Castor Oil for the Government

I’ve been a frequent critic of President Trump, considering that I voted for the man on three occasions. However, now that he and his administration, Elon Musk in particular, are in the crosshairs of massive if predictable criticism, it may be time to step back from all of the frenetic activity and take a moment to reflect on what it means.

In trying to put into proper perspective the flurry of executive orders and the swift and decisive actions of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), we need to look at the bigger picture. First, Donald Trump is putting himself on an accelerated schedule since his time is limited. Not only is he limited to the current four-year term, it’s really the first two years when the lion’s share of the heavy lifting needs to be done. After that, lame-duck status and the possibility of losing the House of Representatives to the Democrats in 2026 must loom large in Trump’s thinking and strategy. Keep in mind, Trump and Musk are trying to undo over 60 years (or more!) of continued governmental expansion with the increased spending that goes along with it. Lyndon Johnson and his “Great Society” in the mid-1960s started the snowball rolling that has now become an avalanche. Dems can sing and chant and cry “unconstitutional” all they want; we’re talking about treating a seriously ill patient. In such circumstances, many usual niceties need to be thrown out the window. Besides, it’s taking the public a breath or two to get used to the idea of a president actually doing what he promised to do – and, as he also promised, “quickly.”

Second, the country’s time window for which a fiscal turnaround may be accomplished is rapidly closing, the result of profligate spending over the last few decades. Spending during the COVID crisis expanded such that we are now routinely running $2 trillion annual deficits even though the government is taking in more revenues than ever. This is clearly not sustainable any longer given the current $37 trillion in national debt, Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) notwithstanding. All MMT has done is provide cover for politicians to look at tax revenues as Monopoly money to be spent as freely as they wish, with the assurance that the Federal Reserve will print the money needed (introduced as “quantitative easing” during the Obama presidency).

When those of us of a certain age were growing up and experienced a sore tummy, we were told to take our castor oil and all would be well. We had to get past the icky taste of the stuff and focus on the perceived benefit once we reluctantly swallowed the teaspoon or two provided. America finds herself in a similar situation in 2025, except that it’s going to take a lot more than a dose of castor oil to repair the damage. It’s going to take, along with the logistical actions, a huge change of heart on the part of the populace.

It's one thing to cheer on the efforts of the DOGE to identify wasteful and even borderline illegal spending and stamp it out in the name of streamlining government and saving taxpayer dollars. It will be quite another if/when programs that we citizens rely upon (Medicare, Social Security, etc.) become the targets for cuts. That will be when the change of heart needs to start in earnest. Despite Trump’s insistence that any changes that negatively impact Social Security are off the table on his watch, I don’t see how the federal budget will ever be balanced without some drastic changes to a system that for all intents and purposes is already broke. Given the current and projected demographics (that is, fewer younger workers contributing toward the pool paying benefits to an expanding population of retirees), it’s clear that Social Security in its current form is heading for a cliff. The question is, will Americans who have become accustomed to the entitled life have the wherewithal to adjust, both mentally/emotionally as well as financially, to the new world that Trump is introducing us to? More to the point, will Trump be able to take the public along with him as the cuts deepen and start impacting everyday citizens, as is bound to happen?

There should be a corollary to Murphy’s Law that goes something like this: “The longer a problem festers, the longer it will take to fix it.” Trump and Musk’s actions now may seem drastic, since we’re so unaccustomed to seeing this type of activity in our lives. But in reality, this is only the beginning of what promises to be a long, arduous slog.