{"id":39939,"date":"2025-03-02T13:07:37","date_gmt":"2025-03-02T21:07:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=39939"},"modified":"2025-03-02T13:07:38","modified_gmt":"2025-03-02T21:07:38","slug":"10-more-reasons-for-modest-optimism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/03\/02\/10-more-reasons-for-modest-optimism\/","title":{"rendered":"10 MORE REASONS FOR MODEST OPTIMISM"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ROBERT REICH<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

FEB 28, 2025 (robertreich.substack.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Friends,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since I offered you 10 reasons for modest optimism last week, discontent with the Trump-Musk regime has surged even further. America appears to be waking up. Here\u2019s the latest evidence \u2014 10 more reasons for modest optimism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Trump\u2019s approval ratings continue to plummet.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The chief reason Trump was elected was to reduce the high costs of living \u2014 especially food, housing, health care, and gas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new Pew poll<\/a> shows these costs remain uppermost in Americans\u2019 minds. Sixty-three percent identify inflation as an overriding problem, and 67 percent say the same about the affordability of health care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That same poll shows the public turning on Trump. The percent of those disapproving of Trump\u2019s handling of the economy has risen to 53 percent (versus 45 percent who approve). Disapproval of his actions as president has risen to the same 53 percent versus 45 percent approval, which shows how essential economic performance is to the public\u2019s assessment of presidents these days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pew poll also shows 57 percent of the public believes that Trump \u201chas exceeded his presidential authority.\u201d By making the world\u2019s richest person his hatchet man, Trump has made more vivid the role of money in politics. Hence, a record-high 72 percent now say a major problem is \u201cthe role of money in politics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other polls show similar results. In the Post-Ipsos poll, significantly more Americans strongly disapprove of Trump (39 percent) than strongly approve of him (27 percent). Reuters<\/a>, Quinnipiac University<\/a>, CNN<\/a>, and Gallup<\/a> polls show Trump\u2019s approval ratings plummeting (ranging from 44 percent to 47 percent).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In all of these polls, more Americans now disapprove of Trump than approve of him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. DOGE is running amusk.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

DOGE looks more and more like a giant hoax. This week, reporters found<\/a> that nearly 40 percent of the contracts DOGE claims to have canceled aren\u2019t expected to save the government any money, according to the administration\u2019s own data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, on Tuesday DOGE deleted all of the five biggest \u201csavings\u201d on its so-called \u201cwall of receipts.\u201d The scale of its errors \u2014 and the misunderstandings and poor quality control that appear to underlie them \u2014 has raised questions about the effort\u2019s broader work, which has led to mass firings and cutbacks across the federal government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DOGE has also had to reverse its firings. On Tuesday, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Douglas A. Collins celebrated cuts to 875 contracts that he claimed would save nearly $2 billion. But when veterans learned that those contracts covered medical services, recruited doctors, and funded cancer programs as well as burial services for veterans, the outcry was so loud that on Wednesday the VA rescinded the ordered cuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After hundreds of nuclear weapons workers were abruptly fired<\/a>, the Trump administration is scrambling to rehire them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After hundreds of scientists at the Food and Drug Administration were fired, they\u2019re being asked to return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Wednesday, Musk acknowledged that DOGE \u201caccidentally canceled\u201d efforts by the U.S. Agency for International Development to prevent the spread of Ebola. But Musk insisted the initiative was quickly restored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wrong. Current and former USAID officials say<\/a> Ebola prevention efforts have been largely halted since Musk and his DOGE allies moved last month to gut the global-assistance agency and freeze its outgoing payments. The teams and contractors that would be deployed to fight an Ebola outbreak have been dismantled, they added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DOGE staff are resigning. On Tuesday, 21 federal civil service tech workers resigned<\/a> from DOGE, writing in a joint resignation letter that they were quitting rather than help Musk \u201cdismantle critical public services.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The staffers all worked for what was known as the U.S. Digital Service before it was absorbed by DOGE. Their ranks include data scientists, product managers, and engineers. According to the Associated Press, \u201call previously held senior roles at such tech companies as Google and Amazon and wrote in their resignation letter that they joined the government out of a sense of duty to public service.