Kyle Rable: The fallout of executive orders and D.O.G.E
By Kyle Rable
Special for the Avalanche-Journal
Hear this story
The current flurry of news surrounding President Trump, the unelected billionaire Elon Musk (who now has unrestricted access to your Social Security number and background information), and the rest of their Project 2025 crew has made it nearly impossible for anyone on either side of the aisle to navigate the news cycle adequately. His attempts to change and shape the government through many executive orders and Truth Social posts are meant to be confusing, but we can't lose sight of how they negatively affect us in West Texas.
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President Trump has chosen to govern without congressional oversight and has enacted legislation unilaterally. As of Friday, Feb. 7, he has signed over 50 executive orders. This is a smoke screen designed to overwhelm news media outlets and citizens, as President Trump's administration deliberately undermines and ignores our country's sacred rule of law. From unconstitutionally attacking birthright citizenship to frivolously renaming the Gulf of Mexico, President Trump is attempting to cover up what he is actually doing to West Texas' working class and farmers: making us poorer and weaker. His attacks on many of the issues have been answered with a shower of love by far-right X and TikTok media personalities (weren't we concerned about Chinese datamining at one point?). One has to wonder, what do many of these Executive Orders even do, and whom do they affect?
Many are an attempt to limit the hiring of individuals to the Federal government, attack immigration at the border, and push tariffs that could themselves overwhelm West Texas consumers with price increases on goods. However, most of these are just cover-ups for the most important of his orders: Executive Order 14158, which created the Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E). Headed by a man who paid for his spot in the government to the tune of $240 million, Musk now has unrestricted access to our government and every American citizen's personal data. If that isn't alarming to you, then you must not really believe in the idea of small government in our everyday lives.
The fallout of the Musk takeover spells disaster for the average citizen and farmer. In working to shutter the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Musk and his team full of internet incels have frozen all USAID food buying programs. Some might applaud this effort because it affects our country's ability to support those in need worldwide, but it also takes away about $2 billion from American farmers. If you didn't know, USAID buys that much produce from American farms. This rash decision, along with Trump's uninformed tariff wars, will devastate farmers nationwide.
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According to the 2022 Census of Agriculture, 74% of farms in Texas reported net losses. Can these farms absorb more profit cuts? Can American farmland endure a Trump presidency without any real support for workers or farmers? Without individuals and organizations purchasing our farmers' products, wealthy billionaires like Elon Musk will acquire that land and devastate the American farmer. Is that really what you voted for?
(Kyle Rable is a U.S. Army veteran, Lubbock County Democratic Party Secretary and Texas Tech PhD student)
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