In the raft of self-examination and self-recrimination among the Democrats due to the recent Presidential election loss, one of the things that comes up is that the Democratic Party is not seen as a change agent for improving everyday people’s lives.
The Democrats are partly seen now (or perhaps better said - been labeled) as a part of a status quo that many Americans feel does not work for them and is, in many cases, an obstacle. They are also “perceived” as more interested in so-called “woke” issues such as those that seek to redress discrimination associated with transsexual or racial biases than in the ordinary lives of Americans.
Trump was able to garner the label of “change agent” as many voters showed discontent with the current situation in their lives while putting the blame on the Democrats.
It is hard to say that most Trump voters find Trump to be the epitome of righteous virtue and thereby chose him to represent their interests as well as the nation based on his moral character. They want change.
The Trump campaign played strongly on this voter discontent with incendiary showmanship on Trump’s part while positioning itself as the party that can make improvements in the lives of ordinary citizens.
Now it is time to see if the name-calling, acting out, and slurs reflected sincerity by Trump toward the plight of everyday Americans or were merely a pretense toward achieving personal revenge. Can he deliver?
Consider just a few things we should watch for. The economy (mainly inflation) was pinned as a major concern among voters. Although inflation rates have stabilized, it will be interesting to see if holding inflation at its current normal level, or if an actual rollback (deflation) is what voters want.
Increasing tariffs are one of Trump’s key proposals to help the economy. Many Trump critics see a big challenge facing the Republicans if they go along with this approach.
For example, when we consider how much of our grocery items come from Mexico, it is hard to see that Trump’s proposed 25% increase in such items will help manage inflation.
It is similarly difficult to see how housing costs will not be negatively affected if costs for lumber from Canada are increased 25%.
We also must wonder how auto prices would be impacted with a 25% increases in parts and vehicles from Canada and Mexico. Almost 30% of all of our imports come from these 2 countries.
Additionally, US import tariffs are likely to be subject to retaliatory tariffs from any affected countries.
The main idea supporting tariffs is that domestic production will ramp up and thereby increase business and job opportunities. The Biden administration already started down this path with the CHIPS Act, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and Inflation Reduction Act.
But it takes a long time to increase domestic production capacity. The effect of these Biden laws has not been adequately felt even as many benefits of these laws are going into Republican led districts.
Burdensome regulations are pegged by Republicans as a key reason for such slow results. As a result, slashing regulations including cutting the size of the regulatory workforce size has been promised by the Trump team.
Although Democrats also agree that improvement is needed in this arena, they feel addressing regulations should be done strategically and carefully.
Voters are not going to be pleased if not only prices and new well-paying jobs do not appear but also if the environment becomes more polluted, climate change effects skyrocket, water tables are poisoned or overdrawn, national parks are degraded, or ineffective emergency responses to disasters dominate their lives as a result of careless deregulation efforts. A large influx of unemployed Federal employees will not play well with the economy either.
Another proposed change is lowering taxes on corporations to ostensibly help lower costs of goods. What naysayers say to this action is that corporate shareholders will benefit, prices for goods will not go down, and the Federal debt will skyrocket. The first round of Trump tax cuts already demonstrated this.
Yet it is safe to say that a change agent that relies on disruption (tearing it all down) will be a boon to the economy for one group of Americans - lawyers.
Lawyers will be battling on all sides of a barrage of lawsuits and legal maneuverings that a disruptive change agent like Trump creates. (Trump has already proven over his lifetime to be the best friend of giving lawyers lots of work.)
If you are waiting for an improvement in your everyday life, Trump and the Republicans as change agents should be held to no lower a standard than was expected from the Democrats. It’s time to put up for Republicans.
W Laurence Doxsey, Retired, Former Director of Office of Sustainability for City of San Antonio, former Environmental Officer for US Department of Housing and Urban Development, former Sustainability Officer for City of Austin, resides outside Medina.
