Trump’s Priorities For Action

W.J. Astore

A good friend of mine, a Kiwi, sent me an update on Jacinda Ardern’s priorities for action in New Zealand.  It’s known there as a “Wellbeing Budget.”

* Creating opportunities for productive businesses, regions, iwi and others to transition to a sustainable and low-emissions economy.

* Supporting a thriving nation in the digital age through innovation, social and economic opportunities.

* Reducing child poverty and improving child wellbeing, including addressing family violence.

* Supporting mental wellbeing for all New Zealanders, with a special focus on under 24-year-olds.

* Lifting Māori and Pacific incomes, skills and opportunities.

I know: New Zealand is a small country on the other side of the world; a superpower like the United States has nothing to learn from Kiwis, right?

What struck me about these priorities is, well, that New Zealand has some.  That they’re clear and concise and focused on well-being for children and teenagers and families.  That they address poverty.  And that climate change isn’t forgotten (“sustainable” and “low-emissions” economy).

What about America’s great leader, Donald Trump?  What are his priorities for national well-being?  Near as I can tell, these are Trump’s priorities:

1. Enriching himself and his family.

2. Avoiding impeachment, or exploiting it if he is impeached.

3. Getting reelected.

4. More golf.

5. Screwing anyone who resists him.

What about issues like “build the wall”?  I don’t think Trump cares whether the wall is built; it’s merely a convenient issue to exploit as he rallies his base.  What about ending access to abortion?  Again, I don’t think Trump cares about this issue, except as it energizes a key component of his base.  What about appointing lots of conservative justices and judges?  Again, Trump cares only in the sense that such judges and justices will rule in a way that upholds his privileges.

My Kiwi friend’s list got me to reflect on the lack of consensus for action in the USA today among our “leaders”/politicians.  (Well, there is bipartisan support for enormous military budgets, but that’s about it.)  Put differently, most Americans express support for single-payer health care, a higher minimum wage, higher taxes on the richest Americans, climate-friendly policies, and so on, but our bought-and-paid-for politicians act against the people’s wishes.

Various power brokers may laugh at Trump’s vanities and object to his vulgarity and his selfishness and greed, but they also abet him because he serves to divide people while protecting elite privileges against reformers like Bernie Sanders.

I know one thing: the answer isn’t Joe Biden or any other DNC-approved candidate.  The answer is a movement that unites behind a candidate that actually cares for people like us, someone like Bernie Sanders.  Short of that, well-being will be in very short supply in America’s future.