The Independence Day Sucka Punch

I don’t like being the bearer of bad news, but looking out for my community is more important to me than being cast as a messenger of gloom. On July 4 while you were grilling burgers or still cleaning up from a man-made disaster, the MAGA regime signed into law a bill that will beat you down a few more economic notches.  Because it is the biggest transfer of wealth in modern U.S. history, it cements the financial standing of the white billionaire class for decades to come.

The sucka punch may seem like it came out of nowhere. It did not. It started with a big tax cut for the wealthy during trump’s first term. This is one of the most devious, calculated pieces of legislation in a long time. Amidst distractions and disinformation, most Americans could not focus on the bill or resistance to it with all of the distractions and disinformation swirling around them. 

The Republicans were ruthless in their timeline: the most harmful components don’t kick in until after the midterm elections. This is just in case the Democrats get the House and Senate back in 2016. Then they’ll be left holding the bag, trying to mitigate the damage, and deflecting the blame while Republicans and their buddies count the billions extorted from taxpayers. 

Here are  some of the ugly bill’s highlights that are anything but liberating:

Deep cuts to social safety net programs

It means $186 billion in SNAP cuts and over $1 trillion dollars in Medicaid cuts. Nearly 12 million people will lose health insurance over the next decade, and the measure would throw health care systems into a downward tailspin. Rural hospitals and centers are closing, especially in already struggling Red states. 

Big increases to defense spending including anti-immigration efforts.

The Pentagon can expect $1 trillion for its budget for domestic and foreign bullying. A whopping $350 billion has been allocated to border security. This includes $46 billion for a border wall, $45 billion for detention centers such as Alligator Alcatraz, the hiring of 10,000  ICE agents and the outsourcing of detainees to other countries like El Salvador.

Clean energy tax credits and subsidies to be greatly reduced or eliminated

This piece has pissed Elon Musk off because he won’t get subsidies for his precious Teslas. We should be more concerned that the action will set back years of environmental activism for sources of renewable energy like solar and the deregulation of outdated energy industries like coal. Over time, it also means higher utility bills for working people.

An estimate $5.0 trillion will be added to the national debt 

U.S. debt is currently at $36.2 trillion. The MAGA minions are glad that most people don’t understand the national debt and its relationship to their household finances. What it basically means is the inflation and interest rates are bound to increase. National economic growth is slowed, and foreign investors are less than eager to take a risk on U.S. investments. All increases in costs for goods and services will always be passed on to consumers so that the greedy corporate sectors maintain their mega profits.

Even concessions like relief on child tax credits and no taxes on tips are smoke and mirrors. The moratorium on taxes on tips is only for three years.

Any belief that the Big Ugly Bill benefits the majority of working people is pure delusion. The pain of the bill will be merciless, but it is making it clearer how we must organize and who are the targets. The MAGA base will be big losers so there’s also the potential for new allies.

As the safety nets are destroyed and the regulations in favor of the wealthy are eliminated, we must face the reality that our salvation lies with us. We don’t have the luxury of wasting time with leaders and politicians with pipe dreams and empty promises. We must be singing in harmonizing unison, “we are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”