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, Musk\u2019s conflicts of interest are bursting into the open, and it isn\u2019t a pretty sight. The FAA is close to canceling a $2.4 billion contract with Verizon to overhaul a communications system integral to its air traffic control system \u2014 and awarding the contract to Musk\u2019s Starlink instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why? A team of employees from SpaceX, Starlink\u2019s parent company, has been working inside the FAA in recent days. And Musk himself has been criticizing Verizon\u2019s platform<\/a> on his social media company, X.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senior FAA officials have refused to sign paperwork authorizing the switch to Starlink, so Musk\u2019s team is now seeking help to secure the deal<\/a> from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau. Could Musk\u2019s financial motive be any clearer?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Tesla is in deep sh*t.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Americans outraged by Musk\u2019s outsized role in the Trump regime are targeting Musk\u2019s Tesla.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many Tesla owners are feeling buyer\u2019s remorse<\/a> \u2014 their cars are vandalized<\/a> or they become publicly shamed by strangers upset with the car company\u2019s CEO. Others are putting anti-Musk bumper stickers<\/a> on their cars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A video from musician Sheryl Crow that received over 20 million views on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook features the singer waving goodbye to her Tesla Model S, as Andrea Bocelli\u2019s \u201cTime to Say Goodbye\u201d plays in the background. \u201cThere comes a time when you have to decide who you are willing to align with,\u201d Crow wrote in the caption. \u201cSo long Tesla.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last weekend, thousands demonstrated outside of Tesla dealerships from Philadelphia to Seattle to register their outrage with Musk\u2019s political power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The #TeslaTakedown campaign page on Action Network<\/a> has listed 46 upcoming events at Tesla dealerships and charging stations around the country over the next week. Another organizing platform, Mobilize, includes another 32 events<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Union pension funds are getting involved. Randi Weingarten, president of the giant American Federation of Teachers, has called on the CEOs of the nation\u2019s six largest asset management firms to review Tesla\u2019s current valuation. \u201cThis is about safeguarding workers\u2019 retirements,\u201d she said in a statement. \u201cJust this week we saw Tesla stock continue to sink faster than a Cybertruck in quicksand as European sales fell off a cliff. So, we knew we needed to act.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. The oligarchy has never been more exposed.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An important aspect of the era we\u2019re in is that a record share of the nation\u2019s wealth is in the hands of a small group of people who are now revealing themselves to be remarkably selfish, shameless, and insensitive to the needs of America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a further reason for modest optimism because as the oligarchy exposes itself for what it is, the dangers it poses to average people become more apparent \u2014 and the odds increase of a fierce public backlash to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Wednesday, at the same time Elon Musk (the world\u2019s richest person) was lecturing Trump\u2019s Cabinet about the importance of decimating the federal workforce, Jeff Bezos (America\u2019s second-richest) was telling staffers at The Washington Post <\/em>that henceforth the Post\u2019s <\/em>opinions would focus on defending \u201cpersonal liberties and free markets\u201d and opposing viewpoints would not be published.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Post\u2019s<\/em> opinion editor, David Shipley, promptly resigned, as he should.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When oligarchs talk of \u201cpersonal liberties and free markets\u201d they mean their own liberties to become even richer and more powerful, as the rest of America slides into worsening economic insecurity and fear. When the oligarchs speak of \u201cfreedom,\u201d what they actually seek is freedom from accountability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All this is becoming more apparent than ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. People are rising against corporate power.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For all these reasons, a backlash is beginning. Popular rage that this country is now run by an oligarchy, a small group of billionaires and corporate elites, is surging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today\u2019s \u201ceconomic blackout\u201d has enlisted millions of Americans who have stopped buying and thereby demonstrated our power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, protests are breaking out against big predatory corporations. On the eastern shore of Maryland, a bright red Republican area, 20,000<\/a> have signed a petition demanding an investigation of Delmarva Power, a subsidiary of utility giant Exelon, for overcharging them. That\u2019s almost 5 percent of Delmarva\u2019s entire customer base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same anger<\/a> is mounting in New York City at Con Edison. And in St. Joseph, Missouri, at Evergy<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When House Republicans were in their home districts last week, they were deluged with angry questions about corporate power, Elon Musk, and big money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few Senate Republicans even explained to their constituents that they voted to confirm Robert Kennedy Jr. as secretary of Health and Human Services because he\u2019s \u201chated\u201d by Big Pharma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Bernie is back. While not running for president again, 83-year-old Bernie Sanders this week launched his \u201cNational Tour to Fight Oligarchy\u201d \u2014 to overflow crowds in deep-red Nebraska and Iowa. Bernie is showing that even in red America, opposition to oligarchy and Trump is becoming the dominant view of a large swath of the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Record-breaking crowds are also appearing for other notable progressives. A record-sized group<\/a> showed up to Representative Jim McGovern\u2019s town hall. The same thing happened<\/a> in Massachusetts with Senator Elizabeth Warren.