The Big Bad Wolf is knocking at your door. Little did we know a few years ago that the Big Bad Wolf would be wearing a red cap.
I’m not referring to the MAGA capped Big Bad Wolf knocking on the
doors of immigrants and those protesting Trump’s positions on Gaza, I’m talking
about YOUR door.
Trump’s tax bill – which he has marketed as the “Big Beautiful
Bill” – negatively impacts everyone in one way or the other.
Loss of net income for 20% of households. According to a study at
Yale, the bottom 20% of wage earners will come out 2.9% less in net earnings,
while the top 20% will experience a 2.2% increase. Meanwhile, the Institute on
Taxation and Economic Policy estimates that the top 1% on average will see
their taxes reduced by $66,000 and specific case studies in Texas saw their top
millionaires getting a tax reduction of $100,000.
Higher electric rates and energy shortages. The bill seeks to kill
renewable energy in favor of coal and other fossil fuel which not only
sacrifices our environment from clean energy to toxic pollutants, but it is
also projected to impact your utility bill. To cripple expansion of clean
energy systems, the bill puts heavy taxes on wind and solar energy projects and
strips away tax credits for homeowners who switch to solar. Senator Brian
Schatz (HI) points out that 80% of new capacity on the grid came from solar
energy last year, and crippling renewable energy systems will “cost people -
ratepayers - $60 Billion in this decade alone. Your electric bills are about to
go up.”
Interest rates on mortgages and the cost of living can go up. A growing national debt
risks increasing interest rates, lowering the country’s credit standing,
weakening the dollar and increasing inflation thus increasing the cost of
living.
According to the bi-partisan Congressional Budget Office that
Congress depends upon for impartial and accurate fiscal analysis of proposed
legislation, Trump’s bill is going to add $3.9 Trillion to our debt. This is
due to extending Trump’s tax cuts to the billionaire class which itself is
projected to amount to a loss of $4 Trillion in revenue. While a shell game is
being conducted to suggest that cuts in services to the public could offset
this lost revenue, huge increases in defense spending of $153 Billion which
includes $25 Billion to fund Trump’s scheme to attempt a dome covering the
continental US to shoot down incoming missiles coupled with multiple tax cuts overrides
the cuts in services and results in massive debt.
Nursing homes can close. A study by Brown University reveals that 579
nursing homes may close because of the bill’s Medicaid cuts.
In-Home Health Care Services will be cut. Two studies indicate that
477,000 health care workers will lose their jobs due to Medicaid cuts meaning
477,000 disabled persons will not continue receiving their in-home care. They
also estimate another 411,000 jobs associated with needed health care will be
lost.
Rural hospitals are expected to close. Independent rural
hospitals are on track to lose an estimated $465 million in total patient
revenue due to the Medicaid cuts in the bill, or an average of $630,665 per
hospital with according to one analysis puts 55 hospitals at risk of shutting
down.
17 Million people will lose health insurance. The CBO estimates the
bill’s changes to health insurance will cost 17 Million people their coverage.
This includes cuts to Medicaid as well as removing the Affordable Care Act’s
subsidies that made purchasing private health insurance affordable to many who
are not eligible for Medicaid but cannot afford private insurance.
Lower income families will lose food assistance. The CBO indicates all of
the 42 Million households who depend on food subsidies will either see lower
amounts of assistance or completely lose food benefits. An example is a single
Multiple Sclerosis adult living on $900 per month. She receives $140 in SNAP to
help with her food costs – which already falls short. She has been advised to
expect that amount to be lowered once Trump’s bill goes into effect. 270,000
homeless are expected to be cut off. Breakfast and lunch programs provided at
schools for children from poor families is being slashed or eliminated.
Less Opportunity to send our children to college. Today’s college students
are dependent upon student loans. The bill changes eligibility requirements to
loans eliminating some households who had previously been eligible; lowers the
maximum amount that can be borrowed annually to $20,000 when the average cost
is $39,000; and makes repayment of loans at a higher percentage of post-graduation
income. The Student Borrower Protection Center estimates college will be
costing these students an additional $3,000 per year.
Clean Energy is being put on the back burner. Tax incentives to assist
people in installing clean energy alternatives in their homes are ending. Tax
incentives to encourage investment and development of wind and solar energy are
ending. War has been declared on electric vehicles: the tax incentives for production
and purchase of electric vehicles are also ending.
Clearly the primary targets for increased wealth in Trump’s tax
policy is the upper 20% of Americans at the expense of the bottom 20% in
particular, with random shots at the middle class. Even more clearly is the
growing autocratic power of Donald Trump who has the ability to drive
Republican legislators into approving a bill that 59% of Americans wanted their
legislators to reject.
And while Trump and the GOP removed safety nets for lower income
households, the disabled and senior citizens, they include a safety net for
themselves by postponing implementation of the Medicaid cuts until after the
November 2026 elections, avoiding being held accountable by their constituents
who will suffer.
Trump has huffed and he has puffed and he has blown our medical,
financial, educational and environmental security down.
