Exposing corruption is not enough; voters need to understand how corruption affects their lives

This is a messaging challenge for those hoping to change the Trump regime in November 2026 and 2028.  Exposing corruption is not enough; voters need to understand how corruption affects their lives. The demise of Viktor Orban was brought about because voters understood that his corruption had made them the poorest country in the European Union.  So many in the US complain about the price of gas at the pump, and they see the connection with world-set oil prices and the impact on supply, and I understand this is about a war Trump started with Iran.  Some excuse Trump for getting rich while president because he is such a great businessman they so admire, but they are beginning to understand how his corrupt practices drive up grocery and agricultural prices and inflation.  To fund it, Trump proposes cuts to feed the hungry programs and making health care unaffordable for even more voters.  The Iran war is an easy connection to make to rising prices, but what does corruption have to do with it?  

 PBS and AP, in a lengthy analysis, show how the Trump family's cryptocurrency ventures are connected and how the prospect of war and foreign policy initiatives shape investment decisions. and the pockets of Trump and his family.  That's the problem: it is lengthy and requires a grasp of such new instruments of wealth like cryptocurrency and gifts from airplanes to the advantage of  managing sovereign Saudi funds

.The Trump family's current wealth has much to do with their self-interested conduct of foreign affairs, but the challenge is getting this into a form that lay people can understand and make the link to their own well-being.  Bribery is not always obvious when there is a quid pro quo.  The quid may be separated by months from the quo...or involve what seem to be unrelated business transactions that just happen to result in stuffing the pockets of schemers at both ends of a corrupt deal.   This is worth a serious read: 

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/how-the-trump-familys-business-deals-could-open-the-door-for-future-presidents-to-profit-from-office?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

 

For the record: fact checked Trump's State of the Union address 2/24/26

 Fact-checking Trump 2026 State of the Union address on jobs, inflation, crime, immigration and more

The buzzword of the 2026 elections: affordability.What does that mean?

Zohran Mamdani's winning election campaign for New York City mayor's contribution to the 2026 elections is the word: affordability. It is one of those words that can be such an umbrella term, it can mean much to so many that even if it could be defined, it falls into a category of "I can't tell you, but when I see or feel it, I know what it is".  It is sort of like the judge trying to define what obscenity means. In 1964 Judge Potter Stewart wrote an opinion in a Supreme Court case that has become famous in defining a vague term like hard-core obscenity: He famously wrote: "I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it, and the motion picture involved in this case is not that."  Affordability is like that: hard to define, but a voter knows when he/she sees it.

Lying about it as Trump is doing in Iowa does not fly either. Fact check: Trump says Democrats don’t talk about affordability anymore (they do) because inflation is over (it isn’t)  It is either his staff does not dare correct him, or his gears and mouth are stuck in lying or he thinks his MAGA base is really that  dumb. 

There has been some polling to try to understand what a word like affordability means. One was just published, but the final conclusion was what it meant to most polled concerning specific costs that worried them the most.. Per a New  York Times analysis of an in-depth poll (Cross-Tabs: January 2026 Times/Siena National Poll  of Registered Voters - The New York Times): "When we asked voters what they were most worried about affording, they usually didn’t mention the costs of goods that surged in the wake of the pandemic, like gas, cars, and food. Instead, they mentioned major expenses like housing, retirement, and health care."  The Tilt - The New York Times,  in a column written by Nate Cohn and published January 28, 2026.

MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: Affordability vs economy is not about semantics; both are true at the same time

Why does Trump seem not to care he facing plunging polls and a loss of the House in November?

Updated: 3/1/ 2026 Whether the Iran attack will change Trump's approval ratings by November or influence the outcome of the midterms is yet a matter of speculation, but there will be time for the longer-term impact to be revealed and felt. That ridding the world of the odious Iranian leadership in power until a day ago was indeed an impressive display of the US and Israel's military/intelligence capability, but whether what follows is an improvement in the West's eyes is a gamble. If the US gets involved on the ground in another forever war will be seen as a failure of Trump's foreign policy and military strategy.

 That Trump does not care a whit what even his followers think,  nor even making a serious attempt to make a clear case in the leadup to the attack, is a further sign that Trump thinks he is a dictator who can ignore polls, public opinion, war powers acts, and commit a reversal of promises not to get in the mud mire of mid -east wars. The initial reaction by Trump's supporters in Congress is that they are happy to continue to anoint him as "their" dictator and to give up their own power to benefit his lust for more and more power.

Updated: 2/3/2026

Polls today, nearly all of them, show Trump's approval is sinking into Nixon territory, and nearly 60% of Americans disapprove of his top issues: immigration, affordability, and land grabs of foreign territories. He is already brushing off the loss of the House this November. Why does he seem not to care that voters feel the pain, and instead, just doubles down? He seems in a hurry to get revenge and punish his enemies and is engaged in stuffing his personal wealth with crypto converted to dollars and exchange fees while the getting is good. He is acting like a deranged fascist dictator gorging himself in a candy shop and satiating an appetite that craves for more and more power and control, domestic and abroad, and getting away with it before he is stopped in November: Why? He keeps issuing executive orders that he treats like they are the law, but that are blatantly unconstitutional. He counts on court delays and appeals to give him time and let him keep on violating the Constitution. He is hinting at calling off even the November 2026 and 2028 elections or confiscating ballot boxes, or declaring some national emergency or a cooked-up insurgency, as a pretext for military occupation.  Observers fear he is hoping that the streets turn so ugly he can use ICE as a pretext to invoke the insurrection act, using military,  and his ICE paramilitary, even Joe Rogan calls it a Gestapo,  funded and in place and able to act as his personal army. Why?  MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: Trump wants to GOP nationalize elections and control the vote count: that's what dictators do

 Why has this happened? 

(1). First and foremost, there is no one or no way to stop Trump's lust for power, and he knows it.  He has whipped Congress into subservience as they cower in fear of crossing him. Court rulings? He just figures a way around them and keeps on enforcing and executing his orders while the courts delay, delay, delay decisions and hear appeals upon appeals.  He may even ignore court rulings if there is an insurgency, he hinted to the New York Times recently. He believes he has the power to do it. Update 1 20 2026: A comprehensive report of how Trump and conservative GOP leaders are turning America into a unitary form of governement. (Unitary form: all power to the executive with eliminating checks and balances of the legislature and judiciary...( That in my view is a polite description of an autocracy) Trump Tests Presidential Power: Venezuela Operation, Iran Bombing and More - The New York Times

 (2)  He is a lame duck who will never have to face angry voters again, so he can ignore them, even those in his own party.

(3)"His" Supreme Court gave him immunity from criminal prosecution, so breaking the law is of no concern to him.

