LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Why we protest

Some people question why we are protesting Tesla. We protest because Donald Trump is allowing Elon Musk to dismantle the federal government. Our country is already less secure, and our families’ health, education, and finances are rapidly eroding.

Musk, the wealthiest person in the world primarily from Tesla and SpaceX, spent nearly $300 million to buy Trump the election. As payback, Trump is allowing Musk to use his wealth to tear down the government and further enrich himself through crony government contracts.

Musk claims government should be run like a business, but we need government because its functions cannot be conducted effectively by the private sector. Government exists to serve the public interest, not private profits. No responsible businessperson would deliberately inflict the kind of damage on their own business that Musk is wreaking on our government.

Musk’s massive destruction is already affecting our vulnerable neighbors — cuts in funding for school lunches and food banks leave children and poor families hungry, gutting VA health care leaves veterans uncertain of their mental and physical health, eviscerating Social Security staffing puts seniors’ financial security at risk. Potentially deadly measles is spreading in New Mexico, thanks to our antivaxxer health secretary who is hellbent on making infectious diseases great again.

The scale of the cuts belies the claimed goal of rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse. That is the job of federal inspectors general, who were among the first fired. And where are the purported savings going? To a Musk defense contract for armored Teslas and billions more to come in federal contracts for SpaceX.

We protest because this destruction must be stopped. Weakening Musk’s finances will help put the brakes on this malicious project. Otherwise, all Americans will suffer — unless you are one of the 1 percent.

Alexandria Piland

Rio Rancho