On Aug. 12, 1986, then President Ronald Reagan, during a press conference stated, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” At that time Reagan’s net worth was equivalent to about $26 million in today’s dollars. This may help to explain why he would make such a statement. Though wealthy individuals, like the former president, receive benefits from the government at disproportionately higher rates than most Americans, there is often the perception that they are somehow “independent” or “self made.” Look a bit closer and you will see that the wealthy are not terrified at all to accept lots of federal and state help and in fact wouldn’t be where they are without it.
For example, nobody takes advantage of and benefits more from our nation’s infrastructure (including highways, the government developed internet and the power grid) more than the top earning 1%. Government funded research and development plays a major role in producing new pharmaceuticals and other medical treatments that become gold mines for companies and their shareholders. Huge conglomerates including energy companies and Big Ag are heavily subsidized using taxpayer money. “Private” defense contractors are paid almost exclusively by the U.S. government (again by you and I) totaling hundreds of billions of dollars each year. All this business (lining the pockets of the richest of the rich) is made possible by maintaining an environment of law and relative stability (rule of law via our judicial system ). This is again thanks to the local, state and federal government.
Under the Trump administration, the charade that the wealthiest Americans somehow give more than they take from society not only continues but gets worse. The “Big Beautiful Bill” Trump pushed has relentlessly, disproportionately benefited the rich. The idea is that these “job creators” will be “unleashed” to supercharge the economy. It is possible that individuals and corporations (including international conglomerates) will provide job opportunities that improve the lives of average citizens. In reality, these entities are likely to continue to operate in the same way they always have with actions based on narrow self interest. Trickle-down economics works no better today than it did during the Reagan era.
In the meanwhile the greatest conman of all time will do his best to keep the focus on what he calls “waste, fraud and abuse.” President Donald Trump will get help with this. Consider a recent CNN interview with Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson talking about how he didn’t want able-bodied men in their 20s sitting on their couches playing video games using Medicaid.
What does he think these young men are doing? Leaving their sofas to engage in the fun of medical treatments? Are they arranging chemotherapy parties or competing to see who can have the most unnecessary surgeries? Maybe they have discovered the pleasures of attending psychotherapy sessions (always popular with young men).
The truth is that Medicaid fraud is committed almost exclusively by providers. People receiving services, along with taxpayers and honest providers are the victims in this system. Though both strong federal and state auditing systems exist, more needs to be done. What is not helpful is to make access to getting Medicaid coverage so difficult that individuals otherwise fully eligible are left without care. That is what the Big Beautiful Bill does. Republican officials all over the country are busy repeating that “no one eligible is losing their coverage.” What they are not saying is the savings doesn’t come from cutting waste, fraud and abuse but by eliminating patient treatment.
In order to increase the wealth of those already wealthy, food and nutrition programs are facing the steepest cuts in decades. This happens at the same time that giant agricultural and farming adjacent corporations enjoy government benefits and subsidies at record levels. Meantime, family run farms are left out in the cold.
During his 2024 campaign, candidate Trump endlessly repeated how he would reduce the cost of groceries, energy and housing … and do it quickly. There is no evidence that this is happening and with the collection of incompetents he has surrounded himself with that is unlikely to change. Is it possible for a thinking individual to witness the Sept. 4 Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Senate hearing and not conclude that this administration is destined for anything other than disaster?
To understand how POTUS maintains a base of support look up the definition of “delusional.”
Edward M. Dowd lives in Greenfield.