.(4) He is counting on his partisan loyalists of about 40% of all adults polled, to keep him going and have his back. 

(5) Update: 1/27/2026 He is planning some dirty tricks to disenfranchise votes of citizens in blue states...and especially in Colorado. Trump's attempt to federalize voter counts and elections in direct contradiction to the Constitution. Expect Trump et al will try to keep Colorado's vote from being counted, as well as any blue states,  throwing the results of who gets the majority in Congress into chaos and dispute. They will meet a buzz saw if they try such tricks on Colorado. Colorado has a plan and backup plans. Threat of force won’t change Colorado secretary of state’s mind on voter rolls, mail-in ballots   

Tump's false pretense of such dirty tricks is still: the 2020 election was stolen because all of those illegals voted and mail-in votes are all a fraud, their propagandists and a deluded Trump claim.. In over 6 years such attempts to prove these claims have failed. They think if they can get voters' personal information, they can prove their pretext.  In reality, this is just a pretext to keep themselves in power by throwing the 2026 midterms into chaos.   

 What to do; what to do, hand wringers? The only way to stop two more years of this is still an overwhelming vote and kicking out his political allies up and down the ballot in the midterms. In the meantime, angry voters have to deny Trump a fascist style pretext for such a military-like takeover of democracy by keeping their protests peaceful, large, and focusing on voter registration and turnout. FYI: an insurrection is not peaceful protestors nor even a handful of violent protestors...but Trump threatens to invoke the insurrection act, nonetheless. Those threats will go nowhere if the protests remain peaceful.

 In the meantime, cool it, hot heads, you who want to vent anger with violence.  As Minnesota officials say, "Don't take the bait". ICE hopes you do lose self-control and become violent. They will then have a pretext to invoke the Insurrection Act and oppress you with overwhelming military-like force. As they escalate their violent behavior, they are provoking you to answer in kind. Don't. If you play this right, your day will come to oust these MAGA. The real power, the opinions of the majority of the people, is the force that is already with you. So is a federal judge. Don't mess it up. 

Judge Restricts Immigration Agents’ Actions Toward Minnesota Protesters - The New York Times Renee Good killing is the straw that broke the camel's back. Judge clamps down on ICE actions to suppress Minneapolis protesters exercising their constitutional rights with flash bangs, pepper spray, chemical agents, and excessive force by combat-ready ICE paramilitary-garbed agents... We are not yet a militarized police state working on behalf of a government leadership determined to get its way by any means, including violence. Let's see if this gets appealed or ignored.

These ICE are not patriots or just police. They are a masked paramilitary, claiming they are a law enforcement agency, while using excessive force techniques to take down their targets and use violent weapons of crowd control, inflaming, not de-escalating, being overtly racist, targeting those who are brown or looks like a migrant, in a way that would have gotten local policemen fired, suspended, prosecuted, and even imprisoned. The agents wear masks and display no badge numbers, so citizens cannot hold individual agents accountable. Their leader claims they have total immunity from prosecution and conceals evidence that could lead to prosecution, even for murder. Wearing masks makes them look fierce and threatening as well. No local police agency condones this.  

Here is the real value of organizations like Indivisible and 50501. They give the opposition cover and safety in numbers,, and give them the guts, non-violent techniques, and the discipline to stand up peacefully. They provide a non-party-based outlet, support, and protest opportunity for disaffected GOP members, independent,  unaffiliated voters, and Democrats dissatisfied with their own party's leadership.  The tent of these groups is welcoming, with room for a wide variety of ideologies and public policy issues.   They have the ability with vast lists of activists and their emails, leaders trained,  ready, able, and willing to galvanize voters in November. This is not the MLK civil rights movement of 50 or so years ago, but it is similar in its spirit, and it has drawn on many of the same peaceful and effective techniques of protest. The Indivisible types of protesters know from their education what kind of democracy we have and why it is so valuable. They know the difference between our kind of democracy and dictatorships. They have also inspired other organizations, grassroots, and neighborhood groups to adopt their same techniques, so it is creating a movement that goes far beyond the influence of the Indivisible lists of participants. 

 Sometimes polls do not get the complete picture if they fail to ask the right questions: I looked at the most recent one at the beginning of February.  The question of whether you believe Trump is damaging democracy was not asked....or even if that was an issue in some rankings. The closest to testing that is do you approve of Trump's job or performance? When asked that way, Trump's slide is only from 49% to 45%, yet the special election results show a decisive shift in the matter of 15 or more points.  Something is not adding up and there seems to be a disconnect between polling and voter action.

  Trump approval rating falls across every major issue in new poll   Here is another view by a heavyweight think tank taken before the Minneapolis murders. This one says the reason for the shifts in job approval is that Trump is losing blocks of voters who voted for him in 2024: young voters, independents, Hispanics. As President Trump loses support, Republican prospects in the 2026 midterms grow darker | Brookings  Such polls must give Trump comfort that his job approval has not fallen before 40% (usually below 40% signals real trouble). 

What gives Trump discomfort is  what happens in November 2026 could very likely shift Congress blue, opening him up to impeachment (again) and trimming his budget wings, as well as stopping ICE's cruel dragnet approach that sweeps up and imprisons non-criminals, legal immigrants with no criminal records, and even American citizens.  Doing it cruelly and trampling civil rights seems part of their plan now.. 

Trump is rightly correct in pointing out he is not on the ballot in November, and that is why he is likely lose Congress in any case. The other way he can get around this is if he tries to interfere with our elections using dirty tricks he has up his sleeve as feared in terms of takeover of the election process nationally..Another factor will be how many protesters marching in the street are increasing to over 3.5% of the voters (12 million), usually a threshold of success for peaceful protests successfully causing regime change elsewhere in the world per political scientists studying that history, though even smaller percentages have been successful. .  The Minneapolis effect could well boost the ranks of marching protesters to that level. The '3.5% rule': How a small minority can change the world | Harvard Kennedy School

 As much as the Trump regime tries to say these are paid agitators and organizers, they are fooling themselves and MAGA. Without millions themselves realizing they are the only way to stop this wannabe dictator, since the guardrails against such have failed, Indivisible could never have succeeded in turning out so many, mostly white, educated middle-class people of all ages.  The participants have been willing to risk Trump's threats and abuse of power, "screw their courage to a sticking post" (Shakespeare) all across America, and for many, for the first time in their lives, to get out and march in support of democracy. They know a wannabe King, tyrant, dictator when they see one because they remember what they learned about the history of the 1930s  in Europe, the 1950's to current times in South America, and how ordinary people suffered under such rule, causing many to flee their home countries to western democracies. (There is a reason the migrants are not hordes flowing to such dictatorships.) They see it happening here and now.  Above all, they are a pro-democracy force that wants to preserve the kind of democracy we have had for 250 years, of, by, and for the people  (not of, by, and for a one-man, small minority,  or oligarchic ruler). They know about such dictatorships that, once in power, they only care enough to trickle down just enough to the masses to keep them from violently revolting. The rest of the tax benefits and grift is for their personal lifestyles and the causes that serve them. The goal of such autocrats is to stay in power by whatever means, including violence.  

