NYT Discovers Trump Cut Funding, Not Just Democrats
The NYT's analysis laments staffing reductions and a 'power struggle' at the NLRB under Trump, implying this was a novel attack on worker protections. Yet, previous administrations, including Obama's, also faced criticism for underfunding and under-enforcing labor law, often pressured by the very corporate donors who ensure both parties stay 'business-friendly'. Specific bills like the 2011 Budget
Control Act (supported by many Democrats) tightened all agency budgets, including the NLRB's, reducing its inflation-adjusted funding by 15% between 2010 and 2017, a trend that began well before Trump. It’s almost as if the 'festering disputes' aren't just a recent Trumpian invention, but a bipartisan strategy to weaken worker power by defunding enforcement mechanisms. One might wonder why decades
of bipartisan legislative and executive maneuvers to hollow out such agencies are rarely framed with the same urgent hand-wringing until a convenient villain emerges.