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. As Trump and Musk trade Social Security and Medicaid for big tax cuts for the rich, Americans will go ballistic.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The budget plan passed by the House<\/a> this week \u2014 at Trump\u2019s urging \u2014 gives billionaire oligarchs and giant corporations the lion\u2019s share of $4.5 trillion in tax cuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To offset the $4.5 trillion, the plan includes severe spending cuts to Medicaid, food stamps, and Social Security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seventy-two million Americans rely on Medicaid, half of them children. Forty-two million Americans receive food stamps \u2014 many who aren\u2019t paid enough to put food on the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Federal workers at the Social Security Administration learned Wednesday that a plan was already underway to cut 50 percent of staff,<\/a> as well as 1,200 field office locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The move is likely to affect tens of thousands of employees across the country and millions who rely on the agency for monthly checks that keep them afloat. Such deep cuts to SSA, already at historically low staffing, will cause significant degradation of services, very likely including checks missed and individuals dying before their claims can be processed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why do I include this outrage in my list of reasons for modest optimism? Because if nothing else awakens the slumbering giant of the American people, the Trump-Musk attacks on Medicaid and Social Security to pay for another giant tax cut for the rich will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Polls show unequivocally<\/a> that Americans across party lines reject<\/em> tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the rich. In fact, more than two-thirds \u2014 67 percent \u2014 of Americans support higher taxes on billionaires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Democracies are joining together, minus Trump\u2019s America.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since it\u2019s become clear that America has begun allying itself with Russia, the movement of the world\u2019s other major democracies to join forces has been gaining momentum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On February 17, eight European leaders and the heads of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and European Union met. On Wednesday, France\u2019s Emmanuel Macron spoke with the leaders of 19 countries, including Canada, either in person or over videoconferencing. Leaders from Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, and Sweden also joined the conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Britain\u2019s PM Keir Starmer is shifting the center of UK foreign policy from the United States to Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of this bodes well for a united front of democracies against authoritarian dictatorships \u2014 even though, tragically, Trump\u2019s America is on the wrong side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. Negative economic consequences of the Trump-Musk blunderbuss are beginning to appear.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The economy is starting to show signs of strain as the Trump-Musk moves to shrink federal spending, lay off government workers, and impose tariffs on America\u2019s largest trading partners shake businesses and ricochet across states and cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s moves to halt foreign aid and freeze some federal funding have already taken a toll on domestic farmers who export billions of dollars of products as part of American foreign aid programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Billions of dollars of climate and infrastructure investments that were underway during the Biden administration are now in limbo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apollo Global Management, an investment firm, estimates that DOGE job cuts could rise to 300,000. When government contractors are included, total layoffs could be closer to 1 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Economic indicators are showing signs of mounting stress, with much of the anxiety focused on Trump\u2019s tariffs. On Thursday, he said tariffs on Canada and Mexico would go into effect on March 4 and he would impose an additional 10 percent tariff on China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A survey of consumer sentiment published by the Conference Board on Tuesday recorded its largest monthly decline in confidence since 2021 in February. The drop was attributed to growing pessimism about employment prospects and future business conditions, with concerns about trade and tariffs reaching levels last seen during the 2019 trade wars in Mr. Trump\u2019s first term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week\u2019s University of Michigan survey of American consumers shows that they expect prices will rise at a 3.5 percent yearly rate over the next decade \u2014 the highest<\/a> rate of consumers\u2019 inflation fears since 1995.