If nothing
else, Donald Trump is a businessman. This characterization doesn't presuppose
he is a good businessman. As a businessman, he sees all aspects of society,
economy and human endeavor as a cost-benefit couplet. If the benefits outweigh
the costs then there is cause to look further into an acquisition. If not, he
is disinterested and shows it in every fiber of his being.
Exemplary of
this attitude, Puerto Rico, after being devastated by Hurricane Maria he took a
lackadaisical approach to mustering and delivering food, water, medical
supplies and personnel to the island to stem the coming humanitarian crises.
Meteorologists
looked at the satellite imagery and combined data from multiple sources and
determined Puerto Rico was in for the thrashing of its existence. They knew it
was coming for a week or longer. Maria blew in and blew out as hurricanes are
wont to do. The initial damage was total electrical grid failure, no water
purification systems on line, food and medical supplies disrupted, hospitals
left without power FOR WEEKS AFTERWARDS. Somewhere around a dozen people
initially lost their lives. As numerous as they were, the situation was only
going to grow worse. It did.
As it has
become abundantly clear, businessman Donald Trump was not interested in
"buying." The cost exceeded his threshold for cost-benefit analysis.
As with all natural disasters, the initial cost in lives and lost health is the
smaller portion. In the weeks since Maria moved on, the response of the
American government to a population of its citizenry has been abysmal. The
people who are there on the ground are doing the best they can with the
supplies and transport systems available. Even Jesus would have needed 3300
loaves and 1320 fish to feed the 3.3 million. That is every day.
The language
Trump uses in indicative of his attitude. Texas and Florida apparently have a
far higher value to the businessman than does Puerto Rico. After all Texas and
Florida are full-fledged "States" while Puerto Rico is a mere
"possession." Says the President of all three regions, we will stay
with Texas and Florida as long as it takes after the Harvey hurricane. Then
about Puerto Rico after Maria, FEMA cannot stay there indefinitely. While the
second statement is technically accurate, FEMA will not be the agency to
rebuild the destroyed property and infrastructure. The E in FEMA stands for
Emergency. After the regions are stabilized
and people are not dying of hunger, dehydration, dysentery, and for want of
shelter and medical care, then this great economy of ours is supposed to step
in and work tirelessly to make whole the lives and property which were damaged.
There is no
convincing this man he has an obligation to every citizen and resident of this
country, not just the ones who praise his name.
Along the
same lines as hurricane relief is the military itself. Military contractors who
make weapons and supply ancillary services are of great value to this
President. After all they are owned and operated by businessmen too. The
shareholders and management are paramount. Labor, on the other hand is not.
A soldier is
an "asset". He or she can perform tasks which are in accordance with
the desired of the businessmen they protect. Veterans are
"liabilities." Like tanks with the turret blown off or a Humvee hit
by a RPG, they have served their purpose and need to be marginalized or else
the cost-benefit ratio becomes skewed and the purchase obviated. The tank and
Humvee can be written off as a loss only to be replaced in the next Trillion
Dollar military budget. The veterans who lost limbs, eyes and faces will
continue to cost the budget every year. PTSD and chemical exposures continue to
be denied by the brass due to the open-ended cost associated with such an
admission of culpability for treatment.
This brings
us all the way to you and me. A supporter of Donald Trump has a dollar value
whereas the voters who voted against him or did not vote hold no value for his businessman
thinking. You may support that businessman, but do not expect he will support
you.
This
contention can be seen in every directive he makes and every fact he fakes.
Seniors are too expensive for Medicare. Social Security is too expensive to
maintain. You do not have an income great enough to not pay taxes. Your roads
and bridges do not matter. Maintaining your health is a liability while
resource extraction enterprises which make you ill are assets. Your
pre-existing condition makes you unworthy of treatment. It is neigh impossible
to name a single effort of the current Administration which benefits anyone
with less than $1 million annual income. You, we, are not part of the business
model the President seeks to follow to make America great.