CNN poll: Democrats are deeply motivated for the midterms despite having dismal views of party leaders

 

Are Trump's supporters getting what they want from his second term? Here's what a new poll shows

A post from mid December which  dives deeper into why and what of Trump's brand of fascism, or whatever you call how he is acting. MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: My nagging question: why does fascism keep raising its ugly head

A post written in October: MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: What is MAGA? Whatever you call it, it is not conservative, but something else.

Why are ICE agents so prone to violence and so dedicated to taking down anyone who looks like a migrant. Look at who they are recruiting. Whatever could go wrong? . The US government seems to have a clear message for white nationalists | CNN Politics

Grocery price inflation end of 2025: up 2.4 percent  tariff role per an ABC news report.Grocery inflation is picking up, defying Trump's claims. Here's why.

Gas prices at pump..just below $3 per gallon; mid Jan 2026 AAA Fuel Prices  Not..below $2 per gal as Trump claims.

Housing price inflation:Housing price inflation, 1967→2026

Energy cost inflation: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/21/why-electricity-prices-are-surging-for-us-households.html#:~:text=Electricity%20prices%20are%20rising%20quickly,the%20electric    Nearly 5% in 2025

MAGA supporters cheer Trump's economy, but the stuff has not hit the fan yet

Trump has been touting near the same interest rates and consumer prices that he inherited from Biden, and now Trump has engineered the economy's eventual slow decline into higher living costs, hurting all but the well-off. The stuff has not hit the fan yet.  Many of Trump's policies will come to a head over the next six months, leaving a sustained bad taste in the mouths of voters in time for the 2026 midterms, when all congressional members are up for re-election or the filling of open seats..  That is just for starters, because the Medicaid cuts, which were once intended to enable individuals to access affordable healthcare, will not take effect until after the November 2026 Congressional elections, when the full impact of those cuts will be felt by the voters themselves.

The announcement of the "trade/tariff" deal with the EU and major Asian trading partners, which included the largest tariff increases since the Great Depression, also hit consumers' pockets. As imported inventory is sold off, the new tariffs become additional costs that are passed on to retail customers. Businesses that cannot adjust or compete by raising costs and prices to customers will likely go out of business. It is a short-term victory for Trump, but it was a bitter pill for consumers that will be felt over the next six months. Still out there, even higher than the EU tariffs of 15%, are the "deals" that have not been finalized with Canada and Mexico. That stuff has not yet hit the fan, either.  The tiff with the Federal Reserve, Trump's pressure to lower interest rates, ignores the reason given by the Fed for holding off on lowering interest rates: it is due to the fear that these tariffs will lead to higher consumer prices and inflation.  What the tariffs would actually be is now only partially resolved.

Those crowing that today the Trump policies of the Big Beautiful Bill and the dramatic increase in health care costs to those who are living on the economic margins and the disaster facing access to rural health have not hit the fan either. The impact of the mass deportations on farm,  domestic, construction,  and hospitality workers, jobs not sought by already employed Americans, has also not hit the fan.

We in Grand County, Colorado, will know who to blame.  28 to 38 percent hike in health insurance premiums and costs. That one will be felt before the November 2026 midterms when you can thank your Congressperson who voted for this....

.https://www.skyhinews.com/news/colorado-health-insurance-rates-jump-high-in-the-next-year-western-slope-increase/

For the record, inflation is creeping up, with the threat of higher tariffs looming, rising last month from 2.4 percent to 2.7 percent. In December 2024, Biden's last month in office, the unemployment rate was 2.9 percent...and we are not far from that. Gas at the pump prices are now near what Biden left them in January (per AAA.). Update 7/30/2025: As Biden left office, the economy grew by 2.4% in the last quarter of 2024.  The growth rate released today under the Trump regime rose to 3%, as the Fed meets to discuss whether to lower interest rates. As recently stated by the Fed chair, this is a heated economy, and the impact of the high tariffs on consumers is still a threat to inflation.  They will be considering this as they meet today. Google AI:and Gross Domestic Product, 4th Quarter and Year 2024 (Third Estimate), GDP by Industry, and Corporate Profits | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)

Conflict between presidents and the federal reserve has a history.   Politicians like to lower rates,, whether they are in a democracy or in a dictatorship.  It is good politics...but it could be a disaster to ignore economics

MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: Trump's latest attack on the Federal Reserve has a history

.reuters.com/business/fed-keeps-rates-steady-despite-trumps-pressure-with-two-governors-dissenting-2025-07-30/#:~:text=Summary,for%20the%20fifth%20consecutive%20meetingt: 

   

 The price of crude oil, the basis for gas prices, is controlled by Middle East oil cartels, not the president of the US. The announced trade deal with the EU included "investments" in US energy, and the details and impact on the price of crude to consumers are unknown. However, it is beneficial for US oil and gas producers who have been seeking markets for the glut of oil and gas in the ground they are currently experiencing.

The Consumer Price Index rose 2.7 percent for the 12 months ending June 2025 : The Economics Daily: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics     "The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 2.7 percent for the 12 months ending June 2025, after rising 2.4 percent over the 12 months ending May. Prices for all items less food and energy rose 2.9 percent over the past 12 months, while shelter prices increased 3.8 percent over the last year. "

Keeping track of tariff impact on domestic prices. Already felt.

 Pricing data shows Trump's tariffs are making some US-made products more expensive in an extensive Business Insider report. Import goods prices have already increased 3% and domestic competitors have used this cover and lack of foreign competition to raise theirs by 2%.   In time, all of this will begin to impact inflation rate.   That Trump has made American life more affordable is one promise he is not keeping. 

Some ideas to fix the Democratic Party's sink in the polls. Messaging again.

Recent polls show that Trump's policies take a dive, but the Democratic Party takes one, too. That has got to be fixed. A damning finding in recent polls that show Trump is underwater in public policy issues, but the trust in Congressional Democrats is even worse. Americans Still Trust Donald Trump Over Democrats  Democrats have been floundering around with messages that are almost all anti-Trump. Still, they have not been able to offer a vision of what they can offer that is a positive alternative to MAGA. Here are some thoughts for some rephrasing. They are the flip side of Trump's negatives expressed in positives and based on values as umbrellas over issues   Resistance is still the strongest message, but that is helped by Trump's own failures on the economy and creating chaos amid incompetence, for which he is taking the blame. It has little to do with anything the Democratic party made happen, but was of Trump's own doing..  Will Democrats come out with something meaningful for the future, too, that is different from just warming up stale toast phrases of the past ? 

