Most of us were looking forward to 2017 with hope that it would be a far better year than 2016. Not happening yet.

Now is when we get to see the real direction our new all-Republican government takes us. So far, it’s in a direction I haven’t seen in my lifetime.

What’s happening to our young democracy makes me fear for its longevity. Indeed, this is not normal.

Is it possible for the U.S. to become a single-party nation? Republicans now control the White House, the Senate, the House, the Supreme Court (if Chief Justice Roberts allows Republicans what should have been President Obama’s nomination), and 33 out of 50 Republican governors.

It would be extremely difficult for Republicans to ever let anything like what they have now out of their tight grasp.

The Republican slogan has long been tax cuts. They might not have mentioned that the tax cuts will be adding up into the trillions of dollars — the lion’s share for the rich, of course. The more you make, the bigger tax cut you receive. Republicans still want you to believe that money trickles from the rich directly on down to the poor, the hungry, the needy. It’s just never worked out that way and they know it never will.

So where will the federal government get their revenue dollars if not from taxes on the rich?

That’s right. Cut back those pesky social programs that have been in place to give the underprivileged a helping hand in need since 1930.

The war on the poor will most likely begin with Obamacare and its immediate repeal. This will be their 61st try; this must be the lucky one. They keep saying they will replace it at the same time that it’s repealed, but it’s getting harder to imagine.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, President Trump, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and their hard-right cohorts have only contempt toward antipoverty programs. Recommended cuts include (besides Obamacare) such programs as Medicaid, food stamps, minimum wage increases, unemployment insurance, Head Start, CHIPS, and housing and energy assistance. The solution for Medicaid will be block-granting it back to the states, now-Vice President Mike Pence told ABC.

We should also not forget the costs of President Trump’s border wall, the cost of deporting millions of illegal workers, as well as a significantly built-up military.

New York Times’ Maureen Dowd quoted Trump in a 1999 column as saying, “My entire life, I’ve watched politicians bragging about how poor they are, how they came from nothing, how poor their parents and grandparents were … How smart can they be? They’re morons.”

Bob Herbert of Bill Moyer’s website wrote:

“Trump’s approach will likely align with Ryan’s, since his fundamental take on poverty is that people are poor because they are not willing to work. In an interview with Sean Hannity last year, Trump was asked if he would be able to lift America’s 50 million poor people out of poverty.

“ ‘I would,’ said Trump. ‘I would create incentives for people to work. People don’t have an incentive. They make more money by sitting there doing nothing than they make if they have a job.’

“That, of course, was ominous. The man who is now president-elect did not seem to know that the majority of those who are poor in America are children, people with disabilities and seniors. Nor did he seem to understand that many adults who are poor actually have jobs and are working every day,” Herbert adds.

As for Medicare and Social Security, Ryan has his mind set on changing them as well.

The New York Times’ Paul Krugman wrote:

“Converting Medicare into a voucher system would also amount to a severe benefit cut, partly because it would lead to lower government spending, partly because a significant fraction of spending would be diverted into the overhead and profits of private insurance companies. And raising the retirement age for Social Security would hit especially hard among Americans whose life expectancy has stagnated or declined, or who have disabilities that make it hard for them to continue working.”

Remember, we the people need to stand up for the rights of each other now because, it appears, the government plans on removing its helping hand — at least to the non-rich. More to come about how to help protect our most vulnerable Americans and our own futures.

— Contact columnist Marylin Olds at marylin.olds@gmail.com.