Yesterday, an installer came to replace a malfunctioning remote for our gas fireplace. He’s been here three times before, so I’ve come to appreciate his skill and personality. He’s self-employed and both professional and personable. We don’t chat much, but we’ve had pleasant exchanges. When he finished up for what I hope is the final time, I bravely asked him if he was “political.” He said he wasn’t actively political, but “had his beliefs.”
I took that to mean that he pays some attention to what going on in the world without it dominating his life. So, what did he think of the new administration, was he supportive? His thoughts: it will be disruptive, but the disruptions are for the best. Tariffs will work out for the best. We will end up in a better place. The government is bloated; we need to take care of our own people before sending money overseas.
I don’t have strong opinions about bloat and inefficiency in the government. Yes, there’s likely some amount of bloat, but I don’t expect government to be as efficient as a business. A business can decide not to serve some people when it is too expensive to do so. Think rural broadband, for example, Without subsidies of some sort, no cable company is going to extend their services to scattered homes on remote pieces of land. That’s a money losing proposition. But rural broadband has become as essential as rural electricity, so what are we to do? Government subsidies of one sort or another. Is that bloat? Hmm.
But what about “taking care of our own people before helping people abroad?” My installer suggested helping homeless people first. OK, but I’ve never heard a word of support for homeless people coming from this administration. Will our leaner, meaner government fund more housing programs for low income people? More services for people addicted to drugs or alcohol, more services for people with serious mental illnesses? I’m not seeing plans to shift money from other programs to these services.
I asked about Ukraine. For sure my thoughtful, gentle installer would not spend a dime on Ukraine. He sounded much like JD Vance at his worst, but in a gentle voice. “We don’t owe the Ukrainians anything.” On this point, I think he’s just uninformed. Yes, I think we do owe Ukrainians a lot. Putin is a thug. The US, for all its faults, has the ability to keep thugs like Putin in check. We have a horrid track record with thugs, but this is one we could contain if we choose to do so. Biden constrained Ukraine so much that Trump now says Ukraine cannot win this war and must be “brought to heel.”
I will trust you, dear readers, to know that Trump envies Putin and despises Zelensky. Without rehashing that history, let’s just say that I support Zelensky and despise Putin. To see us abruptly end weapons support to Ukraine is gut wrenching. To see us terminate information sharing? This is where the world I’ve known comes to an end. Putin immediately sent rockets to slaughter civilians. Their blood is on our hands. I am ill thinking of it. I am not in position to attend protests as I once did. (Are there any?) But I write blog posts and support candidates who support Ukraine.
My view is that the chaos being wrought by Elon Musk will only bring the inability of government agencies to perform their various duties. I don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. Saddest of all, is that I blame Democrats for going off the rails on culture war issues to the point that many people I know online could not support them last fall. Nothing is as it should be. The world is upside down, inside out, no rainbows in sight. I’m glad I’m 80 and not 40.
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