Many Trump voters admit that the president is not perfect. Yes, they say, he engages in petty feuds. Is Elon Musk his favorite person, or his mortal enemy? Check back in a few days, because things change.
Is Vladimir Putin a trusted confidant, or an unhinged madman? Even Trump seems uncertain.
Should the United States impose 125% tariffs on imported goods from China, or dial it back to 10%? It depends on which day you ask.
But, the Trump voters say, we elected him to cut government waste, and he and his current/former friend Musk have done that. According to them, Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have used their “chainsaw approach” to eliminate unneeded jobs, discontinue unnecessary programs, and wipe out government agencies. Many critics of bureaucratic bloat say, “Mission Accomplished!”
Early in life, I learned a hard lesson about cutting out waste. At my family’s country store, I was a 12-year-old more interested in throwing a rubber ball at a brick wall than working in the store. My dad had an idea. He hired a couple of my friends to be my co-workers, thinking that we could work on projects together.
That concept worked for a few days, until we got bored. We started goofing around, making up games and doing whatever we could to avoid actual work.
One day, my dad made a wisecrack about us loafing on the job. Serving as our group’s brilliant spokesperson, I snapped back, “Well, there’s nothing for us to do!” I said this while standing among a series of potholes in the store parking lot. You can only imagine what happened next. I learned two valuable lessons that day. First, keep your mouth shut if you don’t have anything intelligent to say. And second, filling potholes on a hot summer day is not my idea of a good time.
So yes, I get it. If you have a bunch of employees who are clearly unproductive, either find something for them to do, or trim the fat. No doubt the DOGE patrol has done some of that.
Unfortunately, that DOGE chainsaw destroyed some healthy branches as well.
Suddenly, we have gone from a nation that nurtured and valued health researchers into one that seems determined to drive them away.
Many of us are alive today because someone, most often in America, has developed medications and vaccines that have eradicated deadly diseases. They have pioneered surgical procedures that have prolonged and improved our lives in ways once considered impossible. These advances have been made largely due to research grants and experimental study groups funded in part by tax dollars.
Now, day by day, we are saying goodbye to the scientists who have been working to find ways to improve or save our lives. Actually, not just for us, but those who will follow. To put it bluntly, we’re jeopardizing the health of our grandchildren, and we are doing it in broad daylight.
Scientists have long considered America to be the hub of major discoveries. They come here from all over the world, and we have encouraged them to do so. And now, we are telling them their services are no longer needed here.
With a proposed $18 billion (40%) cut to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), our government is sending a message to these healers. “We are not interested.”
Before you dismiss this as just more whining about a political issue, answer these questions. Do you take medications? Does your doctor write a prescription that you pick up at the pharmacy? Do these medications give you relief? Have you undergone surgery that has helped relieve severe pain, or that has helped heal aching joints or repair broken bones? If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, please know the NIH is almost always connected to the creation and approval of the drugs that help you heal.
Hundreds of medical research projects have been discontinued this year in the United States. Other nations are now recruiting the young medical minds who no longer feel welcome here. I hope I never have to tell my ailing grandchild that I stood by and said nothing when America chased the doctors away.
