Trump's response to the epidemic has been dismal, even though he likes to take credit for the overall drop in drug overdose deaths in 2018. Even with that drop, 2018 was still the second highest year on record in terms of the overdose death toll, surpassed only by 2017. The opioid crisis is at its heart a public health crisis, yet Trump continues to advocate pulling funding for Medicaid and repealing the Affordable Care Act, programs which have enabled especially low-income Americans to access health care and have been shown to reduce opioid-related overdose deaths.
Trump's unwillingness to enact gun control laws makes him complicit in the deaths of the more than 100 Americans killed every day by firearms. In 2017, gun deaths reached their highest level since 1968, with nearly 40,000 deaths by firearms. For every person killed in a gun homicide, there are six others injured in a gun assault. Additionally, as the Giffords Law Center reports, there is an average of one mass shooting every day in the US.
Even on background checks and assault rifles, Trump flip-flopped because he has really never committed himself genuinely to enact any effective gun control laws. Furthermore, Trump regularly ties mass shooting to mental illness alone, and calls for more mental institutions rather than stricter gun laws. Trump has done virtually nothing to enact common sense gun legislation and has remained entirely in the pocket of the gun lobby and the NRA.
Despite Trump's claims to the contrary, his trade wars have done little to offset the gap between US imports and exports to China, which favor the latter. American farmers are angry over Trump's lies in his trade war with China. According to the Washington Post, China's tariffs are closing off the biggest export market for US agricultural products in the world.
Trump's lies and misstatements about trade apply equally to NAFTA. Again, in one of his misleading remarks, he said: "We're taking NAFTA one of the worst deals ever made in the history of trade and we are redoing it"We lost thousands of factories and millions of jobs because of NAFTA"We're turning it around. Already, Chrysler is coming back with auto plants" We're making incredible trade deals." In fact, the newly-negotiated USMCA trade agreement hardly differs from NAFTA, but leave it to Trump to boast about how much better the new trade deal is.
In sum, Trump's disastrous domestic policies will impact the lives and well-being of most Americans for years to come. His failures must be exposed for all to see, and drastic corrective measures must be taken to address them systematically. The cost will certainly be astronomical, but then, with a clear vision, determination, and responsible budgeting and equitable taxation over a period of five to seven years, much of America's domestic ills can be addressed on a continuing basis.
America's future national security and global leadership is intertwined, as it has always been, with its domestic health and vitality. Any Republican or Democratic president who fails to grasp this reality will do so at their peril.
Trump's unwillingness to enact gun control laws makes him complicit in the deaths of the more than 100 Americans killed every day by firearms. In 2017, gun deaths reached their highest level since 1968, with nearly 40,000 deaths by firearms. For every person killed in a gun homicide, there are six others injured in a gun assault. Additionally, as the Giffords Law Center reports, there is an average of one mass shooting every day in the US.
Even on background checks and assault rifles, Trump flip-flopped because he has really never committed himself genuinely to enact any effective gun control laws. Furthermore, Trump regularly ties mass shooting to mental illness alone, and calls for more mental institutions rather than stricter gun laws. Trump has done virtually nothing to enact common sense gun legislation and has remained entirely in the pocket of the gun lobby and the NRA.
Despite Trump's claims to the contrary, his trade wars have done little to offset the gap between US imports and exports to China, which favor the latter. American farmers are angry over Trump's lies in his trade war with China. According to the Washington Post, China's tariffs are closing off the biggest export market for US agricultural products in the world.
In sum, Trump's disastrous domestic policies will impact the lives and well-being of most Americans for years to come. His failures must be exposed for all to see, and drastic corrective measures must be taken to address them systematically. The cost will certainly be astronomical, but then, with a clear vision, determination, and responsible budgeting and equitable taxation over a period of five to seven years, much of America's domestic ills can be addressed on a continuing basis.
America's future national security and global leadership is intertwined, as it has always been, with its domestic health and vitality. Any Republican or Democratic president who fails to grasp this reality will do so at their peril.
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