The news media are overflowing with stories these days of Trump, and his trusty sidekick Musk, slashing funding for one government agency after another. They claim to be doing this in the name of eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse with an eye toward reducing the deficit and being able to pay for the massive tax cuts they would like to enact for their fellow wealthy friends. I am skeptical to say the least.
First of all, Trump does not care one whit about the deficit. During his first term, the deficit increased by eight trillion dollars! Also, don’t forget that Trump has called himself the ‘king of debt.’ He likely views the U.S. Government in the same light as one of his defunct casinos. No one should be surprised if Trump decides to default on some of the U.S. Treasury obligations for the first time in history. China is the second largest holder of U.S debt at about $800 billion plus or minus. It’s conceivable to me that he could just decide to default on those payments. He did, after all, file for bankruptcy five or six times so leaving debt holders in the lurch is familiar territory for him. Would that send an economic shock wave around the world? Of course it would. Does anyone really think he cares about that? I certainly don’t.
Once you get past Trump’s insatiable desire for revenge, the two things that motivate him are money and power. And really, it’s just money because he knows that more power leads to more money. He really is a very one-dimensional person. Once you understand that, and begin to view his decisions through that lens, what he does makes perfect sense. That is why I think the whole DOGE thing is just another Trump con job.
Trump wants to be in the position of people having to come to him to beg for funding. He said he will slash the funding for FEMA and the Office of Community Planning and Development, which is part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which helps to rebuild communities after major disasters. Major disasters will continue to happen, and states and local governments will continue to need Federal funding. However, I believe there will be a new twist.
Now, when there is a major disaster that is beyond the scope of a state or local government to manage, they will have to come to the Trump administration, hat in hand, and beg for money. Trump will simply engage in his tried-and-true quid pro quo, “I’ll give you the money, but this is what I want you to do for me.” And even though Congress is supposed to have the ‘power of the purse,’ this spineless group of Republican toadies will do whatever Trump tells them to do. If he wants something funded, it will get funded. If not, it won’t.
So, essentially, Trump will be sitting on his throne doling out money in exchange for future political favors, sweetheart business deals for himself and his friends, or anything else that will further pad his bank account. It is the same exact way Mafia dons operate. It’s the exact way Putin operates. That is where we are headed and why all this talk about government efficiency and eliminating waste, fraud and abuse is a big load of hogwash. Slashing and/or holding up funding is a way for Trump to further cement his power. No one should forget that it is the same game he tried to play with Zelensky that led to his first impeachment.
I recently read where Trump has touted the idea of giving 20 percent of the DOGE savings back to the American people. That certainly won’t help the deficit problem, but it will certainly buy him some votes because many people just cannot see through the scam that is being committed. It’s just another way to consolidate his power. And like I said previously, more power means more money and there is nothing Trump loves more than money – except perhaps the image he sees when he looks in the mirror.
