Tracy Turner

The economic whirlwind sweeping the United States during the presidency of Donald Trump in 2025, and further exacerbated by Elon Musk's business antics, has a disturbing similarity to the initial years of the Great Depression. The economic philosophy that Herbert Hoover and Andrew Mellon promoted in 1929 resulted in a catastrophic economic collapse, and now, with Trump and Musk, there are ominous indications of making the same mistakes all over again.

At the base of the current crisis is not only the volatility of the financial markets but the systematic dismantling of the federal government's capacity to regulate and maintain vital national infrastructure.

New disclosures have revealed a stunning bureaucratic fiasco: federal engineers responsible for monitoring the nation's dams, power plants, and other vital infrastructure have had their federal credit cards revoked. The Draconian punishment has effectively kept them from traveling to the facilities they monitor, preventing them from performing their work. This record-breaking hiatus of government tosses another variable into an already tenuous economic situation; national security and global markets hang in the balance.

Hoover, Mellon, and Prelude to the Great Depression

The 31st president of the United States and his treasury secretary, Andrew Mellon, are permanently cast in the mold of incompetence in managing the economy at the onset of the Great Depression that transpired during his watch.

Hoover's delay in taking decisive action, along with Mellon's stubborn adherence to laissez-faire economics, aggravated the economic downturn and prolonged the country's suffering. Hoover's support for protectionist tariffs, culminating in the Smoot-Hawley Act, and Mellon's insistence on austerity measures, triggered a series of foreign trade retaliations that compounded the economic disaster. These actions impoverished millions of citizens and sent unemployment rates soaring.

The parallels between Hoover's catastrophic economic policies and those of the current Trump administration are both fascinating and horrifying. Trump's protectionist trade policies, meant to close off the U.S. economy from the rest of the world, have been roundly criticized.

By March of 2025, U.S. stock markets were collapsing, with the Nasdaq diving into correction territory and the S&P 500 poised to do the same (Wiltermuth, 2025). Trump's refusal to eliminate the possibility of a recession, an opinion held by his Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as well, has fueled concerns about a protracted economic slump, recalling the uncertainty that prevailed in the early years of the Depression.

Similar to Hoover, the Trump administration has been accused of acting on behalf of narrow interests instead of the broader American citizenry. His tariffs and corporate leadership via Musk's corporate brilliance are a model of governance that works for individual and business interests at the expense of public stability.

Trump and Musk: Policies, Conflicts of Interest, and Infrastructure Decay

Since Trump's trade policies are at the heart of the economic downturn, a second crisis is simmering in the background, one which threatens to undermine the very foundations of the nation's infrastructure. The Trump administration's ad hoc approach to federal infrastructure management is having a direct, and negative, impact on national security and economic resilience. It is now reported that federal engineers—some of whom hold advanced degrees in specialties that include dam engineering, fluid dynamics, nuclear engineering, and epidemiology—have had their federal credit cards revoked.

This has in effect prevented them from traveling to the dams, power plants, and other critical facilities they are supposed to inspect. This decision, stripping them of the authority to fulfill their duties, is of grave concern to the safety and functionality of essential infrastructure across the country.

These engineers, from air traffic controllers to gas and coal plant operators and those in charge of nuclear power plants, are the foundations of a safe national infrastructure system that sustains everything from the power grid to water systems and emergency services. Without the money to travel to their respective sites, these workers are unable to conduct safety inspections, monitor routine maintenance, or respond to emergencies. Essentially, the government has legislatively created a scenario where the people tasked with safeguarding the country's infrastructure are themselves powerless, even though they are still collecting a paycheck.

The effect of this bureaucratic failure is both immediate and long-term. Dams that are critical to flood control and provide water for agriculture, industry, and power generation cannot be operated safely without the engineers' knowledge that makes them safe. Similarly, nuclear plants, gas and coal-powered plants, and other critical energy infrastructure are put at greater risk without monitoring. That these technicians cannot go to the sites they are responsible for not only increases the danger of breakdowns and accidents, but also jeopardizes the round-the-clock operation of systems that millions of Americans rely on daily.

This regulatory debacle adds another layer of instability to an already fragile economy, particularly as the U.S. grapples with mounting geopolitical strife and ongoing trade wars. The unpredictability of Trump's trade policies, compounded by Musk's corporate woes, further destabilizes the environment in which these critical infrastructure systems must operate.

National and International Ramifications

The implications of these federal debacles echo well beyond U.S. shores. Globally, markets already are reacting to economic uncertainty wrought by Trump's tariffs and Musk's corporate behavior. The March 2025 stock market sell-off—the particularly steep drops in the tech-heavy Nasdaq—demonstrates the interconnectedness of global markets. With U.S. infrastructure under increasing threat from the lack of oversight, global supply chains and energy markets can anticipate disabling disruption.

The collapse of U.S. infrastructure would ripple across the board, from energy markets to manufacturing, agriculture, and technology, and would have a profound impact on not only the U.S. but economies worldwide.

