Mule-Headed Republicans

By SAM URETSKY

Democrats have the donkey, but Republicans have the Mule. The Mule, for those who aren’t familiar with Isaac Asimov’s great Foundation series, was a mutant with powerful mental powers. He had the ability to modify people’s emotions so that they supported him, even though his rule was not beneficial. He became one of the greatest conquerors the galaxy had ever seen. He was not the hero of the series.

Donald Trump is not a mutant, but he shares a lot of characteristics with the Mule. In spite of the lacunae in his knowledge of law, economics and diplomacy, he has a unique talent for convincing large numbers of people that he knows what he’s doing and cares for their welfare. On July 23, the New York Times published a useful report, “Trump Relies on Populist Language, but He Mostly Sides With Corporate Interests.”

Many of the people who voted for President Trump did so because he reflected their attitudes towards people of other nations and other races, but others who voted for Trump in the past did so because the economic policies of the Obama administration, which dramatically reversed the Great Recession, had not reached their parts of the country. In large part, this failure was due to Republican obstruction – unwillingness to fund a full scale recovery program, unwillingness to support the Affordable Care Act, unwillingness to participate in major infrastructure programs. Candidate Trump famously said, “‘We’re going to win so much, you’re going to be so sick and tired of winning,” but his policies have led to a series of losses for his supporters even more than for those who voted against him.

The Affordable Care Act was the major legislative achievement of the Obama administration. Because of it, twenty million people have health insurance who could not afford it before, and more would be covered if Republican governors had been willing to expand Medicaid coverage. On July 19th, President Trump tweeted, “The Republicans never discuss how good their healthcare bill is, & it will get even better at lunchtime.The Dems scream death as OCare dies!.” The Republicans have no health care bill to discuss and never did, but they continue to sabotage Obamacare, potentially leaving twenty million people without health coverage.

As the Trump administration cuts back on Obamacare, hospitals and clinics are starved for paying patients, and forced to close. This was a major problem in rural areas. According to the American Academy of Family Practice (1/9/19) “Since 2010, 94 rural hospitals have closed ... the vast majority of those have been in states that did not expand Medicaid through either the ACA or an alternative plan. Texas alone has seen 17 hospitals shuttered in the past nine years.” The loss of a hospital both removes a center for care, and shuts down a major regional employer.

The major legislative success of the Trump administration was the tax cut, which for the most part benefitted the wealthiest people and corporations. President Trump has uses the Dow Jones stock market averages as an index of the prosperity he has created. The problem is, people in the top 10% of income own 87% of corporate stocks, while the bottom 80% own only 6% of stocks. The money saved from the tax cuts was used, not to create new jobs, but for corporations to buy back their own shares. This raised stock prices, making the rich richer and doing nothing for the mass of Trump voters. Employment rates are high, but salaries remain stagnant. According to the Federal Reserve, (May 2019) “If faced with an unexpected expense of $400 … 27 percent would borrow or sell something ... and 12 percent would not be able to cover the expense at all.”

President Trump is proud of his tariffs. On Nov. 20, 2018, tweeted "Billions of Dollars are pouring into the coffers of the U.S.A. because of the Tariffs being charged to China, and there is a long way to go. If companies don't want to pay Tariffs, build in the USA. Otherwise, lets just make our Country richer than ever before!” That’s not how tariffs work, Tariffs are taxes on imports paid, not by the exporter, but by the importer. The importer then raises prices to cover the higher expense, and the final buyer, Americans, pays the higher price or goes without.

Meanwhile, China has retaliated by placing tariffs on American exports. The *South China Post* (5/2/19) reported, "Midwest and plains farm states hit hardest by Chinese tariffs, as China seeks to target Trump supporters…”

Finally, there is reason to anticipate that the economy is going into decline, without the means to reverse direction. The Trump administration with the support of a Republican Congress has been overspending egregiously and raising the national debt. The President has pressured the Federal Reserve to maintain low interest rates. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Warren, among others, has warned of a coming downturn: “A generation of stagnant wages and rising costs for basics like housing, child care, and education have forced American families to take on more debt than ever before.”

If there is a downturn, all the remedies have already been exhausted.

Like the people in Isaac Asimov’s novels, some Trump supporters believe they are better off with the Mule leading them, but that’s because they get their information from Fox and tweets. The challenge of 2020 will be to get accurate information to people in MAGA hats.

Sam Uretsky is a writer and pharmacist living in Louisville, Ky. Email sdu01@outlook.com.

From The Progressive Populist, September 1, 2019

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