A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic.
The quote attributed to Joseph Stalin has become the modus operandi for attacks on President Trump.
Each day brings horror stories of specific victims allegedly caught in Trump’s dastardly web: the wrongfully deported migrant, the African child whose life-saving medicine is threatened, the promising young bureaucrat felled by Elon Musk’s axe.
Even accounting for the hyperbole that casts each illegal immigrant as an angel and every government program and federal employee as doing God’s work, these anecdotes do fall somewhere between unfortunate and tragic. Would you want to trade places with these people? Their stories pull on the heartstrings of Americans, a generous and compassionate people who recoil at suffering.
But their stories are also a cynical strategy deployed by those who seek to derail Trump’s reforms by trumpeting the ”tragedy” of isolated individuals. The same crocodile tears crowd that dismissed struggling Americans’ concerns about crushing inflation, the victims of sexual violence and human trafficking of children brought about by Joe Biden’s border policies, and massive job losses as mere “statistics.”
We do not know how President Trump’s reforms will shake out. Only his most devoted acolytes could have 100% faith in his unpredictable governing style. Still, there is a strong moral case for the spirit of Trump’s actions, which has been tendentiously ignored in coverage of his first 100 days.
A million deaths is not a statistic, but a million tragedies. Trump’s reform efforts hinge on the blindingly obvious premise that tomorrow’s pain will be far worse and more widespread if we do not act today. He is a doctor addressing a sick patient; his opponents seem happy to let the grave illness metastasize. Irony doesn’t quite capture the commitment of those who see existential threats around every corner and then ignore the clear and present dangers to our country.
A fiscal meteor is heading our way; everybody knows it. But our deeply secular ruling class seems to be banking on divine intervention to save the day. That speeding rock everyone can see is, of course, our national debt, which now stands at almost $37 trillion. We added $1.3 trillion to that total in the first half of the 2025 fiscal year. Since the Reagan administration, fiscal Cassandras have warned that our spending path is unsustainable. And yet, here we are. At some point, this looming threat will become a wrecking ball, forcing huge cuts in the programs hundreds of millions of Americans count on. Those who decry the knife Trump is bringing to government jobs and services are only setting us up for the chainsaw tomorrow.
Pay me now, or pay me later – but pay me you will. This isn’t politics, it’s math.
Everybody knows this, but only Trump seems willing to do something about it.
Thanks to Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, the waste, fraud, and abuse that infects so much government spending has become front-page news. These revelations should be a rousing call to action for everyone who believes in the necessity of government to improve people’s lives. They should be thanking Trump for trying to rescue their sinking ship.
Instead, they attack him. In an ideal world, Trump and Musk would be more measured in their assault on spending. They would have studied every program and job, delivering a detailed blueprint for reform. The political reality, of course, is that they had to move quickly. Our recent history has been filled with blue ribbon panels and special commissions on the deficit and debt that accomplished little. Act now, or never.
In a further irony, Trump’s progressive opponents are taking a page from the reactionary playbook, which years ago argued that, yes, slavery was wrong and integration was necessary, but change? Not just yet. In time.
The time is now because of the urgency of our crisis and because we finally have a leader who is willing to suffer slings and arrows to save us. Will Trump succeed? Ultimately, this will depend far more on the will of the people than on his vocal detractors in politics and the press. The cuts and reforms he has initiated are just the beginning. Getting our fiscal house in order will almost certainly require real, painful sacrifice from taxpayers and beneficiaries of government programs. It is still not clear if he has the will to do all that is necessary. If he does, history suggests that he will be punished instead of rewarded for this courage.
That doesn’t change the choice before us: some tragedies now or millions later.
At Last, a Company With Integrity in the Gold IRA Industry
For several years, I’ve been vetting out precious metals companies in search of the best. I believe in gold and silver but it’s hard to find integrity in the Gold IRA industry. The vast majority operate with shady tactics and gigantic spreads that take advantage of Americans who simply want to protect their life’s savings.
I’ve found a handful that I like and I’ve worked with some of them. By no means would I “unrecommend” them because, again, I vetted them out and found them to be above the fold. Unfortunately, it isn’t hard to be better than the rest when the rest are so darn awful.
After years of searching, I finally found a company that truly operates with integrity. Augusta Precious Metals has three important attributes that set them far above the competition:
- Non-Commissioned Sales Team: I cannot stress how important and unique this is. With just about every other company in the Gold IRA industry, the sales teams make commission from every account they open. This means they steer their clients toward the gold and silver products with the highest commission. With Augusta Precious Metals, the team is solely focused on putting the best gold and silver for their clients into their IRA. They get paid to serve the best interests of the Gold IRA client, NOT their own commission pay.
- Incredibly Low Fees: Most Americans would be shocked if they knew the spread other Gold IRA companies charge. Augusta charges just 5% versus up to 45% elsewhere.
- No Pressure, No Gimmicks: There’s an understanding among most in the Gold IRA industry that fear and pressure is the way to go. Augusta Precious Metals takes a sober approach when working with clients because they hold integrity in the highest possible regard. This is why they don’t offer gimmicks like “free” or “bonus” silver. It’s also why they do not apply pressure tactics to get quick sales. Their educational and transparent approach to doing business is exceedingly rare in the Gold IRA industry.
