Say what you will about Trump, Mike thought. Jobs are coming back.
Harmony Auto Electric roared with life. Mike knew nothing about electronics, but now, sober, he took pride in flying right and doing quality work. His production numbers were decent, and his hand was steady. Inside, Mike Kowalski, a 48-year-old worker, tightened down a Torx screw. Thanks to Trump's tax cuts, Councilman Miller Caldwell proclaimed, Harmony Auto Electric was experiencing a new renaissance. (It had never had an old one, but that did not matter.)
Trump took children from families trying to escape Honduran gang violence at the southern border, but Mike ignored the FM radio reports about it playing over ceiling speakers. Trump was his man. Mike knew nothing of Honduran gang violence and would not give two fucks about it anyway if he did know.
Mikes wife, Sarah, worked two part-time jobs. Their teenage son, Ethan, dreamed of college, but the cost was a constant worry. Still, with Mike working again, Sarah imagined ways to make their plans happen. The Kowalski family was making progress, but the optimism was short-lived. COVID-19 came to town.
Harmony Auto Electric was hit hard by COVID. Supply chains broke down. Essential shipments stalled. Social distancing requirements meant fewer people on the factory floor. Reduced shifts cut into paychecks. "We're not just dealing with a virus," said Mr. Caldwell, the factory owner, at a somber press conference. "We're dealing with excess regulations, in a climate where business has slowed. Reduced hours are necessary to keep everyone safe. We know it's affecting families, but these are hard decisions that have to be made."
Ethan couldn't afford the laptop he needed for online classes. The family rationed groceries. After COVID, things improved a bit, but Mike felt cheated. Life was a little better than during the shutdown, but Mike was convinced things would be better if Biden weren't president. If his man Trump was back in. Biden was like a ghost. Mike wished the January 6th patriots had taken Biden down.
When voting time came again, Mike was ready.
Then came the news that shattered Mike's world. Aggressive cancer. Expensive treatments. A layoff notice. The pink slip was a death sentence. "We're streamlining operations," Mr. Caldwell explained. "Your position is no longer needed." Reciprocal tariffs means we must cut production. Mike's employer-provided health insurance vanished. Now he faced life-saving treatment or financial ruin. Mike applied for Medicaid, but his online application was ignored. His phone calls went unanswered. Agency office doors were locked.
Things got worse when President Trump made his 2017 tax cuts permanent. Slashing social programs to balance lost revenue. "We have to make hard decisions and tough choices to make America great again," Trump declared. "But prosperity is right around the corner."
Mr. Caldwell announced record profits for Harmony Auto Electric to his shareholders. Stock buybacks and tax savings made life good for Mr. Caldwell.
As Mike's health deteriorated, a friend showed him documents revealing that Mr. Caldwell had used offshore accounts to avoid paying taxes on factory profits. He had also funneled government COVID relief funds into those same accounts. The contrast couldn't have been starker. While Mike struggled to survive. Caldwell thrived. Mike's cancer then progressed rapidly, lack of any treatment did him in. Mike died at home, surrounded by family. In his final moments, he still mouthed praises about the man whose policies had denied him the care that would have saved him. The treatments he was denied turned out to be highly effective for the kind of cancer Mike had.
Harmony's factory eventually closed. Ethan, burdened by school debt and grief, left for the West Coast, searching for any work he could find.
