and over wokeness (including chaotic mass immigration). Millions of swing voters, particularly men, disdain these conditions.

But, at a deeper level, Democrats have lost many of the working-class voters who once were their bedrock. Liberal over wokeness explains some of this, but economic issues are probably of even more relevance. Blue-collar Americans are hurting. Over the last 40 years, the percentage of national wealth owned by the bottom 80% of our population has plunged to approximately 10%. Trump won the election by validated the pain of struggling people and, seemingly, speaking on their behalf. But let’s sort out the substance from politics.

There have been three major periods of oligarchy (rule by the few) in America: Our early decades, the Gilded Age, and today. The 1920s also saw a substantial growth in inequality, which contributed to the Great Depression. FDR turned that around following his 1932 election with his “growth from the middle out” policies. The ensuing period from 1933 to 1980 included the Golden Era of American economics. The great American middle class was born as most people experienced a huge rise in real income, liberties, and quality of life.

However, this change of emphasis away from plutocracy (rule by the rich) towards the common good, along with the civil and women’s rights movements, provoked a huge conservative backlash. Ronald Reagan harnessed this reaction and helped fuse the GOP with the Christian Right evangelicals, creating a political juggernaut. They attacked unions, eroded the separation of church and state, unleashed wall street, and undid many progressive FDR policies.

America, therefore, returned (1981) to supply-side economics focusing on growing the economy from the top (“trickle-down theory”). Tens of trillions of dollars were transferred to elites. This development, along with globalization and automation, explains the loss of ground experienced by most people, leaving them unmoored, aggrieved, frightened, and easy prey for aspiring populists.

Hence, the primary problem of most Americans is not transgender athletes or liberals (who didn’t protect their base well enough) but instead the millionaires and billionaires who usurp so much of the wealth regular Americans produce. And with their great wealth comes tremendous power. Politicians are easily bought, which allows the super-rich to further rig the game in their favor and become ever more wealthy and powerful. Ironically, much of the success of Trump’s populous movement is in directing (toward Democrats) working people’s anger over the growing inequality that individuals like Trump created.

Biden began reversing the damaging neoliberal policies of 1981-2020, and his various acts and policies were showing signs of building unions, returning industries, busting monopolies, and increasing wages of regular Americans. But economic policies often take time to unfold, and people mostly saw inflation.

Now, with a vengeance, Trump will return to Reagan’s neoliberal philosophies that’ll exploit and harm most Americans, while stoking divisiveness and confusion. His policies will entail tax cuts and deregulation benefiting the rich and corporate, while cutting back on investments in education, environment, healthcare, and communities.

Trump’s shtick is projecting concern for regular people and families. But truly being helpful entails implementing policies individual people and families actually need. This entails modifying the economy to facilitate accessible healthcare, affordable housing, rising wages, reasonable daycare, and paid parental leave. Waving the American flag, flaunting the Bible, and declaring you’re against gay marriage doesn’t really help.

Trump will soon stroll into office on the very democratic principles he tried to overthrow just four years ago. Expect conservative evangelicals, patriarchs, plutocrats, cronies, and kleptocrats to be everywhere. Trump and his allies will attempt to transform our oligarchic semi-democracy into full-blown autocracy (dictatorship).