Trumpty Dumpty
Oh! Who would have thought? The voters are not happy. At best, eggs cost about $5 a dozen, reaching up to $9 a dozen at a high-end organic grocery store.
Trumpty fired the scientists who researched ways to prevent bird flu; then someone must have said, “OH! Maybe keeping hens healthy would increase the egg supply,” so Trumpty reconsidered. Some of the fired researchers were told to return to work.
This could be called the YO-YO effect: Make a stupid decision, cancel it, and claim credit for fixing the problem.
Trumpty’s tariffs make a difference, but the effects differ from what Trumpty seems to expect: prices for purchasing items rise, and the stock market falls.
It’s not just eggs. When the tariffs affect Ireland, the cost of Irish butter for Americans will increase to about $11 or $12 a pound. Much of our clothing is produced in Taiwan and China, where tariffs could triple the price we pay each time we buy a new shirt.
We pay the tariffs, not the manufacturers. Tariffs on car makers could cost us, the taxpayers, over $25 billion. Trumpty expects buyers to pay. Will we like it? Can we afford it?
Will the YO-YO strike again?
There also appears to be an organizational problem. The mismatch is that Trumpty plans to sell federal buildings while requiring workers to operate within them. However, there is no longer enough office space, resulting in shared desks and shortages of toilet paper. Simultaneously, workers are randomly fired with little notice and minimal respect for the efforts required to serve the public.
It reminds me of my first job. When one of my “sister” office workers was forced to quit because she was pregnant, the boss required a 30-day notice. It was all about him; he needed 30 days — 15 to find a replacement and 15 for the fired worker to train the new employee.
But Trumpty isn’t worried about lost knowledge. There is no hand-off or training to ensure that the work continues. Instead, employees are notified the day after their last day: Don’t come to work today. Surprise! Yesterday was your last day.
There is no plan. Research remains in the files but is inaccessible. Soon, the remaining staff will notice, “Oh, Harry or Sally used to do that. We need Harry or Sally.”
Trumpty won’t notice initially, but the YO-YO effect will begin the slap-back.
The USDA’s South Building — Washington’s largest government office building — is for sale. I used to work in that building. It is a practical workplace; not glamorous but necessary if … IF?… there will be a functioning USDA.
“Functioning” USDA? Trumpty is attacking the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the Forest Service, agricultural trade, food safety, and more. These agencies serve different but interconnected functions. Is the goal to eliminate everything associated with them?
I wondered what a buyer would want the USDA building for?
Private Equity will acquire the building, likely leasing it back to the government. Completed in 1936, the South Building has served as an essential workspace, with the federal government not paying rent for this office space for nearly a century. However, what a lovely revenue stream for the Private Equity buyer! The government receives a one-time payment, while Private Equity enjoys decades of rental profits with minimal need for updates. Then the YO-YO hits us — the taxpayers- again, while Private Equity profits at our expense.
Leasing-back to the government resembles how Private Equity firms often manage nursing homes. Owners sell these properties to the firms as a package—health care, building, and land combined under one legal entity. However, the purchase price for the package is significantly lower than the market value because the new Private Equity owner can separate the components and sell the building and land while requiring the health services section to rent back at above-market rates. Consequently, nursing homes become more expensive, leading consumers to ultimately pay more. If they cannot afford it, the private equity owner abandons the bankrupt nursing home but retains control of the property, having enriched itself once again while the YO-YO rings the warning bell.
The Social Security Administration is also facing conflicting orders.
Regional offices are closing simultaneously as new rules mandate that Social Security applicants visit these locations in person. Meanwhile, staff who previously answered phones and those who worked in the offices have been dismissed without clear explanations. Trumpty has backed off on some of this, yet he is still causing nationwide confusion among our senior population. Another kind of YO-YO strikes again. Closing offices, removing staff from phone duties, and terminating some employees do not work.
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When Trumpty pulled back on tariffs, he remarked that people were feeling “yippy” and “afraid.” Still, plenty of “yippy-ness” surrounds tariffs, inflation, broken contracts, and Private Equity. There are many YO-YOs, and many of them are issuing warnings but seeing no repairs.
Trumpty noticed the millions of people who attended the “HANDS OFF!” rallies in all 50 states last weekend, so he has postponed some of the tariffs, but likely not for long. We the People will need to take to the streets to protect the costs of our country’s food bills, services, and other purchases from skyrocketing.
DUH! Of course! A third-grader could likely figure these things out, but Trumpty Dumpty and his minions, such as “president” Musk and Vance, are intentional in the harm they inflict upon us.
Soon, the stench of decay will be so foul that our people cannot miss it. Trumpty’s Private Equity gang will have triumphed even if the federal government’s remaining jobs are scattered near and far from the District of Columbia.