Messages on "cultural issue" emphasize fairness 

Fear of revenge using government tools or access to the President as favors will not be tolerated. 

 Strengthen  and protect our Constitutional democracy and the rule of law 

 Acting humanely is  a value we support 

Strengthen the middle class and  working people's standard of living .  

Reform government functions to provide better customer services and staffed with non-partisan personnel who are chosen by ability and merit

 Restore the US  leadership in the world so we can influence what is good for our own national interests 

For the case for each, continue:

Waiting for a Trump-like demagogue to arise on the Democrats' side has just not happened.  Once in a while, lightning strikes Democrats with an Obama able to deliver soaring oratory and a media presence.  Instead, Democrats will have to rely on messaging delivered clearly and in simple words with an appeal that is as broad as their historical values permit. There will be lots of voices, but even then, there needs to be common themes for the greatest impact, and still, there is no one coordinating this, not even in Congress, or in the Democratic National Committee. 

While it is easy to be the party of resistance to Trump's arrogant power grabs and insensitivity to economic populist concerns, polls also show Trump is losing independents, even chunks of blue-collar, non-college-educated voters, which is likely due to Bernie Sanders and AOC's anti-oligarch tour.   Hispanics who boosted him into his second term are also fleeing MAGA. Democrats need to get real. 2024 was a rejection of the party's policy priorities on the economy and "cultural issues," and that hangover is still there.   What is missing are themes that indicate what the Democrats would do in the future besides being resistant to Trump's unpopular policies. 

Resistance is still the strongest message, but that is helped by Trump's own failures on the economy and creating chaos amid incompetence, for which he is taking the blame. It has little to do with the Democratic Party's strategy.  Repeating past themes was not a winner for Democrats either.  

 Democrats also must consider the possibility that Trump, faced with bad polls and crashing Wall Street, and an alarmed GOP about the 2026 midterms, could cause him to reverse course on key issues. He certainly has demonstrated flexibility, so much so that he has created instability by nearly daily changing positions. There are vulnerabilities like corruption and self-dealing that could also become enduring resistance themes, and the damage he has done to the economy could linger despite any policy adjustments that last all the way to midterms.  Corruption has yet to be made into a big issue, but it is ripe to make it a big deal already. MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: Trump's grift: grist for the impeachment mill?

The peaceful street demonstrations, led by non-partisan outsiders, like 50501 and Indivisible, contain many clues about resistance themes that are umbrellas for various Trump initiatives that fuel public anger. "Hands off 'social security, Medicare, and Medicaid, and our Constitutional democracy has caught on. That theme has legs that last longer than just months because it encompasses so many victims or potential victims regardless of party, race, or religion..  

So, what are the positives that Democrats can offer going forward? Maybe even those too cowardly to take Trump directly on, could at least support positive, constructive statements. Here are some ideas to consider. These fortify values all Democrats support, and getting a consensus on the umbrella positions should not be that hard.They still can't help but reflect the resistance themes, but they can be rephrased in the positive: They also can rephrase popular historical themes wth broad appeal while contrasting their values with MAGA's. The problem is keeping the Democratic party's shopping list from getting tied up in details. Still, it is better if they stick to themes that are broad umbrellas that avoid jargon and technical terms and focus on the impact on ordinary people's lives. The details do not have to be ignored, but they need to constantly be related to the umbrella theme. For example, inflation and/or recession are indeed  concerns because they harm the middle class who still have budgets they need to balance. 

 How about Democrats' messages on "cultural issue" emphasize fairness? For example, observe and support Constitutional protections of individual rights, instead of subverting them with threats of persecution and favoring one race or ideology over another.

I notice that the word "fair" permeates these  other suggestions as well.

 How about a government that will treat all fairly without fear or favor? (As opposed to white Christian nationalist stranglehold on the GOP with Project 2025, under the guise of anti-DEI,  that is being implemented by Trump's appointees, the writers of the Project, to key personnel positions in his administration.) . This use of fear and favor accounts for the attack on academic freedom and autocratic control over thought, expression, speech, and and press that demand toeing the ideological line of that ideology at the risk of losing funding.  Fear of revenge using government tools or access to the President as favors will not be tolerated. 

The issue of fairness is also relevant to immigration policy. While all would like to see criminals without documentation of legal status deported, the recent Trump shift is to family separation and due process for non-gang-related undocumented people.  How we administer deportation is as important as what we do about immigration. Acting humanely is also a value we support instead of acting cruelly.   Cruelty should never be a strategy. Instead, we should fund effective border security in compliance with the rule of law. That is the fair way. Trump had made headway on stopping illegal border crossings. Still, he is now underwater because of failure or flubs in mass deportation or following due process, even the Supreme Court ruled 9-0, to which deportees were entitled. Trump's declining favorability in polls, even on his signature issue of mass deportation, indicates that even some of his supporters still value fairness and are uncomfortable with cruelty.

How about a promise to strengthen our Constitutional democracy  and the rule of law(as opposed to grabbing power for the executive branch that grants power to a wannabe dictator). This is the opposite of respecting and abiding by the judicial branch. At issue is a subset of who controls the courts.  Trump is testing how far he can go in defying court orders, and arresting or impeaching judges who do not abide by Trump ideology or policies.  

 Issues to watch develop:  Issues to watch: Trump's use of active military to enforce domestic laws: on the road to fascism. https://www.aclu.org/news/national-security/trumps-expanded-domestic-military-use-should-worry-us-all?fbclid=IwY2xjawJ9rTFleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFxa3RZYUk1eGNIUzZvRDh4AR5FNQQWstd9vC-72FR1pc7wavt5RbVDFxwmOxy0x-ey1rLnUpffrb2XL46vXw_aem_2A5GiPRJPFYVUySi8-cVsQ

https://newrepublic.com/article/194463/100-days-trump-clown-show-fascism

How about favoring strengthening the middle class and  working people's standard of living (instead of the very rich and billionaires) in economic policies? A correlative is how about requiring federal budgets and new legislation to have realistic payfors and be fair to the middle class as well as to the poor and sick people, instead of padding bank accounts of those who are already ultra-rich?  This may be the most fertile ground because most people are sensitive to both prices and service, accessibility, competence, and responsiveness, and it impacts most people of various demographics and similar income levels.

