November 2020 can’t come fast enough. I’m over the theatrics and our country being run by an administration that so blatantly abuses power. I’m calling Donald Trump’s emergency declaration for what it is: a waste of everyone’s time.
First, it wastes the courts’ time. Each court already has a plethora of cases to hear. These cases involve issues that deeply affect Americans and their everyday lives.
Second, it’s a waste of lawmakers’ time. Congressmen also have a multitude of issues that they need to address in their policymaking. Instead of addressing national issues that are pressing and are much closer to being an ‘emergency’ than Trump’s made-up immigrant crisis, lawmakers now have to drop what they’re doing and prioritize blocking yet another foolish and unwarranted move. The guy said it himself: he didn’t have to do it.
The focus of my piece, however, isn’t going to be given to the emergency declaration. I’m going to focus on the real emergency — one of Trump’s retaliation tactics. More specifically, his plans to cancel California’s $929 million funding for a new rail line.
Understanding the repercussions for Trump going through with canceling the funding is critical to understanding why the move would be seriously detrimental to some people’s wellbeing.
Take into consideration those who don’t have their own means of transportation and have to rely on public transportation. An expansive public transportation initiative, such as the one that California was hoping to go through with could offer more opportunities for some people. There are many Americans whose job prospects are impeded by a lack of access to reliable transportation. With a socioeconomic gap that only grows wider, increased public transportation is one of the most important things to consider when trying to off more opportunities to disadvantaged populations.
As much as people love to argue that “where there’s a will, there’s a way” as an attempt to downplay people’s inability to find jobs because of lack of transportation, the reality of the situation is that sometimes there truly is no way to have a steady job if transportation is not feasible. I know that’s a difficult concept for some people to accept because they’d rather blame poor people for their problems than try to find ways to help, but that’s really what it is.
Rather than attempting to cancel the much needed funding for the massive project, Donald Trump and lawmakers should be working together to put similar projects into motion around the country with North Carolina being one of them as public transportation is both unreliable and inaccessible in many places.
Threatening to cancel these funds shows just how disconnected Trump is from disadvantaged Americans. He’d rather cancel funds for a state project out of spite that could potentially negatively impact many people. He’d rather slow progress within a state as a punishment for not conceding to his hate-driven agenda.
The facts are the facts, people. The majority of immigrants coming from the Southern border aren’t a bunch of gangbanging, drug-carrying criminals. The overwhelming majority of them are simply poor, starving brown people who are desperately trying to escape dire situations (actual emergencies) and work 15 times harder than the average American, including Donald Trump.
This episode of potential disasters caused by Trump’s rash and unnecessary actions only fuels my arsenal of reasons why this man is not fit to be president.
