This article by Jeffrey Sachs is exceptionally good that I came across today! Wish more scholars would pen articles like this and contribute to the society, rather than writing academic papers that are largely irrelevant to reality. Although only three pages long, Sachs was able to present deeper and bigger facts based on the Pew Research surveys. We all know the media have been fact-checking with Trump, which is still necessary and meaningful but quickly loses its significance, given that Trump lies almost every minute of his life, at least since he became the president. Fact checking only comes after statements have been made so it is always backward looking by nature. Sadly, telling the world that he lied hardly changes the minds of his strong base, and is no longer news for the rest of us.
The best way to fight Trump is not to fact check him, not to take the streets for demonstration, not to dismantle the police, not to debate him like Joe Biden will do tonight, not even to vote him out like Taylor Swift has said. After all, even if Trump is out in November, it is likely that his policies and mentality would remain for a long time — especially if the new leader in the White House fails to realize the real problem this country faces. The best way to defeat Trump is to look forward, to argue with facts and changes that Trump promised to make but never delivered, and most of all, to grow the US economy through the right leadership moves.
It’s Still the Economy, Stupid!
In a country deeply divided by ethnicity, skin color, gun control, birth control and healthcare, it is easy to forget that economic growth and development are still the priority not just to developing countries but to the US as well. In fact, for global governance and global welfare, a healthy US economy matters even more than those in the developing countries, because only the US has the leveraging power to take other economies along with it.
I know China’s Xi, Jinping has had a bad reputation lately, especially in the US. I must say however that Xi has proven himself to be a much better leader than Trump has when it comes to having a solid grip of his nation’s problem. Recently, Xi delivered an address to the United Nations in which he claimed that “peace and development remain the underlying trend of the times.” He was right there because having peace with each other and growing the economy, these two are indeed what the Americans need most now.
But let’s focus on the domestic economy, the topic that Sachs was talking about. His central point is to grow the economy in the non-coastal, “red” states that have been lagging behind in modern and sustainable development like the “blue” states in the coasts. He is absolutely right there.
When it comes to US economy, the issue is actually simple: It faces the challenge of rebalancing and rejuvenating. Any true leader who can lead the country by changing and updating the Midwest, the Mountain and the Southern states will have my whole-hearted vote. I know my personal vote counts nothing but the truth is any leaders or change agents deserve the votes by the red and non-coastal states! The real test to the new leader in the White House has to come from changes (or lack thereof) in the red states. Once the welfares of the people in those states have been improved, Trump will be quickly and rightfully forgotten, or being remembered as a loser who has wasted four years of the time for the country that could have been turned around since 2016.
Trump Brought More Damages To This Country Than Simply Being Hocus-Pocus
The only thing I disagree with Sachs is that Trump has been more than “hocus pocus.” To see him as a weak, self-serving and unethical (constantly lying) president is to underestimate his danger. No, the biggest problem with Trump is to insist on looking backward and to deepen the divide of the nation. True, we have the demographic and economic bases for the social divide. But it is also true that without Trump, or more accurately without Trump as the president, the nation would have been less divided than it is now. The pandemic has been the worst test for the Trump administration, with a performance that deserves the lowest scores in the world.
By now we all know that Trump is a lousy businessman based on his tax records revealed by the NYT. He is more a show man than a successful businessman. What will a show man do when he has more power than any other individual in the world? He will just say and do things that he thinks at least some audiences will like to hear and to see. It is such a mentality that brings damages to the society. Show man has no guts to promote real changes, especially when there are risks involved.
Blaming China or other countries for the domestic problems? Checked! Leaving international organizations? Checked! Down playing climate change so the old industries like the fossil-fuel industries can survive? Checked? Charging tariffs so some domestic firms can be protected from international competition? Checked! Trump has done everything and anything that bears little risk to himself and to his base, but in so doing the country as a whole suffers.
The new leader must keep looking forward and insist on institutional and political reforms, on growth, on economy and on changes. Frankly I am not sure if Joe Biden is the right person for the job, but he is clearly better than Trump.