Dr. Carl B. Mack
By Dr. Carl B. Mack
Imagine being allowed to go inside the U.S. Treasury and print all the money you want. I dare say any of us would turn down such an offer. Well, from my vantage point, that is exactly what is taking place with President-elect Trump. To govern in his fraternity, it appears you must be of billionaire status.
Before you think my vantage point is skewed, let’s look at who he is initiating into his governmental fraternity. To date, he has:
• Elon Musk, net worth $354.9 billion
• Stephen Feinberg, net worth $5 billion
• Warren Stephens, net worth $3.4 billion
• Charles Kushner, net worth $3 billion
• Linda McMahon, net worth $3 billion
• Jared Isaacman, net worth $1.8 billion
• Howard Lutnick, net worth $1.5 billion
• Vivek Ramaswamy, net worth $1 billion
• Scott Bessent, net worth $1 billion
• Kelly Loeffler, net worth $1 billion
This collection of billionaires has a combined wealth of $375.6 billion, making this the richest governmental administration in American history! Just in case you are wondering, Biden’s cabinet was worth less than $120 million.
For the overwhelming majority of folks who voted for Trump, believing he was the savior for the working class, from my vantage point, I ain’t seeing that. Think about this: Musk, the richest man in the world, and Ramaswamy are going to lead a newly minted government agency known as DOGE (Department of Governmental Efficiency). Together, these two have pledged to cut $2 trillion from the national budget. However, the timeframe and the how have yet to be explained.
Most Americans believe that fiscal management by the government needs an adjustment. I can’t say I don’t understand that belief. I mean, if we look at fiscal year 2023, we can clearly see the math ain’t mathing. The federal government collected nearly $4.5 trillion in revenue, spent $6.2 trillion during that year, resulting in $1.7 trillion being added to the national debt. Nope, this ain’t the first year this type of fiscal spending has taken place. You see, the national debt ended that year at a cumulative total of $33.2 trillion! So yes, it appears our politicians have been reckless with our money in the past.
Speaking of the past, before you start thinking, “Well, maybe Trump can fix our poor spending habits,” well, according to The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, the first time Trump took office, the national debt was $19.95 trillion, and when he left office, it was $27.75 trillion. So during his first term, Trump added $7.8 trillion to the national debt. Comparatively, after 3 years and 5 months in office, Biden had added $4.3 trillion.
Forthcoming, the billionaire club’s aim of cutting $2 trillion can possibly mean a cut in spending to programs that serve some of the neediest Americans. What about Social Security, which represents 21% of the national debt expenditure? Never mind. Trump said he would not touch that, and we know he wouldn’t lie to us. For those who now have Affordable Health Care, Obamacare, which represents 15% of the national debt expenditure, if you don’t feel a target on your healthcare benefits, you are truly naïve, or you forgot that during his first administration, Trump tried 100 times to repeal Obamacare. The second-largest national debt expenditure is National Defense; from my vantage point, it’s safe.
In closing, history will rarely reveal to you that the rich got RICHER by being thoughtful of those beneath them. Howevah, history, in particular Black history, will clearly show you how wealth was built on the backs of those beneath the wealthy. From my vantage point, Black MAGAs either don’t know our history or don’t care.
Dr. Carl B. Mack is the former President of the Seattle King County NAACP, and Former Executive Director of The National Society of Black Engineers.
