On Vulcan we have a phrase that roughly translates to "Who benefits?"
To understand who Trump and Republicans actually listen to one can work backwards from the question, "Who benefits?"
To determine what will happen next, one simply has to look forward into the future by noting what the men in this photo want every quarter on their financial conference calls. They have committed to delivering growth to institutional investors or they will be fired.
I see our side use
emotional leverage to get politicians to understand the pain that removal of health care protections and coverage will have on regular people. The press runs those stories, but those voices aren't heard as loudly as the voices of health insurances execs. These executives represent continuous funding and support for Republicans every single day of the year, not just once every 2 or 4 years.
People whose concern is for continuous quarterly profits only complain if something hurts their bottom line.
From their point of view the government sent them money and told millions of new buyers to sign up. If they are going to lose the money now, they sure as hell are going to expect something in return--and a tax break for senior execs is just the tip of the needle.
I wish other Vulcan phrases on how to use financial leverage to achieve your goals were available, but we stopped using that system in my time. Perhaps you should consult with the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition. See
Rule 23
| 23 | Nothing is more important than your health... except for your money. |