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A measure of corporate activity from S&P Global published last week showed business expansion slowing in the United States in February as a result of \u201cuncertainty and instability surrounding new government policies\u201d such as federal spending cuts and tariff-related developments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The National Association of Homebuilders said in its latest report that builder confidence had fallen to a five-month low because of concerns about tariffs, elevated mortgage rates, and high housing costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morgan Stanley economists estimate that tariffs will raise inflation, as measured by the Personal Consumption Expenditures index, by as much as 0.6 percentage points and depress real consumer spending by as much as 2 percentage points. The overall hit to inflation-adjusted economic growth could be as high as 1.1 percentage points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I include these gloomy economic statistics as a modest reason for optimism because they, too, signal the looming end of public support for Musk and Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. Elections are looking brighter.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Add up all of this and elections are looking brighter \u2014 and we don\u2019t have to wait until 2026. This is a major election year. If you count all the seats up for election this year at the local, state, and federal levels, there are 100,000<\/a> seats open across 45 states<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Governors, mayors, city councils, state representatives, judges, school boards \u2014 these positions up and down the entire ballot in 2025 \u2014 are a vital line of defense against the Trump-Vance-Musk regime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wisconsin voters will fill the deciding seat on their state\u2019s Supreme Court. This election will have huge implications for the labor rights and voting rights of everyday Wisconsinites. Musk is filling the coffers of the Republican candidate right now, but Wisconsinites won\u2019t let Musk\u2019s big money determine their future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you live in New York City and don\u2019t like the Trump administration meddling in the federal corruption charges against current Mayor Eric Adams, you have the power to choose a new mayor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The great states of New Jersey and Virginia will elect their next governors \u2014 and control of their state<\/a> houses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the federal level, Florida will hold two special elections for the U.S. House of Representatives, and New York will hold another later this year. These could affect the balance of power in the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sea change is already beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Wednesday, Democrat Eugene Vindman won <\/strong>his House race against <\/strong>the Republican and former army Green Beret Derrick Anderson in Virginia\u2019s 7th Congressional District \u2014 a key victory <\/strong>for Democrats as they seek to regain a majority in the lower chamber.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his first term, Trump fired Vindman and his brother, Alexander, who both held senior roles on Trump\u2019s National Security Council, after they raised concerns about Trump\u2019s efforts to pressure Ukraine into investigating Joe Biden and his son Hunter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a member of Congress, Vindman will now help fellow Democratic lawmakers serve as a check on the power of Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. Adding it all up.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connect the dots: Trump\u2019s ratings continue to plummet. Musk\u2019s DOGE is off the rails and becoming a late-night joke. Consumers are taking out their anger on Tesla. America\u2019s oligarchs are openly defiant and behaving shamelessly. Bernie and other progressive voices are attracting record-breaking crowds. Trump and Musk are attacking Medicaid and Social Security to pay for a giant tax cut for the wealthy. The world\u2019s leading democracies are joining together against dictatorial regimes, including Trump\u2019s America. Economic indicators are trending downward. And elections look brighter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does this add up to? America is waking up, and it doesn\u2019t like what it\u2019s seeing in Trump and Musk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t want to sound overly optimistic. We have a huge amount of work to do. My purpose in giving you these additional reasons for modest optimism is for you to have a sense of possibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All is not lost. We are not doomed. The Trump-Vance-Musk regime is filled with incompetence and riddled with treachery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If all of us maintain our courage and resolve, and do what\u2019s necessary, we will prevail.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ROBERT REICH FEB 28, 2025 (robertreich.substack.com) Friends, Since I offered you 10 reasons for modest optimism last week, discontent with the Trump-Musk regime has surged even further. America appears to be waking up. Here\u2019s the latest evidence \u2014 10 more reasons for modest optimism. 1. Trump\u2019s approval ratings continue to… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39939"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39939"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39939\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39940,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39939\/revisions\/39940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}