The election of Donald Trump to the office of the President of the United States is, for many of us, one of the worst things to happen in this country in our lifetimes. From women's and civil rights to public goods and social services, many of us fear that the incoming administration will make war-hungry Bush look like Hope and Change Obama. And much more will need to be said on this issue as not only one, but perhaps two, Supreme Court appointments hang in the balance and we face a conservative legislature. However, as the worst of the news is settling in and we are starting to look toward what we can appreciate, including that liberals finally know the stakes and we have mid-term elections coming up, let's also look at some of the, if not Silver, then at least maybe Muddy Grey Linings of, gulp, Mr. President Donald Trump.
1. He doesn't really care about people; he loves money.
This is a good thing. He is worried about making money. And many issues--such as LGBTQIA rights and women's issues--don't really affect the bottom line one way or another. In fact, as New York learned when they finally legalized gay marriage, it is a boon to the service industry. Women's reproductive services, likewise, don't cost most states much money (birth control is by far one of the cheapest medications). More importantly, unwanted children put a tremendously expensive strain on social services, which costs money, so he has an incentive to let the status quo on those issues stand.
2.Being a social conservative contradicts the profit motive.
This is maybe one of the best pieces of news. For example, Trump built a good platform on smack-talking the Affordable Healthcare Act. But now that he's having to, you know, make policy...it's turning out that it's going to be awfully expensive to change the system--especially given how much has already been spent on its implementation--and with nearly 100,000 new healthcare subscribers during this open enrollment period--this could be a stalwart that, again, incentivizes Trump to leave the status quo. In fact, after a boast that Trump was going to walk out of his meeting with Obama, he actually pissed a lot of his fans off when he reported that he might leave the ACA alone because, well, Obama ASKED him to!!
3. We were already neo-liberal anyway.
Yes, Trump at the helm is bad news for public goods and services. Everything from infrastructure projects to the prison industrial complex will certainly be increasingly privatized. That is terrible news for all of the inmates currently campaigning for a minimum wage (which they deserve). But, let's be honest, corporate America has been public America for a long time now. Hell, Citizens United was passed during Obama's first term! So, yes, we can lament a slash-n-deal economic policy but, well, I don't know that things could actually get much worse.
4. Maybe it will all blow up in his face.
One of the tests of capitalism is just how long its own internal contradictions can remain soluble. So far, so good. But maybe, with a President who actually runs the government like a business, we might finally be able to put to rest that myth of America-as-business. This would by far be the greatest thing Trump could do for the country--in four short years he could do exactly what he said he would and help us all realize that this is a metaphor that has got to go.
5. Maybe it's all a troll.
This is what I keep telling myself. Maybe he just ran to see if he could run, to see if he could do it, and now that he can...well...it's a pretty boring job, you know? It's a lot of meetings and paperwork and making plans and dealing with budgets and making a bunch of people angry and happy...it's also a ton of accountability and giving speeches...it's not a season of The Apprentice. Maybe the fact that politics is ultimately boring will be precisely what saves the day...?