How about reforming government functions to provide better customer services and staffed with non-partisan personnel who are chosen by ability and merit (instead of loyalty to a certain ideology or person) 

 While foreign policy is never high on voters' minds unless we are involved in a major war, how about involvement in the world in ways that restores US in leadership in the world so we can influence what is good for our own national interests  (instead of letting our adversaries fill a leadership vacuum with China and Russia). We should strengthen NATO, support Ukraine, counter Chinese attempts to control economies and governments in Africa and Southeast Asia, because withdrawal (isolationism) only strengthens our adversaries' power for their national agenda, which is not ours.

MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: A proposition: a loose coalition of many with the theme: Save our democracy

MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: Democracy in context: abstract vs reality. Messaging again.

Pete's Opening Message, Live in Iowa  Pete Buttigieg sets the stage by 1)saying the Party cannot go back like it was before 2) and must come up with a new approach.  

Trump's latest attack on the Federal Reserve has a history

  Do not be surprised that Trump's newest target to destroy is the independence of the Federal Reserve. He proposed that as early as May, 2024. Yesterday, Trump tried to sabotage the Federal Reserve's independence, threatening its chair, Jerome Powell. https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-administration...?

Trump is already acting like a small country tin pot dictator by governing by executive orders and tweets and defying the rule of law and the Constitution ' Now he is trying to mimic the failed economies of countries governed by dictators who have set interest rates to benefit those dear leader's attempt to curry the favor of those they suppress or whose support they need regardless of the impact on increased inflation that causes. Why is the Federal Reserve independent, and what does that mean in practice?. Politicians feel the pressure to lower interest rates, but the result causes inflation. The inflation rate Joe Biden handed off to Trump was under 3%. Yesterday, the Fed Chair dared to opine that Trump's tariff policies would cause inflation. That irked Trump, who calls tariffs a beautiful word and is still trying to convince many that tariffs are not taxes on consumers. From the May 24, 2024 blog posting: "Trump himself would be an inflation causation. One wag called it: Trump would make inflation surge again. Here is how Trump would make prices go up with his plans. He surely caters to oil oligarchs to get campaign donations who love to see that price per barrel soar, and he threatens to raise tariff prices on all imports. He proposes to take away the only power to control inflation, our central bank, the Federal Reserve. As president, he has no power to curb inflation. also, does he want to destroy the only tool out there? Sure high interest rates contribute to increased prices, but without the Fed to put the break on inflation to slow down consumer demands, it would be worse. In fact, inflation would be Katy bar the door out of control. So far, our interest rates and inflation are among the lowest in the industrialized world. https://www.statista.com/.../inflation-rate-interest.../ If it ain't very broke, don't very well break it. Trump's promises would do just that. Increase inflation."

https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-administration...?

Trump's tariff theories forget timing and that voters are also consumers

Trump's tariff theories forget timing, and that voters are also consumers. Even if Trump's theory that tariff wars will eventually benefit the economy, a timing problem will backfire on the GOP politically. Even if manufacturing comes back to the US, it takes years to build up domestic production facilities and capacity, well past the 2026 midterms and into 2028. Trump's tariff war will have an outsized impact on politics because all voters are also consumers, as tariff "taxes" price hikes will begin at once, some not until after pre-tariff inventory is eaten through. The tariff impact on higher prices will be felt by consumers well before the 2026 midterms.

Without cheaper competition from imports, domestic producers will be tempted to raise their prices to get higher profit margins (the difference between what the market will bear if consumers buy at the price, and what it costs to produce and sell). Products with imported parts will see some prices rise immediately.

I am no economist, but I do follow the impact public policy has on consumers, the focus of my 30-year career in public and government relations as both a regulator and an advocate for consumer rights. 

70 percent of the US economy is consumer-related. Sticker shock will be voter shock, especially for those who thought Trump cared about the prices and inflation. You can count on Democrats to chant we told you so and Trump himself is the one who caused the pain through his "tariff taxes". Those sensitive to prices for everyday consumer goods like clothes and electronics will be the most affected. Those who benefit, such as steel and auto manufacturing, in job creation and salaries, are far outnumbered by the number of price-sensitive consumers who are also voters. It will be even painful for the middle class if the Trump tariff war causes a recession with layoffs and 401 (k) s tanking.The result will be a decline in consumer buying as consumers adjust to the new reality. That, in turn, can also discourage investments in manufacturing and lead to layoffs.

Trump's trumpeting that manufacturing will "come roaring back to the US" has a timing problem. It takes years to construct new manufacturing facilities, and those facilities will be far more automated, far less employing human workers, so this will generate far fewer jobs than this would have been a decade ago. It will take several years for those facilities to be built, and by that time, both the 2026 and 2028 election seasons will be in the rear view mirror.

Update: 4/4/2025 Federal reserves did not lower interest rates because of uncertainties of labor shortage (immigration) and tariff policies length and amount with unknown specifics which could increase inflation. Interest rates are the only tool to cool inflation, so it is not the time to lower interest rates now. Inflation, then, still lurks in the future, it appears. The Trump administration had pressured the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. Instead, 4/4/2025, the Fed made no changes. ( Trump had threatened to take over the central bank fed decisions to suit his policies and political interests. It is a move that the dictator of Turkey, Erdogan, used to consolidate his power and now the value of the currency dropped from about 2 to one to the US dollar to 30 to one...The same disastrous policies of dropping interest rates for political reasons plagued he economies of South America for years. ) Turkey’s Erdogan sacks central bank governor after rate hike | Recep Tayyip Erdogan News | Al Jazeera      Why Turkey's currency is crashing after Erdogan got reelected | AP News

Two week mark of the Trump presidency: attempted rule by fear and favor

 To take the standard of the Department of Justice it had until recently, to administer prosecutions "without fear or favor'.is a good standard of how the rule of law should work in order to be as fair and nonpartisan as possible.  It is also a standard for democracy as a whole and describes the ideal fairness standard for which it strives. By the two-week mark of the Trump presidency, Trump has turned that worthy goal upside down, and he is attempting to create a regime using fear and favor to gain power and to keep it.  

This is just the beginning with Trump's opening salvo of decrees and executive orders. The pushback has not begun. We do not know how effective the pushback will be. It will come from the courts and from the voters in the midterm election in two years, which could reinforce the legislative branch, giving them a backbone with a different party in the majority., and restoring some degree of the balance of powers. It could also come from the streets, given the passions and anger Trump has awakened.  It could be propelled by Trump's decisions that result in higher living costs and inflation, disillusioning some of Trump's 2024 voters.

Who is Trump favoring?  Trump is the dream ruler for billionaires. He promises to lower taxes on rich people and free them from administrative constraints on rich people's ability to become richer. These barriers the already rich want to control or eliminate were designed to protect consumers and the environment and to cut the ability of the government to provide help to those unable to help themselves, the sick, the elderly, and racial and societal minorities, Head Start,  and children with poor nutrition. One of the regime's first acts: fire the head of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. Next, they will attempt to eliminate civil service employees by reclassifying through regulation F, removing protections from political pressures, and replacing them with loyalists to Trump or the ideology of Project 2025 so that government rulings are in step with their priorities. Already executed in Trmp's first week: the end of DEI and the firing of all employees associated with the program. The plan laid out in Project 2025 was to eliminate DEI (diversity) goals in hiring and promotions as if it is to make white males who claimed they were the victims of discrimination the sole government rulers again as they were before the civil rights movement of the 1960s. 

The attempt has virtually neutered Congress so far, with the GOP majority nodding heads or being silent and turning over their power to Trump to do as he pleases. Trump and Musk ignored the Constitution and laws that define the executive branch's role in "faithfully executing" the laws and funding Congress passed. Instead, they are attempting to become the controller of the purse in the place of the legislature.

How could this happen? Trump uses the tools of the powers of government to discipline his followers to comply by threats to primary them if they are House members and to destroy those he sees as political enemies by using the DOJ to bankrupt them by filing criminal action (without even probable cause) against anyone else.  Trump's revenge against anyone who had anything to do with bringing criminal charges against him since 2020 may satisfy his hateful instincts, but it also serves as making an example of how he would treat those he sees as his foes and how he keeps his supporters in line.  It is a rule by fear in political messaging as well. Fear of "others" who are not white males and are immigrants has been the leading drumbeat of his campaigns since he first entered national politics. It has been a successful message and strategy. Trump knows what works, and he knows the soul of his core supporters.

Trump is attempting to rule by favor, as well, as he places in power as a reward for loyalty and campaign contributions, primarily the very rich. Top of the favors he promises are lower taxes, with loss to the treasury offset by a reduction in government and national security services and regulations protecting consumers and the environment.  By placing his loyalists up and down government agencies, he can offer those favors to those who have proved their loyalty to him and his priorities.

https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/trump-fires-rohit-chopra-wall-street-consumer-protection-rcna190444?

https://www.yahoo.com/.../invitation-foreign-actors-bondi... Yesieree bob, voters do not need to know what China, Iran, or Russia are doing to help MAGA win in any elections, right? WRONG.

Wise up, consumers, to the price of eggs and gas at the pump updated 2/3/2025..

 Wise up, consumers.. Trump gets an egg on his face and an oil glut. Blaming Biden for inflation and then wondering why grocery prices cannot be reversed by executive order is a bit like when your car won't start; you blame a dead battery when the starter is the problem. So you buy and install a new battery and then wonder why the car still does not start. It's like the price of eggs issue/ If you blame the wrong reason for price increases, fixing it becomes a problem. Drill baby drill is not the issue, either. We already have too much crude as a glut, which makes drilling uneconomical for the industry.

2//9/2025: Inflation rate at the end of the Biden administration: 2.9% https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/inflation-cpi

2/2/2025 Update There will be political fallout from the Trump's tariffs: Trump says Americans could feel 'some pain' from tariffs as he threatens more import taxes | AP News Do you really think fentanyl is more painful than inflation and higher grocery, housing construction, gas at the pump prices? This is going to hit MAGA voters in the gut, but "keep the faith, baby", it will all make America Great again. MAGA voter: did you sign on for pain? This happened on and because of Trump's watch.

White House Reacts to Rising Egg Prices and Shortages, blaming Biden for inflation is total BS, blaming the wrong problem, but making a lot of noise may mask Trump's inability to fix it , while using it to score political points.  It ignores the egg industry price gouging excess profits record and the current bird flu epidemic that caused the price hike as Trump took office the second time, as well as trying to pin the blame on Biden for inflation, which is equally bogus. Pointing their fingers fixes nothing. They can't fix it, so they use the opportunity to make political hay and try to excuse an embarrassment ...or egg on his face, so to speak... with hokus pokus..

While cultural and racial issues motivated many voters for Trump in 2024, some fell for the line that the reason grocery prices inflated was due to Biden's economics. Inflation was under 3 percent when Biden left office in January. Taking the average of inflation over 4 years is intellectually dishonest because it fails to give him credit for what he acheived. This under 3 (2% is optimum) is what Trump has got at the beginning of his second term from Biden. What happens now is on him.

Let's go back to the Biden years when the price of eggs because the cause celebre. Remember? It wasn't Biden. It was COVID causing supply chain shortages as industry revived what had been put on ice (Remember the empty toilet paper shelves and videos of shipping containers piled up on docks?). Consumers had COVID government money in their pockets and plenty of jobs and back to work to buy and pent-up demand. as retail stores reopened. Immediately after the pandemic ended.Corporate greed was a factor as some masked unjustified price hikes by blaming Biden. High corporate profit, especially by the egg industry, was evidence of their strategy. (Also, bird flu is causing the current spike in egg prices, not Trump) One of the first campaign promises Trump broke after being elected was to say it was too hard to roll back grocery prices. He warned he couldn't do it, but he was only honest about that after he got elected.. He deceived so many. To keep the drum roll going, Trump media allies are hawking Biden's fault to divert attention from Trump's own admitted predicted failure. Wise up, consumers.

The same can be said about "drill baby drill" to bring gas at the pump prices down. First, the problem is not a lack of crude oil. Biden's policies increased drilling so much that the oil industry cannot find enough customers to buy it at the price that it is now. There is a glut of crude oil available. Pumping more oil is not the problem. FYI: Presidents do not set the price by barrel; it is set internationally by cartels. Those who believed Trump's line that Biden was to blame is a cover for Trump's campaign line, "Drill baby drill." Drilling more crude was not the problem, baby. The adjustment to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the attempt to adjust to the loss of that supplier to Europe was as much at fault and still ongoing. Nonetheless, as Biden left office, gas at the pump prices was under $3 a gallon. Wise up consumers.

There are signs consumers are beginning to wise up, per the Wall Street Journal, as consumer confidence measures drop in January. U.S. Consumers Lose Confidence at Start of Trump’s Second Term

Consumers are in for more education about grocery prices if Trump carries through with his tariff plans and they learn more about gas prices at the pump if he clamps tariffs on oil coming from Canada. Stay tuned.

 https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/27/business/energy-environment/oil-trump-drill-baby-drill.html

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Trumps-Oil-Plans-Meet-Market-Glut-in-2025.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/03/29/countrys-largest-egg-producer-saw-profits-surge-718-amid-shortage

https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2024/11/trumps-achilles-heels-unintended.html

https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2024/09/the-bs-of-drill-baby-drill.html

This avian flu thing is beginning to sound familiar.  Egg shortage 2025: Prices expected to rise throughout the year

Cracking Down on Egg Industry’s Excuses: It’s Price Gouging | Farm Action   in 2023."The egg industry blames avian flu and inflation for increasing egg prices. These problems are certainly real — about 43 million egg-laying hens were lost due to the avian flu through December 2022, and input costs for producers have increased. But this begs the question — how are egg companies raking in so much money in light of these costly strains?"

