America is a great country. Being a patriot, I feel it is the greatest. Our Founding Fathers established a system of law and governance that perpetuates liberty, safety, and prosperity. This system has become the model for free nations across the globe and it is easy to see why. We have the highest gross domestic product of any country. Our military is the world’s most powerful. Owned by every American is over 600 million acres of land that serves as refuge for humans and wildlife, provides clean water, and is a reservoir for resources that will provide wealth and independence for future generations. We have 63 National Parks and over 800 Wilderness Areas that preserve our heritage and natural beauty. Every American, regardless of their socioeconomic status, can better themselves through access to public schools and renowned institutes of higher education. For those who’ve fallen behind, we have a robust network of charitable organizations who offer a hand up. And when you, I, our parents, and our grandparents have worked our whole lives to better the nation, we need not fear destitution.
This is the American dream. Like most, I’ve been guilty of taking it for granted from time to time. Now is not one of those times. We are in the midst of a smash and grab job of unimaginable proportions. The American dream is being looted.
Our public servants are being illegally fired en masse. Funds that support our social services – everything from health care to food banks to wildfire prevention – are being pulled out from under organizations, threatening to cripple operations. The lifeblood of the institutions that perpetuate American greatness is being bled out. Are our institutions beacons of efficiency? Of course not. But just as progress in our nation has been incremental, so too must reform. If you fire/defund first, and leave constituents to ask the questions later, you are left with chaos.
Nonetheless, this is the route our current administration has chosen. By DOGE’s accounting (which we are learning is just as imperfect as the institutions whose own imperfections have left them targeted), their efforts have saved $65 billion dollars. That might sound impressive if you set aside to utter lack of intentionality, or compassion, they went about getting it. What doesn’t add up is how those savings somehow justify over $4 trillion in planned tax breaks, primarily for the wealthiest Americans. That is about as much fiscal responsibility as cancelling your Netflix subscription and then celebrating your prudence by buying a new car. Except in this analogy, your Netflix subscription has a family to feed, and your garage is already full of Bentleys.
If you are to take this administration seriously that it wants to reduce our federal deficit, it stands to reason that those remaining trillions in tax breaks must come from somewhere. Judging by Trump and Musk’s own words, that somewhere seems to be military might, Social Security, healthcare for the elderly, our children’s access to education, and our public lands. To me, that sounds an awful lot like cashing in the American dream.
The actions of this smash and grab administration are immensely concerning, but in no way are they surprising. We’ve long since known Trump feels entitled to grab whatever he wants.
Sonny Mazzullo
Kalispell