By Cindi Branham
Nine Hundred pages. Dozens of Christo-fascist extremists working to set certain segments of our population back by overthrowing our democracy. No one to stand in our way if we don’t elect the correct leaders on November 5th.
Nine hundred pages could equivalate to 900 years, because the only people with the rights we enjoy today will be the white, male, evangelical christians (lower case intentional) who will become entrenched going forward – perhaps forever.
Under the guise of conservatism, women, members of the LGBTQ community, people of color and the poor will see their quality of life and ability to make ends meet erode. I mean erode even further. Why? Because the hierarchy will bleed them of income, resources, education, civil rights, and social safety nets.
The hierarchy will make their lives so insulated; they won’t be able to network to protest their treatment, or to console each other for their pain.
Women will be stripped of the right to inherit wealth, to build their own wealth and to lead a life independent of a male husband, father or brother. Without these males controlling their lives, they will be destitute, in the streets, much like the women of Afghanistan.
Afghani women were banned by the Taliban from holding jobs or even leaving their homes without a male escort, even to sell possessions or beg for food.
The wealth distribution gap will be widened by dropping taxes even more on the wealthy and raising them on what used to be America’s healthy middle class.
A desperate group of people will do anything – even turn against its own – and that’s the point. Blacks are told they can’t find jobs because Hispanics are taking them all for lower wages. And so on: we all know where that takes us. Us vs. them.
It’s the state of things today, and that’s what the ultra-wealthy want: to turn us against each other so we don’t notice what they’re up to?
Employment. Overtime pay goes away. (you know: time and a half pay for over 40 hours a week that unions made sure hourly workers were entitled to decades ago). Companies can work you 80 ours a week and pay you $7.25 an hour rather than 40 hours at $7.25 and $10.88 for the other 40 hours.
The difference that makes can mean a healthier diet, shoes for children, and the list goes on. With fewer people working these minimum wage, service-oriented jobs, overtime becomes a strong factor in a worker’s life.
If you work on Redstone Arsenal, Schedule F (a presidential Executive Order that, when invoked, puts civil servants’ (employees of the federal government) jobs at the will of that president.
You may also be required to sign a loyalty waiver to keep your job regardless of your General Service (GS) scale. If you’re high enough on the GS scale, you’ll be replaced by a loyalist, oath or no oath. Very early retirement.
If you’re a member of an employee union: outlawed. If you’re a member of a commercial-sector union, Project 2025 makes it easier for your employer to de-certify your union. Most unions today were hard-fought for by employees, and this is how they’ll get rid of them. Union organizers are more easily fired as well.
On top of this, states will be able to opt out of federal labor laws. Think Equal Employment Office (EEO) protection gone, no OSHA protections for your personal safety from dangerous machinery or caustic substances.
Your sister who’s in a wheelchair? No Americans with Disabilities (ADA) to protect her rights to access (thus, her right and ability to work).
We already live in a “Right to Work” state, which we all know is an oxymoron that really means we have few rights at the state level. Think of all this as Project 2025 representing the weaponization of the HR department.
Climate Change. Right-wing conservatives have made it abundantly clear that they’re going for the scorched earth end game. Being in the pocket of the fossil fuel industry, they’re obliged to allow anything and everything from them.
Project 2025 calls for the abolishment of the National Weather Service (NWS) and NOAA. Will we even know when the next tornado is coming? Probably not.
The Clean Air and Clean Water Acts go away. Do you know why we see people in Asian countries wearing masks when there’s no pandemic calling for them? Their air is that polluted.
Things we take for granted, like our ability to turn on the tap and be confident that we’re drinking water that won’t hurt us will disappear. (I fully believe that in a post-Project 2025, post-democracy world, gold won’t be the most valuable commodity: water will – clean or not clean.)
Project 2025 will lead to the gutting of our retirement benefits by (further) privatizing your retirement funds. They’ll be distributed out to companies that affiliate with conservative groups – not the experts – just those looking to make a quick dollar off your retirement savings.
Big Pharma. Your $35 insulin prescription goes away, and further negotiations to reduce the cost of other drugs won’t happen, either. So, many in the country will be forced to choose between medications and food. And many will simply not be able to purchase the drugs that could be life-saving or allow them to be healthy enough to work.
The very common prescription drugs that President Biden’s and VP Harris’ administration have negotiated downward will simply be dashed. We can all remember when Trump took office and proceeded to cancel many of the achievements of President Obama. Trump’s vindictiveness, jealousy and lack of empathy for anyone but himself have only gotten worse, so buckle up.
Better still, figure out how you can help win a swing state using your time, talent and treasure.
We can avoid Project 2025’s devastation by voting and helping to elect Democrats up and down the ballot across the country. They’re not the ones set on destroying our democracy and way of life.
As VP candidate Gov. Tim Walz says, and I paraphrase, when someone goes to the trouble of making a game plan, they’re going to use it.
Next week: the rights of LGBTQ+ and other minority communities and the American place in the world.