We've been warned. Pay attention!

In recent weeks, members of Donald Trump’s former cabinet and inner circle ( Chief of Staff, John Kelly, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, Defense Secretaries General James Mattis and Mark Esper, and Vice President Mike Pence) have made public statements warning that Trump is unfit to serve another term as President. They have all referred to his willful ignorance, fascistic tendencies, and contempt for the rule of law and the constitution. These aren’t people with political axes to grind, but rather dedicated professionals who have sworn to protect our constitution and country. They are all people who have seen Trump up close during his term in the White House, and they know that he presents a danger to the country and the world.

They know what they’re talking about, and we should pay attention to their warning .

But it seems that many of Trump’s supporters are willing to overlook these dire warnings and the threat that Trump poses to our country and the world because their primary concern is the cost of living. I guess they think that Donald Trump has some magic to bring down the cost of groceries and rent. Despite the fact that painful world-wide inflation during and after the Covid pandemic has been reined in ( yes, by every economic measure the US economy is doing very well), people are resentful that they are paying more for cereal and eggs than they did during the “golden age” of the Trump presidency. I get it. The bottom line for most of us is our pocketbooks.

For those who think another Trump presidency would improve the cost of living, I would ask you to listen to Trump’s own words and plans. The two things he talks about most are tariffs (“I love tariffs”) and the mass deportation of migrants (or, vermin, as he likes to call them).

Trump’s “beautiful” tariffs, which he could impose at his whim will, in fact, increase the prices of everything that we import from other countries (appliances, TVs, phones, food, etc). Tariffs are not paid by the country of origin. The extra cost is simply passed on to us, the consumer- something that Trump doesn’t seem to understand.

And what happens if Trump delivers on his promise to deport millions of immigrants? Aside from the astronomical cost of such an endeavor, who, then is going to fill the jobs picking our fruits and vegetables, processing meat, cleaning hotel rooms and serving at restaurants, mowing our lawns and cleaning our houses? White people? Maybe. But the law of supply and demand suggests that employers will have to raise wages to attract new workers. That means higher prices for all those things.

So if you love Donald Trump for his cruelty, narcissism, racism, misogyny, ignorance, and bluster- go ahead and vote for him. But don’t kid yourself that he will ease the strain on your pocketbook.