Trump’s New “Gilded Age:” More Suffering for the Working Class

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart

If you don’t read and understand America’s history, the good and the bad, you cannot claim to be an informed citizen. The past should be our greatest teacher. If we don’t know about what came before, we are destined to make the same mistakes over and over again..

The period in America known as the “Gilded Age” occurred from about 1877 until 1900. It was a time of extreme decadence, greed, debauchery, unbridled racism, and just about any other fault weak human beings might envy.

The super-rich used their wealth to buy politicians, law enforcement, and anyone else who might assist them in their efforts to increase their hidden bank accounts. It was America’s first plutocracy.

Under Fuhrer Donald Trump, the United States is engaged in a second plutocracy/oligarchy: a second ‘Gilded Age.’

I admit to the fact that I didn’t realize this fact until Trump destroyed a huge portion of the people’s White House to build an edifice to himself he calls a ‘ballroom.’ Long before it is completed, I know that it will be tasteless, gawdy, and a cold and heartless tribute to the old, obese, mentally diseased squatter who has no soul.

The Gilded Age was a portal to 21st century America. Massive corruption in Washington, combined with the greed of 902 billionaires/oligarchs, has reduced the quality of life for the majority while the one percent celebrates their control over an entire nation and their puppet in the White House, fascist Donald John Trump.

Your cowardly incompetent old man attended the McDonald’s Impact Summit in Washington on Monday. He stood in front of a huge sign proclaiming “The Golden Age.”

We know that Trump lives in a different world of fantasy, placing reality far behind him. He offered his fast-food giants a few words, designed to mislead the facts.

“There has never been a time like this.”

The words are true, but his assumption is the exact opposite of how my and my wife’s quality of life has diminished since January 20, 2025. Everything is more expensive, including necessities. Our friends and neighbors are being treated as criminals, arrested and incarcerated for no reason other than seeking a better life for themselves and their families. Extreme racism has replaced what was a hidden fact within an entire political party, our military, law enforcement, and the courts.

It should be no surprise to learn that the owners of our largest corporations are the most vicious enemies our nation has ever faced. They support fascism for one reason: an oligarchy cannot exist for long within a democracy. Money is indeed the root of all evil, and those who seek great wealth are the worst members of American society.

The Gilded Age is in rerun. Only the super-rich are celebrating their lives in America in the 21st century. You and I are here to serve them.

Let’s wake them up with a response they will fear: tax them fairly. Make them pay for the privilege of living in what was a free society. Freedom should be for everyone.

Op-ed by James Turnage

Follow my blog and be informed

Sources:  https://www.britannica.com/event/Gilded-Age

https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/essays/gilded-age

https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/18/politics/trump-mcdonalds-economy-tariffs-rebate-checks-inflation-analysis

 

 

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