The Quiet Demolition of Public Health
By James B. Greenberg | substack.com/@jamesbgreenberg
A Nation Under Attack—From Within
The most dangerous threats to American lives today aren’t terrorists or rogue viruses—they’re decisions made in backrooms. Public health is being dismantled not by accident, but by design.
What kind of country fires its scientists during a pandemic, strips funding from life-saving agencies, and sells off its health infrastructure to the highest bidder?
Ours.
From Crisis to Campaign
Since the start of Trump’s second term, this erosion has escalated into a full-scale campaign:
- Scientists fired en masse
- CDC, FDA, and HHS gutted
- Budgets slashed not with precision, but with a sledgehammer
This isn’t mismanagement—it’s demolition.
These institutions aren’t being cut because they failed. They’re being broken because they represent something now seen as politically dangerous: public care.
The Excuses Don’t Add Up
The official rationale?
“Saving taxpayer dollars.”
“Streamlining government.”
But these agencies prevent epidemics, drive innovation, and coordinate life-saving responses. Their return on investment is measured not only in dollars, but in lives saved.
If this were truly about reducing waste, we’d be strengthening these institutions—not destroying them.
So What’s It Really About?
Yes, some of it follows the classic playbook:
Break the public sector. Sell it to private contractors.
But this goes deeper than privatization.
What’s happening is a deliberate redefinition of government—of who it serves, and who it leaves behind.
This isn’t just about economics.
It’s about power, and the values behind it.
Governing by Exclusion
Governments are supposed to support the conditions of life—through education, health, infrastructure, and care.
But when the state retreats from those roles, it doesn’t stop governing.
It just governs differently—by deciding whose lives are worth protecting, and whose aren’t.
That’s the shift underway.
Public Health: No Longer a Right
Public health is being redefined as a product, not a right:
- If you can afford it—great.
- If not—good luck.
The elderly, the poor, the disabled—those who depend most on these systems—are now seen as costs, not citizens.
Their deaths aren’t treated as failures.
They’re treated as budgetary efficiencies.
The Ideology Behind It
This isn’t accidental—it’s ideological
I Like very much how you presented “what’s happening to our America” my statement. Thankyou for sharing. Now, what are our options, I really want to be proactive. Ray
I appreciate your comment and intention to be proactive. If the menace isn’t self-imploding by the midterms, we need all hands on deck to vote him out. As you know, he won’t just leave, but if he loses both the Senate and the House, he’s up shit’s creek in terms of power. Then he’ll be impeached again for all the transgressions he is committing.