I am being told (it’s all over the news) that there is an “affordability crisis” in America, and that I should be happy because the presence of this “affordability crisis” is good for Democrats as we move closer and closer to the mid-term elections. But I am not impressed. I don’t want to minimize the economic pain that many people are feeling because of the current economic climate. Farmers, small business owners, certainly the working poor have all been let down by the people in government that are supposed to be working for them and not raising money for the next election cycle.
Much of that economic pain can be attributed to Trump. The way Trump thinks–his inability to think through the long term consequences of his decisions, his belief that he can bully his way out of any problem, his unwillingness to see both the benefits and the necessity of cooperation–is a recipe for financial disaster. But we must step back and remember; Trump’s disastrous handling of the economy is a symptom of a broader disease, and as much as the economic pain may be real, it belies deeper and more fundamental crises.
For example, while Americans are distracted trying to make ends meet, the situation in Ukraine is devolving literally by the day. A simple cease fire agreement to not hit energy installations could not hold for more than three days. Trump and Zelensky have a rapidly deteriorating relationship as Zelensky finally loses patience with Trump’s propensity to venerate dictators. With ships getting blown up in the territorial waters of EU, and, more importantly, NATO member states, the chances the war could spread are growing day by day. Americans support Ukraine. But they are struggling to make ends meet. This isn’t a moment when they want their government wasting money. It does us absolutely no good to send aid to a country and only support it half way. If we are going to support Ukraine, we should do so whole-heartedly, in a way that will bring an end to the war. Otherwise we are throwing good money after bad in a half-hearted response which fails to resolve the crisis.
And that’s not the only crisis in the news that urgently needs to be addressed. Once again, we are reminded that we have a crisis in gun violence, as a 16-year-old somehow got his hands on a gun and started shooting at an elementary school. Americans say they want sensible gun control, and, yet, nothing happens. The crisis persists; people forget about it; we go back to focusing on other things. But the crisis is no less real and no less acute for our disregarding it. Gun violence in all its forms will ultimately take lives. Families and communities will be devastated. The consequences will run far deeper than the “affordability crisis,” yet chances are this crisis won’t be top of mind this election cycle.
When we finally hear about a motive for the school shooter chances are it will be in large part untreated mental illness. This was a crisis when I was a kid in the 1980’s. It had led to a crisis in homelessness. I’m 50 now and the crisis in mental illness has persisted unabated all of my adult life and more. If anything, things are worse today, with hospitals and residential facilities closing and the severely mentally ill getting treatment in prisons. We know the system is broken, and we know what to do to fix it, but the crisis continues.
And don’t forget the ongoing crisis that’s behind the “affordability crisis”–the war in Iran. This crisis has existed since the beginning of the Islamic Republic. For almost 50 years, people have attempted to solve the problem of the Iranian regime. We got close with the Iran nuclear deal, then Trump made the disastrous mistake of pulling out. It is easy enough to say we want an end to the war. But do we really want to do what it takes to put an end to the crisis? Do we want a superficial quick fix to our economic problems or a lasting solution that means we won’t have to be back dealing with the same crisis again and again?
And if we really want to make the inability of people to make the dollar stretch our sole focus, why don’t we try to actually do something about working poverty and helping family farms and small businesses. Take this opportunity to address the inherent inequalities in our economic structures, find out why family farms are failing and what government can do to help; and find some way, some how, to make sure that if you work a 40 hr week, you can afford to make the rent.
I could go on. I could list a hundred different crises that are just as important as the “affordability crisis.” I am not saying the economic problems facing the country aren’t important–they are. But the current difficulties are in large part symptomatic. Treating the disease will be hard. Granted, much of the economic pain we are feeling is the result of weak leadership from a man who does not belong in power. But previous administrations going back generations have contributed to the problem as well. Taking this opportunity to solve the underlying problems and really address the root of the crisis will take leadership and political courage. It will take the wisdom to know which crisis is truly the most important.
