This is the smartest thing you’ll hear on this topic. Want to know the solution to the Trump mess? Here it is.
We will get back to some history and Thomas Paine soon; that’s a promise. But this short video, in msny ways echoing Paine’s Letters to the Citizens of the United States, qualifies as a “Thomas Paine” of our time. Want to know the solution for the Trump phenomenon? Take heed:
Trump may not have any real scheme in mind. I don't think he has the mental capacity to come up with systemic changes. But, his team of ultra-conservative reactionaries support the return of authority and responsibilities to the states. Their goal is new federalism on steroids, to replace the country with 50 quasi-sovereign and only nominally united States of America.
There is one possible positive outcome from all of this chaos. The governors of every state might now realize there will be no revenue sharing from the federal government. They will have to either find the revenue to pay for social welfare, environmental and infrastructure or severely cut back. Fortunately, the source of the revenue does exist (as Paine alluded to) in the form of economic rents from land and other "natural" assets. At least some economists have been pointing this out for the last century and longer.