Welcome to The Poverty Trap, a newsletter and podcast for people who are fed up with the inequality baked into America’s system and want to individually and collectively make change.
The history of “we the people” protesting our government and its policies has been a strong and fairly successful one, steeped in the human desire to be free and to affect societal change. The U.S. is a representative democracy, and if those we elect don’t do our bidding, it is our right under the First Amendment to peacefully protest their policy choices and actions and to eventually vote the current batch of representatives out of office. The photo above from the National Archives is classic— it captures a violent, humiliating moment in a peaceful protest, organized by students and teachers, to finally de-segregate a “whites only”, dime-store lunch counter.
Many legal scholars, journalists and other writers say we’re on the verge of losing our democracy, that the current administration is on a plotted course to dictatorship. And I agree.
But the questions right now are: what we do about it, and whether taking to the streets in protest is enough. Are there enough Americans who understand what is happening and are willing and able to march in their communities? Are there enough Americans who care?
The Nobel prize-winning economist, author and concerned citizen,
, wrote a Substack post yesterday saying “American democracy is on the line, right now.” Krugman says that the federalizing of the California National Guard against the wishes of both Governor Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Bass, and the U.S Marines deploying to California with the intent to quell dissent, demonstrate President Trump’s true intent—it is about shutting down Americans’ right to protest his administration’s policies. Period. It’s not about improving his sagging poll numbers or making a popular policy choice, it’s about shutting you up and shutting you down. Krugman highlighted this gem from Governor Newsom’s speech a few days ago:Democracy is under assault right before our eyes, this moment we have feared has arrived. He’s taking a wrecking ball, a wrecking ball to our founding fathers’ historic project: three coequal branches of independent government.
But quashing public dissent is only part of the plan, according to
, former Secretary of Labor, prolific author and recently retired professor. Reich’s Substack post from last week is a master class in understanding how a democracy is dismantled, piece by piece, by controlling and then dissolving our education system. Reich outlines, with examples, five specific ways the Trump Administration is attacking how we learn and how we think by:—Rewriting history
—Gutting all levels of formal education
—Dismantling science
—Suppressing the media
—Attacking the Arts
Because an educated public is dangerous:
Throughout history, tyrants have understood that their major enemy is an educated public. Slaveholders prohibited enslaved people from learning to read. The Third Reich burned books. The Khmer Rouge banned music. Stalin and Pinochet censored the media. And Trump, like past authoritarians, wants to control not just what we do, but also how and what we think. Robert Reich, June 3, 2025
As many of us as possible, must peacefully and publicly protest in whatever ways we are able. It is indeed, “We the People”.
We have a renowned economist, a former cabinet secretary, a sitting member of Congress and many other prominent thinkers saying our country is on the brink of authoritarian rule, but those voices pale in comparison to the quiet strength and eloquence of “The Boss”. Here is Bruce Springsteen speaking to a massive crowd the size of which is only in President Trump’s wildest dreams. Are we losing our will to fight, our joy, our belief in our country’s values? “Raise your voice”.
Do you think America is slipping into a dictatorship at this moment? Are public protests enough? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the Comment Section below:
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