How breaking government breaks democracy

When most people hear “authoritarianism,” they tend to imagine tanks in the streets or elections being canceled overnight.

But democracy is usually undone more quietly — through budget cuts, layoffs and the slow dismantling of the institutions we rely on every day. One of the fastest ways to weaken a democracy is to break the government from the inside. You target the people who make it work and make those who rely on them suffer by default. When people no longer trust that the government will serve them, democracy becomes expendable.

This is Step 4 in the autocrat’s playbook.And in few places is the destruction more visible than at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

Tens of thousands of Georgians work at the CDC or support its directive to protect the lives of Americans. They’re our neighbors. They are parents picking up kids from school. They’re scientists who keep us informed during illnesses. They track outbreaks and help local health departments do their jobs.

When Albany, Georgia, became a COVID-19 hotspot in 2020 — holding the No. 5 spot in coronavirus cases and deaths — it was the role of the CDC to understand how to defend lives in the region.

Whether it was the coronavirus or the bird flu, Georgians knew that the medical knowledge was centered right up 75 and 85. Yet now, the vital charge of the CDC — and the livelihoods of those who serve the public good — is being deliberately hollowed out by the Trump administration.

Step 4 in the authoritarian playbook is simple: break the government by breaking the people who make it function. You don’t have to abolish agencies outright. You just take away their funding, politicize them and push out anyone who won’t comply.

That’s what we’re watching with the gutting of the CDC and the broader federal workforce. 

What began with the CDC is spreading. In a few weeks, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs plans to slash 35,000 health care jobs, including here in Georgia, a state where 7.6% of the population — or nearly 700,000 residents — are veterans.

Despite being chronically understaffed, the VA, like the CDC, will be asked to do critical, life-saving work with fewer people, fewer resources and fewer backup plans. 

When Republicans eviscerate funding, freeze hiring, conduct mass firings or shut down the government entirely, they are sending a message: Do not trust us. Public service doesn’t matter. The needs of the people don’t matter. Only power does.

For Georgia, the stakes are enormous. The CDC helps protect us from outbreaks of measles, flu, foodborne illnesses and emerging diseases. It supports state and county health departments — especially in rural communities that already struggle to get basic care.

Given that agriculture is an economic engine, we have long relied on the CDC to spot problems before they can ravage communities. So, when the CDC is weakened, Georgians pay the price first.

Now, with cuts decimating veterans’ health care, the harm will spread — and the solutions will be even harder to come by. But that’s the point.

Authoritarians want the government to fail in visible ways so people stop believing it can help them at all. When inspections slow, data disappears and responses lag, people understandably ask, “Why doesn’t government work?”

When those who defended our nation cannot get a doctor’s appointment or a prescription, they will wonder if their sacrifices were in vain. Yet most good people won’t blame sabotage — they will simply believe democracy failed to deliver because it’s useless.

They won’t use the words, but the sentiment will take root. Disappointment becomes disengagement, and shared trust in the social contract transforms into disbelief that it’s worth the fight. 

What’s happening now builds on years of attacks — politicizing public health, demonizing scientists and using budget battles as leverage to further erode services. This Republican authoritarian regime has been explicit about their goal: dismantle government and remake it into a hotbed of privatization and corruption.

However, the most insidious truth is that the damage is not always immediate or dramatic. The CDC will still issue reports, but the science is sketchy. VA offices will stay open, but getting an appointment takes even longer. Public service will feel more broken due to teacher shortages at Head Start and a lack of help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Fewer people will be willing to speak up when something’s wrong. Over time, competence drains away, and trust follows. Eventually, a small “d” democratic government stops being something that serves everyone and becomes something that only serves the powerful.

That’s why defending good government matters and why speaking up for civil servants and bureaucrats is an act of bravery. Making sure democracy delivers is not a talking point; it’s a matter of self-interest.

These workers are scientists, nurses, inspectors, veterans and public servants who chose stability over profit because they believed in serving the public. Attacking them is attacking Georgia families and our future.

If Trump and Republicans succeed, the consequences ripple outward and include weaker public health, fewer protections, more privatization and a public that’s been taught not to expect anything from democracy at all.

That’s the warning — and Georgia is once again on the front lines.

Stacey Abrams is a bestselling author, entrepreneur and host of the podcast “Assembly Required.” She previously served as minority leader in the Georgia House of Representatives.