"Big, Beautiful Bill" is Robbing Working-Class Americans

The reverse Robin Hood agenda of the Felon and today's morally bankrupt Republican Party is on open display in the "big beautiful bill" passed by Republicans in Congress at the Felon's bidding.  Ironically, far too many working class Americans stupidly voted for the Felon and Republicans believing the lie that they'd do a better job on the economy.  Instead of benefitting under this regime, they are enduring (i) higher prices thanks in no small part due to the Felon's tariffs, (ii) continued high interest rates urged on by the huge projected increase to the national debt, and (iii) the slashing and plundering of many government social programs upon which many in the working class rely on given their often barely living wages.  "Owning the libs" and supposedly bashing the "elites" is coming at a very, very high cost. And the worse impacts disingenuously - and by calculated design - will not occur until after the 2026 mid-term elections with the hope that these same voters can once again be duped into voting against their own interest. One has to wonder what it will take to get these voters to open their eyes to how they have been betrayed.  An editorial in the Virginian-Pilot looks at how the working class and middle class have been robbed to benefit the rich:

The “One Big, Beautiful Bill” that passed through Congress is a raw deal for working-class Americans. It should be called the “Billionaire Bailout Bill.” At the center of the bill is a cruel tradeoff: deep Medicaid cuts that rip healthcare away from millions in exchange for tax breaks and corporate handouts to the top 1%. It spurs a massive transfer of wealth from those who can least afford it to those who need it the least.

The bill’s supporters call it a “fiscally responsible” package, but it adds $3 trillion to the deficit. The truth is, this bill demands sacrifice only from one side of America: working families, rural communities, seniors and people with disabilities who rely on Medicaid to survive.

By capping Medicaid spending and shifting costs to states, the bill sets the stage for devastating coverage losses, longer wait times and fewer services. It is death by a thousand bureaucratic cuts — and it is intentional.

These cuts are about making room for massive tax breaks at the top. While families struggling to pay for insulin or mental health care are told to tighten their belts, the wealthiest Americans and the corporations they own are handed billions in tax giveaways. The same people telling us the country “can’t afford” to care for our most vulnerable somehow find endless room in the budget for private jets and stock buybacks.

Let’s be clear: Medicaid is not a handout. It is a lifeline. Nearly 80 million Americans rely on it — including children, pregnant women, people with disabilities, the elderly and workers in low-wage jobs that don’t provide health insurance. Slashing this program doesn’t just harm those directly affected. It weakens hospitals, especially in rural areas, where Medicaid dollars keep the lights on. It forces families to choose between medicine and groceries. It erodes the very foundation of public health.

And what are we getting in return? The Billionaire Bailout Bill is filled with loopholes and giveaways to industries that already rake in record profits. Hedge funds, private equity firms and pharmaceutical giants get sweetheart deals while community clinics prepare for layoffs and service cuts. Private-equity moguls still get to pay lower tax rates than truck drivers and nurses. This isn’t bad policy — it’s theft. It’s taking from those with nothing to spare and giving it to those who already have everything.

According to Americans for Tax Fairness, “The tax provisions of this legislation cannot be viewed in isolation from the rest of the legislative package. In its entirety, this reconciliation package proposes the most radical transfer of wealth from low- and middle-income families to wealthy households in American history.”

And with this bill adding trillions of dollars to our national debt, it is now the burden of younger Americans to pay for it.

We should be furious, not just at what’s in this bill but at the process itself and our representatives who act remorseless in the face of the American hardship they just voted for.

I agree with the Catholic bishops who condemned the bill stating, “The Catholic Church’s teaching to uphold human dignity and the common good compels us to redouble our efforts and offer concrete help to those who will be in greater need.”

The One Big, Beautiful Bill may be beautiful to multinational corporations and CEOs, but it’s a disaster for the rest of us. We need to stop pretending that austerity for the poor and abundance for the rich is “reform.”

It’s not reform — it’s theft.