A Constellation Of Alarm Lights

As we approach more closely the conclusion of election season in the United States, I thought it would be good to list four ways in which the presidency of Donald Trump has impacted the people who live in the United States in 2020.  There are, of course, many more ways in which Trump has impacted us, but I don't have time to list them all.  Here are the four that I do have time to list:

COVID-19

As of today, 29 October 2020, there have been around 9 million documented infections in the U.S., resulting in around 233,000 deaths.  The situation is constantly changing; thus I can't give exact numbers.  (Note that according to the linked source, five of the top ten nations impacted by COVID-19 are all led by men who are associated either with white supremacy or the global Far Right.)  The death rate in the United States is 2.5 percent of the total infection rate, which means that slightly more than one out of every fifty people who become infected will die.  We now know that many survivors of the initial infection must battle its long-term effects.  One of the widespread effects is cognitive damage.  Another widespread long-term effect is medical bankruptcy, due to the high cost of treatment in a nation whose ruling party does not believe in universal health care.  Note that the U.S. is still the world leader in COVID-19 infections and deaths, far exceeding most of the nations on the African continent.   And at the rate at which new infections are increasing, we may see within the next few months a situation in which one out of every ten people in the U.S. has been infected.  This will make staying free from infection very interesting for the rest of us.  Truly, Trump has made America great!

SHORTAGES

The stupid trade wars and mismanagement of the coronavirus threat by the Trump administration have led the U.S. into an era of widespread shortages.  A partial list includes the following:

• Medical supplies, including prescription medications
• Aluminum
• Coins
• Light trucks

This is in addition to the widespread shortages of grocery items we saw this past spring.

DEFLATION

Deflation can be viewed as the consequence of a sudden collapse in demand for goods in an economy.  For those who have cash, deflation can seem like a good thing, but it is actually a sign of a national economy that is going into shock as businesses can't earn enough revenue to keep their doors open.  Deflation thus frequently leads to sudden inflation or even hyperinflation once the amount of goods formerly provided by formerly operational businesses decreases beyond a certain level.  We are in a deflationary period right now, as documented here and here.

CURRENCY DECLINE

Trump's trade wars, unpredictability and belligerence have turned off many nations, and the resulting decline in America's soft power has thus weakened the U.S. dollar.  There are voices now predicting a serious decline in the U.S. dollar perhaps amounting to a crash.  (See this and this for instance.)  If that happens, the United States will no longer need to worry about cheap foreign goods displacing American products.  For those foreign goods will no longer be cheap, and the people of the United States will have to get by with learning to reuse and salvage things.  It should be quite an education.