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By Dustin Granger
“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” – George Orwell, 1984
In Orwell’s 1984, the ruling Party erased reality to stay in power. Now Trump is trying the same trick.
Last week, he fired the people who report our jobs and economic data because he didn’t like what they showed. The Bureau of Labor Statistics found weak job growth, higher unemployment, and stagnant wages — so Trump got rid of them.
They don’t even want you to see the numbers anymore. But if you live in Louisiana, you already feel it. Our economy is sliding. The latest GDP numbers are in, and Louisiana had one of the steepest drops in the South. We are heading into recession, and once again, we’re first and worst.
One major reason? Trump’s tariffs.
Let’s be clear. A tariff is a tax on you. When Trump brags about tariffs, he’s bragging about raising prices on families and small businesses. They’re just a backdoor sales tax — the most punishing kind — added to everything from groceries to farm equipment.
And instead of asking billionaires and giant corporations to pay what they owe, Trump taxed working people directly. Sound familiar? That’s exactly what Louisiana Republicans do every year. They cut taxes for the rich and the industrial plants, then plug the budget hole by raising sales taxes on the rest of us.
Look at last year’s Louisiana legislative special session. The GOP had a choice — cut sales taxes or cut income taxes for the wealthy. They locked in the highest sales tax in the country. And working families are the ones paying for it.
You feel it every day. Roads falling apart. Bridges cracking. Louisiana got billions in federal infrastructure dollars, but we can’t even put it to use. Our tax base is so gutted we don’t have the state dollars to match the federal funds. Try crossing the Atchafalaya or Calcasieu without white-knuckling the wheel.
And it’s not just roads. Higher education has been bled dry. Colleges are laying off staff, hiking tuition, and begging for corporate sponsors just to keep the lights on.
Meanwhile, Trump’s tariffs are crushing Louisiana farmers and small businesses. Our state is one of the hardest hit in the country. Farmers spent decades building markets that are now lost to Brazil and China. Some of those markets may never come back. Small business owners are getting squeezed too. Costs keep rising. Customers are already stretched thin.
This is happening on our Republican delegation’s watch. Speaker Mike Johnson. Majority Leader Steve Scalise. Clay Higgins. Julia Letlow. All of them standing behind Trump while he drains Louisiana’s economy.
Congress has the sole power to impose tariffs. Trump did it without a vote. They could stop this tomorrow. But they won’t. Because protecting Trump and their donors matters more to them than protecting you.
This isn’t new. A century ago, Americans demanded change. We created the income tax so the rich would finally pay their share. For the past fifty years, Republicans have tried to reverse it. They call it “taxing consumption.” That’s code for taxing you while the wealthy pay nothing.
Let’s call it what it is. A tax scheme. One that takes between $1,000 and $3,000 out of your household. One that’s already cost Louisiana’s small businesses $276 million. One that’s dragging our economy toward another recession.
We fixed this once before. We can do it again. But first, we have to reject this scam — and the politicians trying to make you doubt your own eyes and ears.

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