Trump has been in office seven weeks, and to say things are a chang’n is an understatement. 

This article may be a little dated when you read it since Trump has just restated that his tariffs will go into effect on Tuesday and before he addresses the Congress and nation on Tuesday evening. Be that as it may, there is plenty of change to discuss.

Ukraine—Americans have always liked the underdog and that may be part of our reasoning for supporting Ukraine in this conflict. Russia is certainly the aggressor, but Ukraine has its history also. 

To say that Ukraine is an open and free democracy would be a stretch. However, it is a sovereign nation and that is critical to any analysis. Putin wishes to reestablish the czarist empire and Ukraine was to be an easy acquisition. It hasn’t happened that way and Ukraine is a worthy combatant. 

Both sides are losing thousands of lives and by simple math, Russia has more manpower and will probably prevail, absent significant outside intervention on behalf of Ukraine by the West. 

Ukrainian politicians seem to always end up wealthy. A picture of Zelensky with his wife and stacks of money in front of them is not the optic that Americans want to see today. 

Zelensky met his match when he tried to negotiate with Trump in public, when all parties concur that an agreement had been reached and Trump and Zelensky were at the oval office for a signing ceremony. The harsh reality is that an agreement to stop the fighting will be reached. That agreement will not give Russia absolute sway over Ukraine, but it will cost Zelensky and Ukraine far more today than a week ago. 

Zelensky has to cut a deal with the U.S. as the U.S. is his primary funding source and the military might that can save Ukraine. At the same time, the U.S. does not want to put boots on the ground in Ukraine. The negotiations will be difficult for both sides to swallow, but there will be a resolution.

Tariffs—We don’t like tariffs because they do tend to increase the costs of consumer goods. Having said that, this country prior to the implementation of the income tax primarily funded the federal government with tariffs and fees. If you cross the Mexican border going south, you will notice that there are a lot of U.S. owned factories producing goods in Mexico. The companies do that because labor is cheaper in Mexico. One of the goals of tariffs is to keep jobs in the U.S. 

Many countries subsidize their manufacturers to compete against U.S. businesses. Done right tariffs can strengthen the American workforce. Done rampantly, tariffs will only fuel inflation, which is harmful to all.

DOGE—I have heard Presidents for over 50 years state they are going to eliminate waste and fraud in government. Republicans and Democrats, no real change. Trump comes in and everything is upended. 

Employment and projects must be justified or they are being cut or reduced. The question is how much and whose ox is getting gored. I confess to having a personal interest in this because my oldest son and his wife are federal government employees. That ox has come close to home and has my attention. 

The federal government work force has become bloated and many believe they are entitled to a job and not required to produce a work product. There is a budgeting model out there called zero based budgeting. The model states that every budget year you start at zero and then justify your needs as an agency to get funding for the next fiscal year. The model does require serious audits, but it does defeat those entitlement groups who believe once funded, always funded with implemental increases. I am concerned that DOGE may be using an axe when a good knife would be best. But I in good faith cannot fault the attempt to take back control of government from the bureaucrats.

IMMIGRATION—Biden said the border was secure. No one believed him. Trump said he would secure the border and he basically did that within one week of taking office. We have a political crisis on our hand as what to do with all of the illegal immigrants that are currently here. That situation will be addressed and a resolution will be forthcoming. Due to the magnitude of illegals currently in the country, no one will be happy with all parts of that resolution, but the public appears to be very satisfied that the border is now secured.