Musk's return on investment in Trump has just begun

This is about as self-serving as a billionaire can get. Musk plans to abuse his newfound power as Trump's DOGE to protect plans for a new financial service from consumers and to remove safety requirements for Tesla.  https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/elon-musk-put-277-million-into-the-election-now-he-s-200-billion-richer.  That is a return on investment of the century.  Musk is planning to turn his X (formerly Twitter) into a financial services platform similar to Venmo, but offering far more  serivces.. https://www.pymnts.com/financial-apps/2023/musk-x-will-encompass-users-entire-financial-life-by-2024Eliminating guardrails, allowing Musk to abuse customers as he sees fit in providing financial services is in his best interest, but not in consumer or public interests.Musk sees the Consumer Financial Protection  Bureau as redundant and unnecessary. I see it as the only viable guardrail to keep consumers from being victims of illegal and unfair treatment by powerful banks. “When I say payments, I actually mean someone’s entire financial life,” Musk said during a company all-hands call last week, per a report by the Verge.“If it involves money, it’ll be on our platform. Money or securities or whatever. So, it’s not just like send $20 to my friend. I’m talking about, like, you won’t need a bank account.” Imagine a power like the one he represents trying to sell consumers on "efficiency" and DOGE that eliminates consumer protections from financial service providers while he is planning to launch a financial services project as far-reaching as this.  This is beyond corrupt,  using his relationship with Pres. Elect Trump to get it done using the cover of eliminating duplicative agencies to save taxpayer money. https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/06/doges-musk-ramaswamy-try-to-sell-congress-on-huge-spending-cuts.html 

Update: 12/21/24   This is what the CFPB is doing, for example, that local and state consumer regulators do not have the ability and resources to do. CFPB sues JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo over Zelle payment fraud

Another Musk self-serving plan: Musk is unsafe at any speed. Musk plans to use his power to remove safety regulations that damage Tesla's interest. Trump team set to end key vehicle safety rule opposed by Elon Musk's Tesla: report

Add this to the already extensive stranglehold billionaires have in media and what we can hear and see to get our news. MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: Democracy has an oligarch problem. Musk is a player.

More on CFPB:

This, from   https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2024/11/resistance-is-not-enough-democrats-have.html   .....                billionaire Elon Musk in charge of Trump's current thinking about cutting "duplicative and unnecessary agencies" has just targeted the recently instituted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau . (CFPB)Unnecessary for whom? Certainly not necessary for a billionaire. Duplicative of what agency? It was set up to do what other agencies had failed to do or had the power to do. Per Google AI, The FTC's Bureau of Productions for Consumer Protection ICFstops unfair, deceptive, and fraudulent business practices by collecting complaints and conducting investigations, suing companies and people that break the law. developing rules to maintain a fair marketplace. I spent over 20 years as an executive with consumer protection agencies, one similar to the CFPB on the local level, and a credit counseling agency (non-profit) , dealing with debt, foreclosure, and local, public, and private agencies attempting to help consumers deal with these kinds of financial problems. However, when we attempted to alert the Federal Trade Commission about a pattern of civil fraud, there was no easy way to do it nor was there a focus at the FTC to deal with consumer complaints.  Musk does not have a clue of how important the Bureau is. Per the bureau:

• 4 million+ consumer complaints received responses
• $20.7 billion+ in financial relief as a result of CFPB actions
• 205 million+ people eligible for financial relief and their current target: credit card and bank junk fees.

 

That is a good reason why billionaires should not be making such policies.https://www.reuters.com/world/us/musk-calls-abolishing-consumer-finance-watchdog-targeted-by-republicans-2024-11-27

Alarm bells are ringing as Trump has indicated a potential desire to turn the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, into a political weapon and to set interest rates per political considerations.  If the Fed begins to raise interest rates as inflation raises its ugly head again, Trump may try to replace the members with loyalists so he could control interest rates to make his regime look good politically. That move would be fought tooth and nail by business interests. The Federal Reserve has the only tool available to fight inflation. They control an overheated economy using interest rates. While high interest rates post-COVID were politically painful, in the long run they have brought inflation down to nearly 2%, an annual rate economists consider healthy.

 Elon Musk's current relationship will likely run into conflict with Trump over tariffs and the environment (Tesla and batteries are important to him, and they depend on environmentally sensitive customers)  Musk also understands science and its value to Space X.  Cuts of government service runs counter to his business tech orientation which is highly dependent on science and data collecting. How that plays out will be a fascinating drama to watch. V Conflict with Trump's team members have already begun. Musk, top Trump adviser clash over Cabinet picks

Possibly an area of conflict between Musk and Pres. Trump is if Project 2025 is implemented. Eliminated as unnecessary are whole agencies at the EPA. . ‘Agencies To Be Deleted’: Vivek Ramaswamy Says DOGE Will Pursue ‘Mass Reductions,’ Fight Bureaucratic ‘Pushback’  In MAGA'S mind, environmental and climate research is unnecessary. Global warming is a hoax, per Project 2025 and Donald Trump. They must think if it is not collecting data that is reported in the media, global warming will go away. Besides, these regulatory agencies cut into corporate profits, and those agency cuts are needed to offset the tax breaks to the rich that will bloat the debt and deficits.  Project 2025 proposes to eliminate any reference to man-caused global warming in government agencies including eliminating agencies who keep track of such unnecessary stuff since there is no global warming man causes.  Among those on the cutting block are possibly  Boulder's National Atmospheric Research labs, and NOAA's chief research facility also located in Boulder, Colorado. . https://www.noaa.gov/about-our-agency  

Interesting, however, is that Trump's pick for energy czar is from Denver, who believes there is climate change, but it is not a crisis. https://www.denverpost.com/2024/11/19/chris-wright-colorado-energy-secretary-nominee

 On the other hand, Elon Musk may see a business opportunity. He already has billions worth of government contracts, especially in space travel, exploration, and rockets. That is his business model. It is taking over stodgy government agencies and replacing them with money-saving contracts under his control and for profit. Running science agencies would more than benefit his bottom line and the automotive and space agencies that already make him the richest man in the world. Trump's victory brought Tesla and Musk 70 billion dollars. It also means that those agencies would serve him, but not the public interest. and competitors.

