Taxes, Weapons of Mass Distraction, and Project 2025...Oh My

 

Government Should Serve the Disadvantaged, Not the Overly Advantaged

Politically, I fall right down the middle. A few examples:

• I believe education should be accessible to everyone—and free.
• I believe medical care should be accessible to everyone—and free.
• I believe government should be as small as possible.
• I believe spending power should be in the hands of those doing the work.
• I value my freedom and independence.

I also believe in capitalism, but I recognize its flaws. Those flaws must be managed with a strong moral compass to ensure a fair and just economy for everyone.

This year, finalizing my taxes and paying the bill left me angrier than ever. The current administration is crippling science, research, development, and education in America. It’s affecting my business (sales are down). It’s affecting my wife’s career (grants are down).  Its affecting my children's future.   As scientists, teachers, business owners, and parents we see firsthand how destructive these policies are.

I have no problem paying taxes when they go toward helping the disadvantaged, funding education, providing healthcare, supporting both older and younger generations, building infrastructure, and ensuring national security. But that’s not what’s happening. Instead, this administration is actively working to build a parallel economy and infrastructure designed to centralize wealth—eerily reminiscent of Russia in the 1990s.

Even more frustrating is that small and medium-sized businesses bear the brunt of taxation. Unlike massive corporations, I can’t leverage complex tax loopholes—such as taking on large amounts of debt collateralized by investments and then living off that cash tax-free. 

God help us if these tax dollars aren’t truly going to those in need—I have my doubts. We are heading down a dangerous path.  I took a moment to study Project 2025, and it seems directly correlated to what we’re seeing unfold in the U.S. today. Analyzing its first 180-day plan, here’s a summary of its proposals by agency:

Scientific Agencies: Project 2025’s 180-Day Plan

NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

• 33% budget cut
• End climate change research and policy
• Privatize services such as weather forecasting
• Transfer marine services from NOAA to the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Geological Survey

NIH (National Institutes of Health)

• Reduce university research grant funding (cut indirect cost rate from 50–65% to 15%)
• Establish a National Bioethics Council (potentially beneficial)
• Decentralize grant funding to states
• Impose leadership term limits
• Decommission the NIH and CDC Foundations
• Abolish the DEI office
• Increase research into the effects of transgender medical treatments

EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)

• Eliminate climate research deemed "politicized"
• Disband the Office of Research and Development
• Defund environmental science programs
• Reject climate models and carbon regulations
• Shift risk assessments from environmental impact to economic impact
• Expedite pesticide approval processes
• Reform EPA’s Science Advisory Board

NSF (National Science Foundation)

• Shift focus away from social sciences and climate studies
• Prioritize research aligned with national security and economic interests
• Emphasize AI, quantum computing, and cybersecurity
• Reduce federal control over grant funding; shift power to states

DOE (Department of Energy)

• Refocus on basic science and national security
• Eliminate DOE programs that duplicate private-sector research
• Prioritize defense, space technology, and cyber research
• Increase oversight of national labs to prevent technology leaks to foreign adversaries

DOE (Department of Education)

• Divert public school funding to private school vouchers
• Reshape the education system to align with conservative values
• Eliminate the Department of Education

CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

• Remove key public health datasets

 

Science Agency Summary

• Decentralization of federal science funding
• Shift toward state-controlled research grants
• Privatization or defunding of climate and environmental science
• Increased political and ideological oversight
• Promotion of "Ethical, America-First" Science
• Focus on national security and industry-driven research
  • AI
  • Cybersecurity
  • Military technology

 

 

Well, I could not stop at science, so I went and looked into the 180 plays for other agencies.

OPM (Office of Personnel Management)

• Reclassify federal positions to increase presidential control over the workforce
• Mass termination of employees deemed obstructive to the administration

DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency)

• Establish a new agency to reduce, consolidate, or eliminate federal departments
• Eliminate DEI programs

FCC (Federal Communications Commission)

• Install conservative leadership to influence media and communications regulations

FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency)

• Shift emergency response responsibilities to states and private entities

HHS (Health and Human Services)

• Layoffs and staff reductions to shrink government involvement in healthcare

DHS (Department of Homeland Security)

• Stricter immigration policies and enforcement

A Disturbing Parallel: Russia in the 1990s

I struggle to believe this administration is acting in the best interests of Americans.

In 1990s Russia, rapid privatization of state assets, combined with a weak legal framework, enabled a massive consolidation of power from the many to the few. History doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes.  While we’re not witnessing 15,000 state enterprises being handed out via vouchers, we are seeing major agencies being privatized or dismantled.

Some Examples of Dangerous Centralization of Power from Public to Private

1. FCC & Media Control

   • The discreditation, or potential collapse of public media (e.g., NPR, CNN) 
   • Who benefits from eliminating NPR? Only someone who owns both a communications platform and the hardware to run it (Elon)

2. Privatization of Weather Forecasting & Emergency Response

   • Moving NOAA services to private companies allows wealth consolidation in families like the Myers (AccuWeather), who will profit off of weather data.

3. Education & Research Cuts

   • Defunding public education and research ensures a less educated workforce, further centralizing wealth and power at the top.
     

4. New Currency, New Economy

• • Trump Jr. is building a private hedge fund focused on cryptocurrency while his father moves to integrate crypto into the Federal Reserve—all while engaging in pump-and-dump schemes with meme coins.

    Blockchain was originally designed to empower everyday people through decentralized information and financial autonomy. Now, it’s being centralized by a select few.

    Once fully mined, there will be approximately 21 million Bitcoins, but around 4 million are permanently lost. The ultra-wealthy strategy is simple: buy, hold, never sell, artificially drive up scarcity, and amass massive wealth in the new digital currency.

 

Final Thoughts

Since this current administration treats the government like their own private company, I am going to put my final message in business terms.  Don’t piss off small and medium-sized businesses—we pay most of the bills.  64% of my Adjusted Gross Income goes to taxes.  If we lose hope, which I am, you lose your main revenue generating customers.

We need policies that support working Americans, small businesses, scientists, and educators, the disadvantaged, those in need—not a privatized, oligarch-controlled economy.

 

Thanks for the read.

- Ben