Triggered by Trump? An Open Letter to the Perpetually Outraged
Beyond the Rhetoric: A Look at the Numbers
Let’s cut through the fog of performative angst and social media grandstanding, shall we?
The pearl-clutching chorus shrieking “tyranny!” and “oligarchy!” over Trump’s fiscal crackdown is about as grounded in reality as a gender-studies thesis on Sesame Street’s Ernie and Bert.
Newsflash: You can’t fund bullshit forever.
The Math Doesn’t Care About Your Feelings
As of the published date of this bulletin, the U.S. is $36 trillion in debt, pays nearly $1 trillion annually in interest alone, and just racked up a$1.8 trillion deficit in 2024. Let’s translate this to personal finance:
If your household spent $3.70 for every $2.40 it earned, you’d be living in a van down by the river. But sure, keep yelling that freezing DEI musicals in Ireland ($70,000) or transgender operas in Colombia ($47,000) is “authoritarianism.”
USAID: The Poster Child for Fiscal Insanity
The agency’s greatest hits:
$2 million for “diversity in Serbia” (because Belgrade’s real problem is a lack of pronouns in boardrooms).
$6 million for Egyptian tourism (pyramids built without DEI consultants—gasp).
“Hundreds of thousands of meals” for al-Qaeda (nutritional support for our favorite freedom fighters).
$1.5 million for Moroccan pottery classes (because Ghost’s Patrick Swayze isn’t around to teach wheel-throwing).
If this is your hill to die on, your moral compass is a roulette wheel.
Trade Deficits: The Elephant (Dragon) in the Room
The U.S. ran a$1.2 trillion goods trade deficit in 2024, including record shortfalls with Mexico, Vietnam, and the EU. Meanwhile, China—now the world’s factory—laughs as we borrow to buy their goods. Our debt is their leverage. Yet the “wokeonomics” crowd thinks tariffs are mean, not math.
Here’s a thought: Maybe “free trade” isn’t free when it costs 5 million manufacturing jobs and a gutted middle class.
The DEI Delusion: Motives ≠ Results
Woke progressives treat policy like a Pinterest mood board: If it feels good, it must be good. $2 million for Guatemalan sex changes? Pure hearts! $32,000 for Peruvian transgender comic books? So brave!
Never mind that these projects often vanish into the ether—or worse, fund corruption. It’s activism as therapy: self-indulgent, results-optional. Meanwhile, the U.S. can’t even maintain its own infrastructure, but sure—let’s prioritize Serbian workplace diversity over, say, not defaulting.
The “Karen” Economy: Complaints Without Solutions
To the keyboard warriors whining about Trump’s policies: What’s your plan?
Keep borrowing $1.3 trillion more annually than taxpayers fund?
Keep running $3.7 trillion trade deficits, under a Biden-esque plan?
Keep subsidizing parrot mating habits ($700,000) while interest payments eclipse defense spending?
Didn’t think so.
The Bottom Line
Trump’s “tyranny” is just adulting: Stop buying garbage we can’t afford. The alternative? A dollar so worthless it’ll make Venezuelan bolívars look stable. But hey, at least we’ll have that Iraqi Sesame Street reboot to keep us company in the breadlines.
Priorities, people. Priorities!
Until I write again —
Your Partner in the Quest for
Living a Life Without Limits,
Barry “Bear” Goss
P.S. If one of my Bear fans forwarded this to you, and you're feeling triggered by the fiscal reality check, might I suggest a USAID-funded safe space? I hear they're lovely this time of year in Guatemala—just don't expect to find any transgender comic books or pottery classes on the agenda.
Instead, you might find initiatives focused on financial inclusion, crime prevention, and empowering local communities. Who knows, you might even learn something about sustainable development.
Extra Credit
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Well written food for thought. Anxiety does not mean nor require some requirement for fault guilt , or retribution that is pre-based on suspicion or doubt. And therefore finding fault and requiring retribution. Common sense does not mean guilty parties must be found and severely dealt with.
Well said, and done Mr. Bear --well done.