Buckle Up Buttercup

Buckle Up Buttercup

It will be a bumpy ride

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees free and robust criticism of the government in two ways. It prohibits the Congress from passing laws that regulate expression by the media and permits the people to petition the government for the “redress of grievances.” This latter protection supports peaceful protest in the public places that calls attention to problems that need fixing.

These guarantees protect those who speak out against perceived injustice from retaliation by those criticized. They also lay the groundwork for a robust exchange of ideas and opinions in the public discourse.

As one who has worked in the public arenas where conflicts are supposed to be resolved for more than four decades, there is not much I have not seen or experienced. I weave those experiences and observations into my columns to share a perspective that varies from the ordinary and sometimes from the conventional beliefs in our community. I respect those who offer a contrary opinion or differ with my assessment of the facts upon which I rely. I have no respect for those who merely stoop to personal attacks because they do not like or appreciate what I write. To those folks, my best advice is to stop reading these columns. Save yourself some aggravation. For those willing to contemplate alternative points of view, stay tuned. The next four years, will provide me with a wealth of material with which to work.

President-elect Trump campaigned as a populist friend of American working people, headed for Washington to “drain the swamp” of those who have made the lives of working Americans miserable. At the top of Trump’s list was the Wall Street bankers and hedge fund managers who crashed the economy that President Obama so diligently resurrected.

The Trump campaign con job is slowly being revealed. His picks for the various positions in his cabinet are all very wealthy folks who could care less for working people and the problems they face. Those tapped to lead in the areas of finance; commerce and economics come from deep in the very swamp Trump claimed he wanted to drain. The net worth of those chosen to fill Trump’s cabinet to date runs to approximately $35 billion, all friends of working people to be sure.

Trump’s chief counsel and Treasury Department picks come out of Goldman Sachs, the poster child for what ails Wall Street and investment banking. Not only will these guys pad the nests of their buddies by deregulating financial institutions, they will join with Paul Ryan and the new Secretary of Health and Human Services in privatizing (read profiting from) Social Security, Medicare and replacing Obamacare with an insurance company friendly healthcare system. We know who this agenda will help and it won’t help working families or their elderly relatives who now enjoy some measure of independence in retirement.

Working families will also soon feel the lash of new “right to work” laws designed to further weaken labor unions and their ability to protect those in the workforce. Trump allies have already convinced a federal judge to overturn new overtime rules that would increase wages for middle class managers. You will see revisions to the tax code that benefit outsourcing corporations, not working people. Your local and state tax dollars will soon be further diluted as funds destined to shore up public education and services to disabled students are diverted to private religious charter schools under Trump’s choice to head the Department of Education.

Conflicts of interest will be another hallmark of the Trump administration. His international business dealings will directly influence his foreign policy decisions. His private holdings here are already reaping huge windfalls as the Secret Service leases two floors in Trump Tower to provide protection to Mrs. Trump and their child who don’t want to bother living in the White House. Other government offices lease space in Trump real estate around the country. Imagine what you can make when you are both the landlord and the tenant. And don’t forget about Elaine Chou, the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has been tapped to run the Transportation Dept.

Some of Trump’s other cabinet picks or candidates are beyond belief. Take Ben Carson who has no experience remotely related to housing or urban development as head of that Department. Betsy DeVoss, who never went to public school, sent her kids to public school or taught in any school, will direct federal education efforts. Ret. General David Patraeus is being considered for Secretary of State. He is on probation for leaking government secrets to his mistress and would have to get permission from his probation officer to leave the country. Sarah Palin, who is being considered for Veterans Affairs, never served in the military, knows nothing about veterans or their problems and has no experience running much of anything except away from government job responsibilities.

To all you Trump voters who wanted change and to “Make America Great Again,” buckle up buttercup because you are in for a very bumpy ride.

Waring R. Fincke is a retired attorney and vice-chair of the Democratic Party of Washington County.