Make America Great Again

 

The title phrase was first used by Ronald Reagan in his 1980 presidential campaign, then later by Bill Clinton in 1992, and lastly by Donald Trump in his 2016 campaign. While Donald Trump claims to have “invented” the catch phrase, its origin is not that important. What is important is its meaning. It is a good political idea. It is short, vague, and open to many interpretations. The inference of the word “Again” is that there was a previous period of American history where we were once “Great” and the aspiration is to be that way again.

The open part of the question is, when was that time. The MAGA followers seem to dream of some vague utopian period in our past where prices were low, wages were high, good jobs were in abundance, and the America Dream was yours for the taking. So, while the rank and file of MAGA-dom have one idea, their new messiah is thinking of a different time. To him, the Gilded Age was his American Dream.

I’m not sure that the heads beneath those red MAGA hats were also dreaming of significant social inequity, the rapid expansion of big business, menial factory work replacing skilled craftsmanship, overcrowded cities, poor living conditions, and increased crime. During that Gilded Age political corruption was rampant. It was a period where a “spoils system” was the accepted unwritten law of the land. Winning government office was a financial windfall for the successful politician and those in his favor. This patronage system was prominent under President Andrew Jackson and for much of the 19th century.

The period saw political loyalty advancing over merit and that led to government jobs being filled without regard to experience, qualifications, or competence. This brought on corruption, inefficiency, and illegal activity. The Pendleton Act of 1883 was to have ended this policy with the creation of a merit-based civil service system where jobs were filled based on competitive exams, qualifications, and experience. This was amended by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978.

The Trump administration sought to weaken the Pendleton Act’s protections for federal workers during his first term “Schedule F” executive order which allowed for more workers to be subject to firings for political reasons. While Biden reversed this Schedule F order, Trump has basically used the infallability granted him by the Supreme Court. We are once again being governed by The Gang Who Couldn’t Shoot Straight. The assemblance of such an inept group of misfits requires a certain skill set that few possess. Donald Trump has used that skill with artistic flair and has created his masterpiece titled, chaos.

“They are fools dwelling in ignorance, yet imagining themselves wise and learned, go round and round in crooked ways, like the blind led by the blind.”—Katha Upanishad

In Trump’s New Gilded Age, he is the Supreme Commander of Everything Else, the Director of All Things Awesome, the Grand Poobah, The Big Cheese, Head Honcho, and the Big Kahuna. This is to be a return to a closed system of wealth acquisition. His financial achievements in private businesses, real estate, and recent cryptocurrency ventures are all part of his personal spoils system. He is riding his presidential horse toward untold riches. To him it is all a game and the one with the most toys at the end is the winner.

While Trump rode into office on the backs of the white working class, his true allegiance was to the billionaire class. Just as the first Gilded Age grew out of the Civil War, this new Gilded Age is growing out of white racial insecurity and xenophobia. The terms equal and opportunity are just a foreign to the mind of Donald Trump as are “groceries” and “affordability.” The first Gilded Age was founded on manufacturing, railroads, and oil and the second one seems to embrace tech and crypto. He hasn’t forgotten his bread and butter real estate businesses and is expanding them in the Middle East and elsewhere, often with American political capital and American intelligence as bargaining chips.

He has openly appointed David Sacks as the administration's A.I. and crypto czar. Mr. Sacks is now formulating policies to aid his Silicon Valley friends and others in the tech and cryptocurrency fields (like Trump and family). Trump's vision of this new Great Again America in one where he and his wealthy friends feel great, even if the poor MAGA peons don’t see the promised lowering of prices at the grocery story or elsewhere. Remember, one man’s American Dream is another’s American Nightmare.