By Krystal Ball
Opinion Contributor
American carnage. That’s how President Trump infamously described the vast tracts of America that have taken on the look and feel of a dystopian nightmare. With shuddered factories, boarded up main streets, and everyone who can heading for the exits.
Many complained about such dark words and images being conjured in an inaugural speech, but for a lot of Americans, it rang true and that was part of the power of Trump in 2016. He called B.S. on the notion that the economy was back on track.
Sure, unemployment was down and the stock market was up but most Americans still felt the pain of debt, low wages, and a new economy that left them constantly off balance. Don’t worry, he assured those Americans: I alone can fix it.
Once in office, his answer to this carnage was a massive tax cut. Corporations and executives were delighted and a few handed out bonuses to workers. There was a sugar high of positive press. But now, the real results are in and this is what it looks like.
American carnage. Those are real wages for workers taking a nose-dive while big business cracks open the champagne.
I do a lot of work in West Virginia. One morning, I was having breakfast at the Holiday Inn with my family and our waitress started telling us about her son, Theo. She had his name tattooed on her arm. Theo had just turned three and he really wanted a sandbox. But she couldn’t afford a sandbox, so she just bought some sand and dumped it in the yard behind the trailer. She showed us adorable pictures of Theo having the greatest time. But it really got me. Here’s a woman, in the richest country on earth, working full time, and she can’t afford a frickin’ sandbox for her kid’s birthday.
Mr. president: Your tax cut hasn’t made a damn difference for the most important people in this nation. The workers whose hands prepare the meals, fix the roads, stock the shelves. You didn’t create this problem but you promised to fix it. Now the American carnage is unfolding on your watch. Do you actually care? Theo’s mama awaits your answer.
Krystal Ball is the co-host of “Rising,” Hill.TV’s morning news show.
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