Once upon a time in the land of US, the ‘job creators’ decided to send as many of the jobs they created jobs as possible to THEM. THEM would make cheaper stuff to send back to US to buy, so more profits and cheaper stuff for US. Everyone wins! Yippee! So THEM made lots of stuff for US, and US sent THEM lots of cash to pay for the stuff they made.
But rather than spend the cash US sent THEM, THEM decided to give it back to US so US could buy even more stuff from THEM. THEM made even more money doing so, and sent it back to US!
But there was a problem in this magical world. It presumed that the people of US would always have enough money to buy stuff from THEM, because someone else would always pay the people of US enough wages to buy the stuff from THEM. But having sent all the good jobs to THEM, there was no money left in US to buy stuff from THEM, or anyone else.
Meanwhile, in another far off land called EURO, people who laughed at what was going on in the land of US bought lots of bits of paper from some PIGS. This gave the PIGS lots of money to buy stuff from EURO. EURO took that money and gave it back to the PIGS, just like THEM gave it back to US. And so long as the PIGS kept paying EURO with the money EURO had given them, all was well, and as so long as THEM gave it back to US, all was well…But all was not well.
It turned out that one of the PIGS had been especially greedy and now its bits of paper were worthless. EURO wondered if all the other bits of paper were worthless too? Now all the people who were happy because they bought bits of paper from the PIGS were now sad. And that meant they were sad with EURO too.
EURO didn’t like this and got very angry. Euro blamed the PIGS for being fat and greedy. EURO told the PIGS to stop spending, forgetting entirely that what PIGS bought was all the stuff EURO made with the money EURO had given them. Silly EURO! And now EURO wanted everyone else to pay for their mistake…silly, silly Euro.
But a silly EURO makes everyone sad, because if EURO can’t sort this mess out it will be bad for US. It will make US even poorer than the 46 million of US who are really very poor thanks in part to their jobs being sent to THEM. And for THEM this is bad news too since US will be unable to buy more stuff from THEM! Oh what are we to do?
So to make everything better THEM has decided to give EURO the money they made from US to bail EURO out, in exchange for the chance to wipe out all EURO’s manufacturing industries. That way THEM can worry less about US, since they will make more money from EURO, and THEM can send that money back to US, so that US can buy more goods from THEM. The magic circle is then complete. And in the end they all died, except the Swedes and the Swiss, who lived happily ever after, despite paying an awful lot of taxes. THE END.
Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
As journalists, we have a responsibility to look at hard realities and communicate them to you. We hope that you, like us, can use this information to prepare for what’s to come.
And if you feel uncertain about what to do in the face of a second Trump administration, we invite you to be an indispensable part of Truthout’s preparations.
In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.
We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
We urgently need your help to prepare. As you know, our December fundraiser is our most important of the year and will determine the scale of work we’ll be able to do in 2025. We’ve set two goals: to raise $145,000 in one-time donations and to add 1489 new monthly donors by midnight on December 31.
Today, we’re asking all of our readers to start a monthly donation or make a one-time donation – as a commitment to stand with us on day one of Trump’s presidency, and every day after that, as we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation. You’re an essential part of our future – please join the movement by making a tax-deductible donation today.
If you have the means to make a substantial gift, please dig deep during this critical time!
With gratitude and resolve,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy