1. United States
2. Fla.
3. Letter

How a nation spends its money is a relation of its morals. A lot of actions undertaken by Elon Musk, the executive branch, and the recent budget proposed by the House speak volumes about our moral failings. When you kneecap USAID, you tell the world we no longer care whether they live or die. You tell our own American farmers that we don't value the food they put on our tables. When you threaten to dissolve the CFPB, you tell American consumers that you don't give a damn whether they get ripped off. You don't value their hard-earned wages. You don't think their labor and spending keep our world-best economy strong. When you say you want to end Medicaid and you fire over 1000 people from the VA, you tell millions of people, many of them veterans, that you don't much care if they get help when they're sick. The list of agencies under attack is getting too long to fit in a single letter. That's not frugality or austerity. It's orders of magnitude more cruel. It's vile. It appears to many folks that what's happening right now is a wholesale dismantling of our government. This is all so far beyond policy, downsizing, or auditing. This is an attack on American citizens and the citizens of hundreds of nations who we effectively lead and mentor. This is the United States surrendering its place as the leader of the world. We're turning our backs on our allies while simultaneously refusing to take care of our own. None of this ends well, not for you, not for me. You're sinking the ship right out from under our feet, for reasons that I don't really understand. The world is turning on us, and no one can save us if you sink this country. If that happens, it will take a lot more than money and the cachet of being a former US legislator to keep you afloat. I, along with millions of other Americans who you represent, will likely fare even worse than you. I think you know that. But your actions lately make it seem like you just don't care. I'd love it if you proved us wrong. Get Elon Musk out of our business. Stand up to the bullies in the executive branch who are laser-focused on dismantling Medicaid, the Department of Education, USAID, CFPB, and countless other agencies. Why you haven't done so yet is baffling. Why do you want to destroy all of this anyway? Really, what's it to you? How does any of this destruction make us a greater nation? You never can give a straight answer to that question. This has all gone too far. You have to put a stop to this, you simply have to. We're headed for a collapse the likes of which this world has never seen. Do you truly want to be one of the people who preside over such a disaster?