Zornio: Inflation is up. People are fired. Stocks are down. Are we great again yet? 

It’s been mere weeks since Donald Trump took office.

So far, inflation has risen 3%. The price of eggs is up and predicted to rise another 41%. The stock market has slumped and destabilized.

Are we great again yet?

An estimated 30,000 workers were immediately fired. National Parks are cutting access and services. American farmers are losing millions of dollars. Trillions in grant funding and assistance programs are frozen, cut or delayed. 

Are we great again yet?

Small businesses and nonprofits are struggling to stay solvent amid voided contracts. Workers’ rights are being repealed. Google’s co-founder thinks Americans should work 12-hour days. Diversity, equity and inclusion programs are being tossed out, impacting those in rural areas and millions of others. Trump’s own supporters are feeling the pinch.

Are we great again yet?

Car prices are expected to rise by $12,000 given tariffs. Goods such as coffee, alcohol and produce could be limited or skyrocket in cost. China has “vowed retaliation” and Morgan Stanley’s chief global economist says Trump’s plan could send the U.S. economy into chaos by 2026. The U.S. economy was trending up when Trump entered office.

Are we great again yet?

Twenty-four million people are likely to see negative changes in eligibility and prices for health care. American science is under siege at alarming speed, including for health care research and development. The first U.S. measles death in over a decade was recorded after a vaccine-preventable outbreak killed an unvaccinated child.

Are we great again yet?

Russia is celebrating after Trump bullied Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and voted against American interests at the United Nations summit. Talks from European nations to boycott the U.S. are growing as the U.S. openly rejects NATO and becomes increasingly aligned with the Axis of Evil. A top German violinist has refused to perform in the U.S.

Are we great again yet?

Social Security payments might freeze or be cut. Medicare and Medicaid are potentially on the chopping block. Over 3,400 federal data sets have already been removed from data.gov. The world’s richest man now has access to sensitive national and citizen databases, including taxpayer information. 

But don’t worry, the rich are getting richer.

Trump has selected 13 billionaires to join his cabinet, an unprecedented number of people with wealth being put into power. At the same time, the world’s top 10 richest people gained $64 billion collectively after Trump’s re-election. This included Elon Musk, whose wealth grew by over $26.5 billion, even while he takes over DOGE and his companies received at least $18 billion in government taxpayer dollars in recent years.

Jeff Bezos, who has more publicly aligned with Trump in recent weeks, also saw a $7.1 billion leap in wealth, and he stands to gain much more. Under Trump’s proposed tax plan, the top 0.1% of earners would pay $314,000 less in taxes per year, if they pay taxes at all after all the loopholes. This would amount to an additional national tax income loss of $4.2 trillion over the next decade.

So are we great again yet?

It’s often said that people don’t appreciate what they have until they lose it. If so, Americans are about to get a rude awakening after centuries of taking democracy for granted. But many of us are too caught up in fighting partisan politics to even notice the billionaires and foreign entities taking over our democracy. A 24-hour national shopping blackout day won’t fix it.

If you want to make a difference — really make a difference — it’s time to be bold. Don’t change your spending habits for a day. Change them for a year. More than that, America’s middle class must wake up and come together. It’s not Democrats versus Republicans. It’s us versus them. 

That’s when we’ll be great again.

Trish Zornio is a scientist, lecturer and writer who has worked at some of the nation’s top universities and hospitals. She’s an avid rock climber and was a 2020 candidate for the U.S. Senate in Colorado.

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