With all the disasters we’re experiencing at home, our administrative experience is certainly not helping us in Venezuela. In fact, most Venezuelans don’t want us at all.
“Economic confidence falls to its lowest level in 17 months.”
— Gallup, December 4, 2025
“Satisfaction with the cost of healthcare in the United States is at its lowest level since Gallup… since 2001.”
— Gallup, December 15, 2025
“Affordable Care Act funding is expiring, leading to a sharp rise in health insurance premiums.”
— WANF-TV, Atlanta, January 1, 2026
“We will manage the situation (in Venezuela) until a safe, healthy, and sensible transition is possible.”
— Donald Trump, January 3, 2026
The comment couldn’t be clearer. As expected, the Trump administration was bound to try to divert Americans’ attention from their legitimate economic concerns, particularly the healthcare cost crisis, which the Trump party has significantly exacerbated. All that Venezuelan oil appears very tempting from the oligarchy’s perspective.
But what about “managing Venezuela”? Shouldn’t they start by managing the country better? Take healthcare, for example. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is what experts call a “stopgap”; it’s more accurately described as a complex system designed to alleviate the suffering of what is called the American healthcare “system.” The crisis in the American healthcare system can only be fundamentally resolved by removing the profit motive.
Nevertheless, the ACA has enabled millions of people to obtain partial health coverage. That’s better than nothing, by far. Tax breaks on health insurance premiums represent a transfer of wealth from the public to the private sector. But without them, and without an alternative system, millions of people will soon face catastrophic increases in their monthly premiums. If they can’t afford them—and many can’t—they will be ruined if they become ill or injured.
We can acknowledge the flaws of the ACA, but we still consider these Republican budget cuts inhumane and unjustifiable.
Republicans claim, “We can’t afford it.” But this raises an obvious question: if it’s not possible, how can we afford to “run Venezuela”? Besides, they have a job to do here.
It’s true that the economy is doing relatively well, at least for investors. But even this relative success is extremely fragile. It’s fueled by an AI-related speculative bubble that threatens to burst, leaving behind a massive economic disaster. Meanwhile, millions of families are struggling to cope with the high cost of living (click on the images to enlarge).
More than 43 million Americans live in poverty, including one child in seven:
The housing shortage is causing widespread pain as homes become increasingly unaffordable for most workers:
The labor outlook is “cooling,” as the economists say. But even that doesn’t count the most critical element of the job market, which is the ability to find jobs that actually pay a living wage:
The labor outlook is “cooling,” as the economists say. But even that doesn’t count the most critical element of the job market, which is the ability to find jobs that actually pay a living wage:
