How Government Choices in 2025 Hurt Ordinary Americans — and How Easily We Could do Better

by Mark M. Bello

Bad outcomes don’t fall from the sky. They’re made—carefully, repeatedly, and often predictably—by policy choices. In 2025, Americans didn’t suffer because the government was “too big” or “too weak,” but because the Trump Administration focused on the wrong things, cut where it hurt most, and protected those who needed protection least.

The Pattern

Across issue after issue, the structure repeated itself:

• Cuts with a meat cleaver, not a scalpel.
• Benefits preserved for the wealthy, austerity for everyone else.
• Symbolic enforcement instead of effective governance.
• Short-term political theater over long-term national interest.

What This Looks Like in Practice

• Inflation soared, not just because of tariffs, but because tax policy overheated demand while cutting stabilizers like Health and housing support.
• Healthcare insecurity surged as enhanced ACA subsidies were allowed to expire, shifting costs to families and emergency rooms.
• Environmental rollbacks reduced oversight today while guaranteeing higher health and disaster costs tomorrow.
• Energy policy doubled down on fossil fuels, increasing volatility instead of insulating Americans from global shocks.
• USAID and public health programs were slashed, weakening global stability and inviting future crises.
• Law enforcement resources flowed toward headline-friendly crackdowns that don’t actually reduce crime.
• Ethical lines blurred, especially during foreign Travel that mixed diplomacy with private business interests tied to the Trump Organization.
• Military escalation (Venezuela) occurred without clear congressional authorization—risk without accountability.

A Public Health Triple Whammy

Healthcare doesn’t collapse in one dramatic moment. It erodes—quietly—when multiple guardrails are removed at the same time.

In 2025, that’s exactly what happened.

First, healthcare affordability was weakened as enhanced ACA subsidies were allowed to expire. Millions faced higher premiums or lost coverage altogether—meaning delayed care, skipped prescriptions, and heavier reliance on emergency rooms.

At the same time, vaccination policies were politicized and muddled. Clear federal leadership gave way to mixed signals that treated vaccines less as public health infrastructure and more as personal Lifestyle choices. The predictable result followed: resurging cases of COVID, flu, measles, and other preventable illnesses.

Then came the third hit: environmental deregulation. Looser rules on air and water pollution don’t just harm ecosystems—they directly increase respiratory illness, cardiovascular disease, and Cancer risk, especially in already overburdened communities.

Individually, each of these policies makes Americans less healthy.
Together, they create a feedback loop:

• People get sicker
• Care gets more expensive
• Hospitals absorb uncompensated costs
• Insurers raise premiums
• Taxpayers pick up the tab

This isn’t smaller government.
It’s deferred government—sending the bill later, with interest.

Bottom Line

This wasn’t “small government.”
It was misdirected government—ordinary Americans paid the price.

None of this happened by accident.

Inflation didn’t linger because Americans suddenly forgot how to budget. Healthcare didn’t become less affordable because people got sicker. Environmental damage didn’t accelerate because science changed its mind. Public trust didn’t erode because citizens stopped caring.

These outcomes followed choices—made openly, defended loudly, and justified as “tough” or “efficient,” even when they weren’t.

Bad policy has consequences. And in 2025, those consequences landed where they always do: on ordinary Americans trying to live stable, dignified lives in an increasingly unstable system.

The most infuriating part is this: none of it was inevitable.

Next: The Fix in 2026. How the same problems could be addressed—quickly, lawfully, and humanely—by choosing competence over chaos (A New Year’s Resolution)

Mark M. Bello is an attorney and award-winning author of the Zachary Blake Legal Thriller Series, ripped-from-the-headlines, realistic fiction that speaks truth to power and champions the rights of citizens in our justice system. These novels are dedicated to the social justice movement. They educate, spark discussion, and inspire readers to action. One of these novels, Betrayal High, was written in response to school shootings. For more information, please visit www.markmbello.com.

Bob Gatty Author, Podcaster, Blogger

For many years, Bob Gatty worked as a writer, editor, and communications consultant, based on the Washington, DC area with a focus on government and politics. He began at The Pittsburgh Courier, an African American weekly, covering crime and the courts. His salary was $55 per week before moving on to two local Pennsylvania dailies. At age 24, he began reporting for United Press International covering state politics in Pennsylvania and then New Jersey, where he was UPI’s state capitol bureau in Trenton.

Tempted by the allure of Washington, DC and big-time politics, at age 29 Bob became press secretary and chief of staff for two Congressmen – first Republican Edwin B. Forsythe, and then Democrat James J. Florio, who later became governor of New Jersey and until his recent death was a frequent podcast guest and co-host of Bob’s NFN Radio News podcast (now called Lean to the Left).

After seven years on Capitol Hill, Bob opened a communications business in Washington, first providing political media consulting to candidates and then freelance Washington coverage for business and trade magazines, plus creative communications services for trade and professional associations, including social media. This work involved articles and analyses of key governmental developments affecting businesses, such as the food and Health industries, retailing, and the environment.

His work as a communications consultant to trade and professional associations included launching and editing association publications, providing website content and social media assistance, and covering conferences and conventions.

Bob retired from G-Net Strategic Communications in 2016 and moved to Myrtle Beach, SC, where he launched his blog site, first called Not Fake News, now known as Lean to the Left.

Hijacked Nation
In August, 2020, Bob and co-author Chris Waldron, one of Lean to the Left's most loyal and prolific contributor, published "Hijacked Nation-Donald Trump's Attack on America's Greatness," a two-volume compilation of blogs regarding Trump's presidency and the consequences for our nation. A followup volume was published by Luna Global Media in September 2024. It is available at https://amzn.to/4ePrTF7 .

In all three volumes, blogs from Not Fake News and Lean to the Left create a virtual play-by-play of key actions of the Trump administration and Congress. For more information, please visit https://leantotheleft.net/books/, and visit Bob's Author's Page on Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/stores/Bob-Gatty/author/B08C7HWXZ5?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true&ccs_id=4e603563-7251-4074-b54d-40800c4ce40a.

The Lean to the Left Podcast
The Lean to the Left podcast provides commentary and interviews with newsmakers and others with interesting stories to tell. Video and audio podcasts stream twice weekly on major channels. More info at https://podcast.leantotheleft.net.

The Lean to the Left YouTube Channel
You'll find all of the audio tracks for the Lean to the Left Podcast here plus original videos, including complete video versions of each podcast.
https://www.youtube.com/@LeantotheLeft.