“It’s the Economy, Stupid”

 

Trump is a lifelong failure whenever finances or the economy is the subject. This isn’t stopping him from telling another lie. He claims that prices at the grocery store are in decline. He has never shopped for anything, anywhere in his life of white privilege, so how in the hell would he know? The truth is that prices are higher, just ask my wife.

The consensus of opinion is that Trump’s victory on November 5, 2024 was based on the economy. I believe that Putin once again won the Election for America’s biggest traitor. However, Trump promised to end inflation on day one. Of course this was just another promise he never intended to keep. Instead, he and Musk’s actions are guaranteeing price increases on everything.

My bride and I are part of the 60 percent of Americans who struggle to survive every month. We are not technically ‘poor,’ but we are in the low-income bracket. The Social Security benefits we and our employers contributed to for about 40 years each are our only income.

Like most Americans, we cannot afford to purchase anything other than the necessities to sustain life. On average, food prices remain 60 percent higher than they were four years ago. Depending on which state you call home, the cost of utilities has risen between 25-80 percent. Gas prices remain higher than necessary. The cost of healthcare and prescription drugs are about 30 percent higher. Trump has done nothing but lie about the facts: as expected .

The title of my article comes from a member of one of our presidential candidate’s staff; I don’t remember who. However, it always stayed with me because it’s the truth. America is a nation which places profits ahead of people. Politicians claim that we are “the richest nation in the world.” This is only true if you are one of 813 billionaires/oligarchs, or one of America’s more than 22 million, millionaires. If you are not one of the 6.5 percent of our nation’s privileged citizens, you live in a totally different country.

Politicians survive by lying to their constituents. Trump is the ultimate politician. Everyone who works in Washington today is a public servant. They cannot expect our trust or respect unless they perform as intended. We pay for their lives of luxury and privilege, but they fail to understand this fact. They work for themselves and their party, including six members of the Supreme Court.

America has become a nation of “us” and “them:” “us” being the majority and “them” being our government and the oligarchs who own them. If you doubted this prior to January 20 of this year, you can no longer pretend ignorance as a defense or rationalization.

The fact that Trump is once again defiling our White House is a travesty, and an attack on the very principles of what being an “American” once meant to people around the world. Our government is undeniably the most corrupt and incompetent on the planet.

I believe that Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris would have been great presidents. They would have represented the majority, real Americans who understand and expect the guarantees of the Constitution to remain the Law of the Land. Instead, we have a traitor pretending to be our president. America is a lawless nation if you are very rich and/or powerful.

I have written so many articles about Trump, his puppeteer, Vladimir Putin, and the former Grand Old Party which is now the American Fascist Party, I lost count. I will “blow my own horn” here. If everyone had read my articles, the truth, Trump would never have been gifted the 2016 election. Our nation would not be in the mess it is today.

Op-ed by James Turnage

If you follow my blog, you will be and informed American