An ode to policy

Congratulations, America. You’ve gotten the policy-driven presidency you said you wanted. Let’s see what you’ve won:

We’re about to find out if Walmart can pay a 200% tax on everything it imports and still keep those low, low prices. We’re gonna see what happens to the cost of food when we deport our cheap agricultural labor force. Watch what happens to affordable housing after we deport 1/3 of this country’s construction workers.

I’m personally excited to see whether I get turned away from a public ladies’ room because the sex police decide I’m not feminine enough.

When private health insurance companies are no longer constrained by the government (of the people) to meet the needs of all Americans, let’s see what happens to the cost of premiums. To the types of cancer treatments that are available under low-cost plans. We’ll watch as people change employers, and therefore health plans, and find out that their diabetes is now considered a pre-existing condition and that they’ll have to pay for related treatment on their own.

How much will your kids’ dentist visits cost when non-fluoridated water isn’t keeping their teeth from rotting?

Let’s see how many pregnant people die in emergency rooms because the right of their state’s legislature is more valuable than their right to life.

Let’s count down the days until Ukraine is no longer a sovereign nation.

How many new jobs will we suddenly lose when we abandon the microchip factories currently under construction?

I’m going to be tracking these policy benchmarks. Will you be paying attention to how they affect the real world?