January 2026 Newsletter
Well, 2025 is now in the rear view mirror and 2026 is already building up to be a watershed year. Spurred on by a trend of democrat victories at all levels of state and federal government, the stage is set for a tumultuous midterm election in November. Even locally, here in Carbon County, great Americans are stepping up to challenge the administration’s narrative that the economy is booming. Amazingly, we have to spend some time debunking Trump’s bizarre assertions in this regard. A good portion of the conservative electorate either still does not understand or chooses to willfully deny that tariffs are paid, at the very least by American businesses who import goods and worst when those same businesses pass some or all of the tariff on to consumers.
That is the veritable definition of a tax and economists have postulated that the average American family has seen an annual increase of some $2500 in the goods they buy. And what of the money collected via tariffs? Originally, President Trump boasted that Americans would get a tariff check. That’s in addition to the DOGE check that was promised but never materialized. So far, the only ones that appear to be the beneficiaries of a tariff check are corporate farmers (like Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant) to the tune of $12 billion. Why is this corporate welfare being handed out when republicans fought tooth and nail during the shutdown to stop children from receiving food? The simple answer, Corporate Farms vote for and donate to Trump and children do not. So your tariff tax is being given to corporate farmers because the administration decided to both start a tariff war with China which resulted in the bottom falling out for soybean exports and also cancelled grain orders that were appropriated by Congress for USAID to feed starving children in various parts of the world. It is our belief, that these farm subsidies will not stop at $12 billion dollars.
The problem, is that giving corporations $12 billion does not sufficiently describe the economic self-inflicted wound caused by tariffs. More expensive construction lumber, aluminum, phosphate and car parts from Canada (our most reliable and long term ally) has resulted in increased cost of goods, agriculture products and housing. When prices increase due to tariffs, the unemployment rate increases and we now have unemployment rates not seen since the fall of 2021 when we were still in the supply chain throes of covid. For context, supply chain issues during covid affected all nations but our country’s current economic malaise is not being replicated in other countries. While inflation once again ticks upward, we are simultaneously witnessing the U.S. Dollar experiencing its worst twelve month devaluation in years. When the dollar’s value drops vis-a-vis other major currencies, buying goods from other countries becomes more expensive. Amidst all this economic bad news, President Trump has dreamed up another hoax, declaring that Democrats have found a new word… “affordability”. He is telling supporters that it’s all fake. Things are affordable. The economy is booming and we need to stop complaining and rather be grateful that we have him to explain all of this to us. Why more Trump supporters are not offended by this arrogance and dishonesty is surprising.
Well, perhaps not completely surprising since these same voters have simultaneously decided that Trump’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is virtually non-existent. Even though, Trump’s DOJ and FBI have dragged their feet on releasing evidence tied to the sexual abuse and trafficking of hundreds, if not thousand of young women by Epstein and a litany of affluent men, Trump voters seem only willing to believe that only men who were democrats violated these young women. That despite numerous allegations of abhorrent conduct from our President. We remind you of Howard Stern’s interview with Donald Trump where he said this.
“I’ll tell you the funniest is that I’ll go backstage before a show and everyone’s getting dressed,”
“No men are anywhere, and I’m allowed to go in, because I’m the owner of the pageant and therefore I’m inspecting it. … ‘Is everyone OK?’ You know, they’re standing there with no clothes. ‘Is everybody OK?’ And you see these incredible-looking women, and so I sort of get away with things like that.”
For some reason Trump supporters are not offended that Trump thought that this was “funny” or that he “gets away with things like that”. The party of family values has taken quite a fall from grace, seemingly replaced by the perverted uncle party. Thankfully, even long time stalwart supporters like Marjorie Taylor Greene have recognized the blatant hypocrisy afoot in the current GOP. However, that has not seemed to reach Carbon County, as noted by an attendee at the local Republican Constitution Day lunch a few months ago where religion and faith, were declared wholly owned subsidiaries of the Utah Republican party.
Still, people are beginning to make their stand. The constant gaslighting from the right is creating an environment whereby everyday, more local residents decide that the exhaustion emanating from the Whitehouse is no longer tenable. The assaults, rants and insults once seen as Trump “owning the libs” are now simply viewed as weird and troubling behavior that increasingly speaks poorly of his supporters. The incessant late night tweets now only reaffirm Trump’s disconnect from average daily expensive life in the United States. And with that, it’s time to change. Local GOP leaders seem toned deaf to the millions of dollars that this administration has taken back or refused to give our rural community. They remain ignorant to the fact that such actions stifle economic development, further exacerbate our community’s ability to create family sustaining jobs and wealth that allows for a diversified and thriving economy. To that end we are excited to announce our slate of candidates for 2026. Thoughtful, smart people who will strive forward for Carbon County and HD67 by focusing on economic development, affordable housing and a standard of health care and services merited to citizens of the world’s richest nation. We can't wait to see you Thursday.
Regards,
The Executive Committee