Foreigners will avoid investing in a nation whose key infrastructure is crumbling, which will further accelerate the economic decline. Aside from that, America's infrastructure weakness is also a risk to national security. Failing to properly secure dams and power plants may make critical systems more susceptible to sabotage or accidents, which can result in the loss of lives and reduce the public's confidence in the government's ability to keep people safe.

The Helplessness of Leadership: Hoover, Mellon, Trump, and Musk

Just as the reckless policies of Hoover and Mellon in 1929, the leadership of Trump and Musk reveal a grave lack of vision and responsibility. Hoover's doctrine of self-healing markets coupled with Mellon's policy of austerity failed to address the issues of the American economy during the 1920s.

Similarly, Trump's trade policy and disregard for infrastructure soundness—just as Musk's business priority—illustrate inability or unwillingness to serve the interests of the ordinary American. Trump and Musk are perceived to place personal wealth and corporate aspiration over the well-being of the public good, the same as Hoover and Mellon during the Depression.

One can see this lack of fiduciary responsibility in the men Trump and Musk as a dangerous analogy in the failures of their historical antecedents. There is a clear trend in the lack of sound leadership in Trump and his tariffs, and Musk's corporate influence and the disregard of the basic infrastructure that might be expected in leveling U.S. businesses. This pattern is duplicated in the breakdown of federal regulation and the erosion of the government's responsibility to protect its citizens.

The economic policies of President Trump and Elon Musk in 2025 bear an eerie similarity to the ill-fated policies of Herbert Hoover and Andrew Mellon during the Great Depression. Both duos of leaders have demonstrated ineptitude in the management of economic crises, with greater focus on personal agenda than on the well-being of the populace.

In addition, the bureaucratic failure of the federal government in the critical infrastructure—where Ph.D.s in dam engineering, fluid dynamics, and epidemiology, along with engineers, have been barred from traveling and conducting critical work—brings the present crisis to a whole new level, risking the very systems that American society relies on.

As with the Great Depression, these failures will not only affect the U.S. economy but also ripple through the world's markets, infrastructure, and national security. History seems to be in the process of repeating itself, and if radical change is not undertaken, both the U.S. and the world will experience even greater trauma.

The Trump-Musk Project 2025 is not merely a political or economic issue; it is a multifaceted crisis that intertwines governance, corporate influence, and infrastructure decay. The deactivation of federal credit cards for engineers is an indicator of a greater system breakdown, one that points to the susceptibility of the nation's infrastructure and the volatility of its economy. This bureaucratic chaos is more than a logistical breakdown; it is a stark reflection of a deeper malaise that afflicts the current administration.

The Human Cost of Administrative Incompetence

The engineers singled out by this policy are not nameless bureaucrats; they are highly skilled professionals whose technical knowledge is crucial to the maintenance and safety of the nation's infrastructure. Their careers have been spent ensuring the integrity of systems upon which millions of Americans depend daily. By removing their authority to perform their work, the government is not only undermining the integrity of the systems but also the morale and productivity of its employees.

The human toll of such neglect cannot be exaggerated. Engineers are professionally disabled when they are not able to carry out safety inspections or attend to emergencies. For all their technical knowledge, they are unable to do their job. This causes avoidable stresses on them and heightens the likelihood of catastrophic failures with horrific implications for public safety.

Broader Implications for Public Trust

Loss of public confidence in government institutions is another significant result of such administrative collapse. When the infrastructure required to run a system collapses and those in charge are left helpless, there is an effective message conveyed to the public that the government does not have the will and capability to safeguard its citizens. That lost faith would have vast and sweeping implications, not just on the present administration but in the overall context of the politics.

Public trust is a cornerstone of democratic governance, and its erosion can lead to increased political polarization, social unrest, and broad disillusionment with the political process. The Trump-Musk Project 2025, in its placement of private and corporate interests over public interests, is perpetuating this trend, fueling an already volatile political environment.

The Role of Corporate Influence

Elon Musk's role in this crisis cannot be overlooked. As one of the most influential figures in corporate America, Musk's actions and choices have a significant impact on the economy and public policy. His business interests, established at the expense of broader societal issues, are a key contributor to the present economic crisis.

Musk's influence extends far beyond his companies; his actions have a ripple effect across industries, influencing market trends, government policy, and popular opinion. The intersection of Musk's corporate interests and Trump's political interests is a potent overlap of personal and corporate agendas that are often at odds with the interests of the general public.

Sources:

• Hawkins, A. (2025, March 10). Elon Musk's Influence and the Economy: A Closer Look. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/10/business/elon-musk-trump-economy
• Sullivan, M. P. (2009). Herbert Hoover: A Reconsideration. Journal of American History, 96(1), 38-58.
• Wiltermuth, J. (2025, March 10). Stock market's worst day of 2025 fueling Nasdaq bear-market fears. MarketWatch. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/stock-markets-worst-day-of-2025

The Trump-Musk Project 2025: A Comparison of Hoover and Mellon's 1929 Policies and the Threats to U.S. Infrastructure

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