Axar.az presents an article, "Trump and The City " by John Samuel Tieman.
I can't count the ways I hate the Trump Administration. But I'll try. I'll go for twelve. For the moment, I'll just center on local government. Most folks have no idea how much the Trump Administration is going to cost local government and, therefore, ordinary folks.
We live in strange times. Republicans used to be all about local government. And for good reason. Municipal governments are the closest and most intimately connected form of government to the people, and are uniquely positioned to enact policies, direct resources, and provide services that reflect the lived realities, priorities, and values of their residents. At least that's what Republicans used to think. Now, many of these matters are imposed by distant state or federal offices run by Republicans.
The preservation of local control and the protection of our 250-year-old federalist structure – a structure designed intentionally to prevent the concentration of power and to safeguard democracy at the municipal level – remains essential to the duties of any city. Unfortunately, recent federal and state actions, including new laws, administrative directives, and unprecedented reductions or cancellations of funding, have stripped local governments of the authority and resources necessary to do the job voters elected them to do.
Self-governance is explicitly recognized in the Declaration of Independence as essential to, as Abraham Lincoln put it, “government of the people, by the people, and for the people”. Our representative democracy functions best when elected officials at all levels work together, and not when higher levels of government impose unilateral restrictions, shift burdens downward, or substitute political ideology for community-driven decision-making.
Here's a short and incomplete list of ways in which the policies of the Trump Administration, and their minions at the state level, directly obstruct municipal governments from effectively serving their residents.
1) Infrastructure, Housing, and Public Safety. A city relies on federal and state grants to maintain infrastructure, support law enforcement, and expand affordable housing. The curtailment and cancellation of grants – including provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act – diminishes the ability to repair roads and public buildings, support emergency services, reduce utility costs, and combat rising housing insecurity.
2) Economic Stability and Sales Tax Revenue. Sales taxes constitute a large part of any city's annual operating budget. Recent federal tariffs and rapid inflation have undermined household purchasing power, discouraged consumer spending, and negatively impacted local businesses and commercial districts. These policies directly threaten our ability to fund core municipal services, maintain vibrant business corridors, and support economic development.
3) Support for Vulnerable Residents. Cuts to social services and earned benefits reverberate across every demographic group, especially those already struggling. As state and federal governments withdraw support, municipalities lair forced to fill the void, stretching local resources thin while responding to needs that higher levels of government once recognized as their responsibility.
4) Threats to Women’s Rights. Attacks on reproductive autonomy and civil rights restrict the ability to participate fully and equally in social and economic life. It harms families, impedes workforce participation, and weakens our community’s long-term economic outlook.
5) Impacts on Children. The health, education, and nourishment of our children are fundamental. Cuts to state and federal agencies, public servants, and funding jeopardize education, threaten civil rights, and increase food insecurity.
6) Protection of the Public Library. To quote John Quincy Adams, “To furnish the means of acquiring knowledge is ... the greatest benefit that can be conferred ….” A public library stands as one guardian of our community, for it guards free expression, diversity and inclusion by giving our citizens access to knowledge. State and federal funding cuts – alongside ideological attacks on public libraries nationwide – undermine the democratic republic and threaten the very existence of a community’s library system.
7) Disaster Preparedness, Emergency Response, Community Resilience. The elimination of federal disaster-mitigation programs – Building Resilient Infrastructure And Communities, as one example – combined with reductions to the federal disaster-response workforce and increased unfunded mandates on municipalities, will leave communities less resilient, slower to recover, and more financially exposed during future disasters.
8) Homophobia: Homophobia, in all its forms, undermines the dignity, safety, and well-being of individuals and communities. Discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is incompatible with the principles of equality, human rights, and social justice. A city functions best when it fosters an environment of respect, understanding, and inclusion that strengthens the social fabric. Thus do cities condemn acts, expressions, and policies that perpetuate homophobia or discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals. Thus do cities affirm the right of every person to live free from fear, prejudice, and violence, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
9) Anti-Semitism. In recent years, we have seen a shocking rise in anti-Semitic rhetoric, vandalism, harassment, and violence. Such acts undermine equality, religious freedom, and mutual respect. All forms of anti-Semitism are antithetical to the values of the pluralism necessary for the functioning of this democratic republic.
10) Racism. Racism causes harm to individuals, families, and communities. Such harm can be measured. It contributes to disparities in health, education, housing, employment, justice. It undermines entire populations. Everyone has recognized, in the past few years, a sharp increase in racism in our country. Addressing this racism requires sustained action across all sectors of society, including policy reform, education, and community engagement.
11) Climate. Climate change denial, at the federal level, endangers our health and the environment. It ends the federal government’s legal authority to control the pollution that is heating the planet. Because it fails to take action, protection against climate loss becomes the ethical responsibility of local and regional governments that may, or most likely may not, have the means to adequately deal with this problem.
12) Immigrants. In my city, University City, Missouri, slightly more than one in ten of our neighbors are foreign-born. About 6.6% identify as Asian, and 3.9% identify as Hispanic. Roughly 12.3% of our residents, aged 5 years and older, speak a language other than English at home. Immigration policies based on white supremacy and discrimination have tarnished our nation. There are numerous practical consequences to such racism. For the moment, however, let us simply consider this. The violent, disproportionate, and near-military use of force against these vulnerable populations violates the most elemental of humane values.