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/11/11/elon-musk-is-70-billion-richer-since-trump-victory-due-to-tesla-surge.html 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/11/16/elon-musk-trump-treasury-tariffs/

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/14/climate/trump-noaa-climate-data-weather.html

https://www.law.berkeley.edu/research/clee/research/other-research-initiatives/environmental-guid

https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2024/07/what-project-2025-would-do-to-climate-policy-in-the-us/

 

Resistance is not enough. Democrats have a winnng leg to stand on updated 12/14/2024

 Resistance is not enough. Democrats have a winning leg to stand on that MAGA does not: It is economic fairness, the lack of which is underlying the demise and resentment of the middle class. Such economic populism can work both ways depending upon who gets the blame.  In 2024 Trump won as more voted for cheaper and in 2025 we will get higher prices and much more: inflation per every economist on the planet. The fallout will not only be political, it will be painful for anyone who is price-sensitive. The last time we tried such a stunt was in the early thirties. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/smoot-hawley-tariff-act

That is the Democrat's messaging challenge: to make sure the Trump regime gets the blame when inflation happens and health care becomes more expensive again, as the cost of housing keeps on soaring, and grocery prices increase, making the Biden era look like the good old days.

 In fact, if there was one issue that tipped the election to Trump, it was his promise to lower grocery prices. He made a big deal of it in his campaign, he promised he would, polls confirmed that was the reason he won, and now he is already admitting he will have a hard time rolling back grocery prices. In fact, the likelihood that grocery prices will inflate will be due to his tariffs on imports from Mexico and a labor shortage from farm to processing caused by mass deportations. https://www.yahoo.com/news/donald-trump-already-walked-back-221600205.html

Trump says it will be 'hard' to bring grocery prices down. Here's why. Already, Trump is blaming Biden, not COVID-19, not supply chain mess-ups, empty shelves, or stimulus checks causing more demand than supply. As Biden leaves office, grocery price inflation had been near zero for the past year. However, if grocery prices go south, tariffs and immigration  mass deportations will be to blame,. The message must be more than "we told you so," but to tie it to Trump's own actions and deserved blame for whatever happened on his watch.

Update 1/20/2025 WORTH a read if you can getting through the paywall. My thoughts: if the the feds won't do it, states are trying.

denverpost.com

Colorado lawmakers back bill targeting price gouging, especially in grocery stores

Colorado grocery stores and other sellers of “n

To add insult to injury, the billionaire Elon Musk in charge of Trump's current thinking about cutting "duplicative and unnecessary agencies" has just targeted the recently instituted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. (CFPB)Unnecessary for whom? Certainly not necessary for a billionaire. Duplicative of what agency? It was set up to do what other agencies had failed to do or had the power to do. Per Google AI, The FTC's Bureau of Productions for Consumer Protection ICFstops unfair, deceptive, and fraudulent business practices by collecting complaints and conducting investigations, suing companies and people that break the law. developing rules to maintain a fair marketplace. I spent over 20 years as an executive with consumer protection agencies, one similar to the CFPB on the local level, and a credit counseling agency (non-profit) , dealing with debt, foreclosure, and local, public, and private agencies attempting to help consumers deal with these kinds of financial problems. However, when we attempted to alert the Federal Trade Commission about a pattern of civil fraud, there was no easy way to do it nor was there a focus at the FTC to deal with consumer complaints.  Musk does not have a clue of how important the Bureau is. Per the bureau:

• 4 million+ consumer complaints received responses
• $20.7 billion+ in financial relief as a result of CFPB actions
• 205 million+ people eligible for financial relief and their current target: credit card and bank junk fees.

 

That is a good reason why billionaires should not be making such policies.https://www.reuters.com/world/us/musk-calls-abolishing-consumer-finance-watchdog-targeted-by-republicans-2024-11-27

 For simplicity in messaging, Democrats can paint the GOP (the Trump version) as the party of billionaires while the rest of us sacrifice what makes our lives easier in order to enable their tax breaks and deregulation.  Perhaps, as others have called this, we could tag this as government by an oligopoly or use the Russian term oligarchs.  Trump is still in charge, however, and he sees a benefit to his ego, the measure of his own wealth and influence. to be part of this peer group, and he owes them for important financing of his 2024 campaign. 

 If there is one policy issue that will cause a backlash by everyone, this is it. High tariffs equal high prices. Such inflation caused low-information voters to switch to Trump. It could also cause them to switch back to Democrats. Trump's campaign promises of reducing costs of living for those on a budget are doomed to failure if he makes prices higher and he sabotages what the middle class has taken for granted, access to affordable health care, consumer protections from corporate greed, and social security and Medicare for those who retire.

. In my early adulthood, the middle class could own a home, send kids to college, mom could be a stay-at-home one, and even maybe take a vacation.  The income dad bought home was sufficient. Their buying power permitted it. Since the 1970's the trend to keep that going slowly died off as tax and perk policies, money (now dark, thanks to Citizen's United) from corporate and individually wealthy billionaires have flowed into the political system, sucking the middle class dry with their favoritism and self-interests. Now, they are the ones, yes, like Elon Musk, whispering in the ears of Trump. So long as Trump delivers on his promise to lower grocery prices, the stock market remains bullish, gas at the pump remains at under $3 and the cost of what the middle class buys becomes cheaper,  no one cares if the oligarchs get richer.

Trump is now doubling down on tariffs on even our largest trading partners: Mexico and Canada, in addition to Asian countries, policies guaranteed to make nearly everything middle-class buys more expensive.  If he continues with that insanity, the backlash will be more than palpable, but Democrats have to be able to seize the day, putting the blame where it belongs, and then make the case in simple terms they can make life better. They failed to do that in 2024. Saying and doing the same way over again won't work. They need to get their messaging methods and content retooled and refocused on what the electorate is feeling at the time.

The  Democrats ' answer should be a return to their roots and re-establishing their historic posture of the party of those who are struggling to make ends meet.  The history of the Democratic party used to be as a champion for those left behind. There is no hypocrisy here and plenty of credibility.   Democrats can make the case in the next four years that rule by the ultra-rich on behalf of their corporate interests may talk the populist grievances and say "they feel your pain," but the walk they walk is just making themselves richer. 

 https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2024/11/elitists-v-simple-speakeducation-is.html

https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2024/11/trumps-achilles-heels-

Elon Musk publicized the names of government employees he wants to cut. It’s terrifying federal workers

https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2024/10/democracy-has-oligarch-problem.html

https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R42615/6#:~:text=The%20Consumer%20Financial%20Protection%20Bureau%20(CFPB)%2C%20which%20formally%20started,the%20Dodd%2DFrank%20Act).

ttps://www.newsweek.com/will-trumps-tariffs-drive-inflation-1995274