Inundated. Stunned. Overwhelmed. I’ve been struggling to adjust to Trump becoming President again and how much Trump doesn’t care about working folk like me. I alternate between being outraged by what new thing is happening to our country and needing to take a break from the madness. At times I feel all this rage and simultaneously helplessness. What can I do? I still haven’t figured this out, so I want to try writing to help me cope. I hope that this might inform people about what is happening behind all of the atrocities being hurled at the American people.
Tariffs will increase costs for Americans
In his address to Congress, Trump spoke about still going through with the tariffs he’s applying to Canadian and Mexican goods. Even the Wall Street Journal says that Trump’s tariffs will be the Dumbest Trade War in History. Trump lies when he says the tariffs will be paid for by Canada and Mexico. The 25% tariffs are paid by American companies that import goods from Canada and Mexico. And those costs are frequently passed on to the consumer, you. So how little does Trump care about how this will affect you? He’s said, “There will be a little disturbance, but we’re OK with that.” He knows that people are struggling to make ends meet, but just does not care.
Edit: Before publishing this post, Trump put a temporary pause on some tariffs until April 2nd. If Trump cared about you, he would cancel the tariffs entirely. By just pausing the tariffs, the threat of a trade war still looms. If the tariffs resume after April 2nd, it could end up costing American families $1,600 a year in disposable income.
USPS Purpose: Profitability over Serving Everyone?
What else does Trump not care about? The Postal Service. Trump and his advisor Elon Musk both want to privatize the USPS, citing concerns of its profitability. Trump said, “It’s been just a tremendous loser for this country. Tremendous amounts of money are being lost.” But the USPS “operates under a “universal service obligation,” requiring it to deliver mail and packages regardless of distance or profitability, unlike private mail services. It also does not receive taxpayer money.” Trump may issue an Executive Order to poach the USPS and absorb it into the Commerce Department. Doing this would be the first step in trying to privatize the USPS. On the surface, arguments of profitability and balanced budgets may seem reasonable. But privatizing the USPS would fundamentally change the purpose of the USPS from serving everyone to making a profit. This would affect rural areas the most, where delivering mail is the least profitable. This doesn’t even take into account that Trump attempting to seize the USPS would be illegal. “Congress would almost certainly have to approve any change to the structure of the Postal Service.” So if Trump does try to steal the USPS and put it under the Commerce Department, call your Representative and Senators to put a stop to Trump’s heist before it’s too late.
Trump doesn’t care about you
Trump doesn’t care about you. His actions prove it. We’re about to find out how many ways he will show us he doesn’t care. But we don’t have to sit around and take it. We can join together and call our Congressmen and Congresswomen to voice our outrage.
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