Musk and Trump Are Cutting Popular Programs. That's Deliberate.

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Source: The New Republic

Musk and Trump Are Cutting Popular Programs. That’s Deliberate.

Liza Featherstone
Mon, February 17, 2025 at 6:00 AM EST 5 min read

One particularly sadistic aspect of Elon Musk’s and Donald Trump’s rampage through our government is that they’re cutting programs that are popular. To some observers, that might seem like bad politics, in line with the juvenile, amateur-hour image of this administration. But the unpopularity of some of these cost-cutting moves does not represent a goofy misstep on this administration’s part. Rather, it’s exactly the point.

Not only does the Inflation Reduction Act enjoy broad support—renewable energy even more so—but 80 percent of its manufacturing grants flow to red states. Some Republican politicians are now quietly complaining about how Musk’s (unconstitutional) cuts to the program will affect their districts. Republican elected officials bragged about these when the IRA first passed, which was funny since they didn’t vote for it, but you can see why they’d want to take credit for policy that made their constituents lives better and enjoyed bipartisan support. Last summer many Republican congresspeople wrote to Speaker Mike Johnson to warn him against a full repeal of the IRA or even an overzealous reform, fearing that would “undermine private investments and stop development that is already ongoing.”

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Sure, no one likes “government waste,” a powerful frame used to justify Musk’s interventions. And not everyone loves all federal government programs—not many are going to call their senators’ offices on behalf of the CIA or the IRS. But why pick on so many of the most popular ones?

Most likely, their popularity is precisely what the Trump-Musk administration dislikes about them. For anti-government ideologues, it’s important that people not have good experiences with the government. Every clean energy investment in your community, every Social Security check, every child enrolled in Head Start, every improvement in air and water quality, is a threat to right-wing ideological dominance. They know it, and they want to stop Americans from having those positive associations.

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Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/musk-trump-cutting-popular-programs-110000287.html