Right now, President Trump's self-described "big, beautiful bill" is being voted on up in Capitol Hill. If you listen to him, of course, it is everything that the country needs to "Make America Great Again."
The reality of this bill, however, is something quite different. Once again, we have a politician at the very highest level here in the United States who is championing even more tax breaks and incentives for the very wealthiest Americans. As Senator Bernie Sanders says in this video - please do yourself a favor a watch the approximately 15 or so minute video - the wealthy have never had it so good in the United States as they do right now.
Yet, despite everyone by now knowing full well that they have everything, it apparently is not enough. Jello Biafra once referred to the ultrarich as "wealth addicts," and I believe that he has a point. The wealth addicts will never have enough. They just want more and more, and feel it is theirs for the taking. Look at Elon Musk, posing before the cameras with a chainsaw, allegedly championing "government efficiency." But he cut real services that people actually use and need, while giving tax breaks and incentives to major corporations. Oh, and the ones which he owns happen to be the prime beneficiaries of these measures.
Then there is Trump. He has always championed more tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and major corporations. Of course, he himself has also always numbered among the wealthiest Americans, right from his birth. Not only does he profit off the presidency by "beautiful deals" that he makes with other countries with his name brands, but he of course gets paid time off for the frankly incredible amount of time that he spends vacationing on his golf courses, all at the expense of the American taxpayers. He is literally profiting off of the American people. Still, he wants more, as that $400 million jet, a "gift of love" as he described it, attests.
Now, he is using the power of the presidency to give himself and his friends and powerful allies - and those who sponsored his presidential campaign, of course - to pass through a bill which will be extremely beneficial to the very wealthiest Americans, at the expense of everyone else, of course. Once again, the American taxpayer will foot the bills of the ultrawealthy. Much needed services will be cut, including medical services, particularly in rural regions, as I understand it. Millions will also lose food assistance, and the national debt will increase by $3.3 trillion. Remember when Trump claimed that he would pay the national debt off in eight years? He broke that promise big time during his first four years, adding more than 25% to the national debt, which was $19.9 trillion when he first assumed office in January of 2017. It was over $25 trillion when he left that first term. And now, his "big, beautiful bill" would add still more to the national debt. Trillions more. All so that the rich can get richer, and the poor can get poorer, while many millions more Americans will slide ever closer, or perhaps right into, poverty.
Trump is what he has always been: a loud, obnoxious, lying con artist. It was scams that he relied on throughout his business career, and this is all well documented and obvious. Unless, of course, you believe that Trump University, Trump Airlines, Trump Magazine, Trump Steaks, Trump Water, Trump Vodka, and Trump casinos were all respectable and successful business ventures, even though none of those exist anymore.
His entire career has been one huge scam. And he scammed his way to the top of the political world, as well. Lying about his past, inflating his ego with idealized mythology of who he is and what he did. He also lied about what he would do once in office, unless you actually believe that he built the wall and made Mexico pay for it, or built a national healthcare system that would be affordable and would cover everyone, or again, he would pay off the national debt in eight years (and if this bill passes, it will likely reach a whopping $40 trillion). Let's remember that for this term, he promised to Make America Great Again starting on Day One, right? Specifically, he promised to lower the price of groceries and gas, and very quickly, at that. But that never happened, did it? Nor did he end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours, as promised. And the one thing which I actually could appreciate about him, that he avoided foreign wars, now seems to be a thing of the past, with those recent airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
At what point will his supporters finally wake up and recognize that they've been had? That they drank the orange Kool Aid that he offered them, and that this has done frankly irreparable harm to the country?
Maybe the question is will they ever wake up enough, or get past their own conceit (or perhaps even embarrassment at having been swindled) to admit that Trump was a stunningly massive and terrible mistake? One which, frankly, seems to increasingly mark the decline of the United States as a respected superpower.
Let's hope that somehow, people come to their senses, and quickly. His second term has been far, far worse than his first term. There really are no guard rails this time, no respectable people in the White House in positions of power, keeping him in relative check. This time around, he surrounded himself with Yes Men and Yes Women, who cater to his every whim, and maintain their elite status within the administration by flattering him and never speaking out, as we slide ever closer to the death of American democracy and closer to a de facto American dictatorship. We're not quite there yet, fortunately. But how much longer can we hold out, especially if we keep allowing Trump to get his way and letting him get away with every trespass?
So again, please watch this video, and let's help each other. One way to do that is to keep abreast of the real issues facing this country, and by telling the truth of what is really happening in this country right now.
Below is a Facebook post by Robert Reich which felt pertinent. Below that, of course, is the video in which Bernie Sanders - the man who should have been president - breaks down just how disastrous this "big, beautiful bill" really will be to the country if it should pass.
Robert Reich's Facebook post, June 30, 2025:
https://www.facebook.com/RBReich/posts/pfbid023K9nGkYbkB35mLhmFQ9jJx8xsaVaM5abFtRdePfnjQrYYBcjbU24rWBHNLSbAeiJl?rdid=ssOm0PjH5cernZsE#
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