 The so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” is being sold as a fiscally responsible course correction. But peel back the talking points, and it becomes clear: this isn’t about budgets. It’s about priorities.
If enacted, the bill would slash core programs--Medicaid, SNAP, housing assistance, and public health infrastructure—disproportionately affecting low-income, rural, elderly, and disabled Americans. Meanwhile, the top 10% of earners stand to gain thousands annually in tax breaks. It’s not reform. It’s a regressive transfer of wealth, taking from those with the least and rewarding those with the most. The deeper danger? Not just economic fallout, but political fatigue. These cuts don’t hit all at once. They arrive quietly—through delayed care, rising homelessness, closed rural hospitals, and overburdened schools. And when the pain surfaces, blame is often redirected. This moment mirrors past collapses—when middle classes eroded, hope vanished, and revolutions didn’t begin with rage, but with resignation. 📘 In my full-length Substack essay, I unpack the bill’s mechanics, trace its historical parallels to the fall of the Whigs and the Roman Republic, and lay out what citizens can still do to stop the damage. 👉 Read the full essay here
0 Comments
“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” — Mark Twain As a Navy veteran, lifelong student of history, and someone who’s spent decades navigating complex systems in the business world, I’ve always believed that pattern recognition is one of the most underrated skills we can cultivate. That’s why I wrote this new white paper: History Rhymes: What the Fall of the Roman Republic Tells Us About American Polarization. It’s not alarmist, and it’s not a screed. It’s a sober, sourced, and accessible comparison between the late stages of the Roman Republic and the growing dysfunction in today’s American democracy. Rome didn’t fall in a single coup—it frayed over decades. Economic disparity, elite corruption, political violence, and populist spectacle slowly unraveled a system that had lasted five centuries. I explore how:
This paper isn’t a history lesson for the sake of nostalgia. It’s a roadmap and a warning. 📄 Read the full essay on my Substack here: History Rhymes: What the Fall of the Roman Republic Tells Us About American Polarization 📝 For context, I’ve also previously written about Trump and Charles X—a Bourbon king whose stubbornness paved the way for a different kind of revolution. Sometimes, history is a mirror. Other times, it’s a caution sign. Let’s not ignore either. In Part I, I drew the historical line between Charles X of France and Donald Trump. Both rose to power on promises of restoration. Both alienated legislatures. Both flirted with silencing dissent. Charles went too far. Trump might, too.
So what happened when Charles X crossed the line? The answer lies in events that started 26 July 1830. Charles issued a set of repressive orders known as the July Ordinances, which:
By the morning of July 27, Parisians revolted. Workers, students, and even some middle-class citizens took to the streets. What followed wasn’t a chaotic civil war—but a highly focused push to defend civil rights and constitutional government. Despite personal risk, the media took the lead in keeping citizens of France informed and helped kick off the revolution. Tradesmen, workers and merchants followed suit. Charles abdicated, fled to Britain, and the monarchy was replaced (briefly) by a constitutional regime. What can that teach us? Resisting Autocracy Doesn't Require Violence The July Revolution worked not because it burned everything down, but because it focused on defending institutions, not destroying them. The press played a critical role. So did moderate politicians who refused to accept illegal decrees. Today, we’re not facing royal ordinances, but we are looking at:
The Power of Civil Society In 1830 France, it was the teachers, printers, municipal workers--not just elites—who resisted. They refused to implement illegal orders, slowed down compliance, and gave people space to act. Here in the U.S., we’ll need:
Final Thought: The Resistance Is Already Here If President Trump continues to try to govern like Charles X, the institutions that survive will be the ones willing to say "no"—even when it’s hard. The American republic won’t be saved by spectacle. It will be saved by professionals, institutional guardians, people who know their history and hopefully the rest of us. The July Revolution was three days. But its effects rippled across Europe. Let’s learn something from it. Sources & Citations: Back in college, I took a politics class on revolutionary France. Not just Robespierre and guillotines, but what came after: republic, monarchy, collapse, and more monarchy, etc. That's when I first encountered Charles X (or Charles the Dull), the last Bourbon king of France. At the time, I thought of him as just another bland royal with a bad legacy. But these days? He looks a lot like the current occupant of the White House.
Many compare President Trump to the Austrian Corporal that had a hold on Germany in the 1930s and early 1940s. I get it—the nationalist tone, the loyalty tests, the disregard for institutions. But if you're going to pull from European history, Charles X might be the better analog. Charles X ruled France from 1824 to 1830, and spent his time in power trying to return France to a bygone "golden" age. He:
Eventually, his obsession with restoring the past and bypassing elected bodies triggered the July Revolution of 1830. After just three days of unrest, Charles abdicated and fled. Donald Trump’s playbook doesn’t look so different:
Like Charles, Trump seems focused on loyalty over competency, legacy over liberty, and personal grievance over public service. Where This Could Go? History doesn’t repeat, but it rhymes (Mark Twain) . Charles X's France didn’t fall into civil war, but it did spiral into political instability, reactionary succession, and eventually authoritarianism under Napoleon III. His attempt to restore an imagined past created a vacuum of leadership and legitimacy. Will the second Trump term follow a similar path? Maybe not in three days like the July Revolution—but it could erode American institutions to the point where something more unstable replaces them. This is Part I of a two-part series. In Part II, I’ll explore what Charles X’s downfall and the July Revolution teach us about resistance, resilience, and recovery. Sources & Citations: |
AuthorAxel Newe is a strategic partnerships and GTM leader with a background in healthcare, SaaS, and digital transformation. He’s also a Navy veteran, cyclist, and lifelong problem solver. Lately, he’s been writing not just from the field and the road—but from the gut—on democracy, civic engagement, and current events (minus the rage memes). This blog is where clarity meets commentary, one honest post at a time. ArchivesCategories
All
|
RSS Feed