How You Can Tangibly Oppose the Trump Administration Right Now
Stop the Trump Tax Scam 2.0 that slashes healthcare & more to pay for trillions in tax cuts for the rich, ICE, and other terrible things.
By William Rice
As the outrages of the Trump administration mount, many Americans feel helpless. Millions of us recently exercised our constitutional right to protest at “No Kings” events around the country and those kinds of demonstrations are important as an expression of popular will. Our federal courts continue to serve as a bulwark of ordered democracy. But until the midterm congressional elections nearly a year-and-a-half away, it might seem that there is no tangible action we can take as individuals to oppose this rampaging regime.
But there is.
Amidst all the unilateral moves taken by the administration over the past five months–many of them of questionable legality–the biggest single legislative activity has been moving a sprawling bill through Congress that centers on taxes and spending. Having passed the House of Representatives late last month, it is now before the Senate. And though it is likely to change in that chamber, the bulk of it will remain–and remain deeply objectionable to national values. That’s where you come in.
Call, email, text, drop by the offices of your senators–especially if they are Republicans–and tell them you oppose the ridiculously named “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act.” (The Capitol switchboard can be reached at 202-224-3121.) Here are some of the reasons you can cite for your opposition:
It is a massive tax giveaway to the rich. At a time of increasing income and wealth inequality, the last thing we need to do is give more money to the already wealthy. But that’s exactly what this bill would do. Next year the House version would give over two-thirds (69%) of the tax cuts to the highest-income 20% of households, while over a fifth (22%) would go to the top 1%, folks with over $900,000 a year in annual income.
It pays for those high-end tax cuts in part by cutting public services vital to workers and families. The House bill would cut $800 billion from Medicaid–the largest reduction in the program’s 60-year history–which together with cuts to the Affordable Care Act, would throw 16 million people off their health insurance. To the extent the Senate is changing the House healthcare provisions, they are so far even worse than what’s in the House bill, taking away coverage from even more people.
The House version would also make the largest cuts ever to national food aid, a $300 billion reduction in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Millions of people, including children, would face higher grocery prices and eventually hunger.
It hands out over a quarter trillion dollars in business tax cuts. Big business has never been more profitable, yet the bill makes generous changes in how firms can deduct expenses and account for their foreign earnings.
It adds $3 trillion to national debt. Government borrowing in times of national emergency like war and recession is a smart use of federal resources. But borrowing trillions of dollars in order to give more tax cuts mostly to the rich is a reckless practice that runs up interest payments; threatens our nation’s credit rating; and can lead to higher borrowing costs for American families.
When combined with Trump’s tariffs, this bill will leave most Americans worse off. Targeted tariffs against economic antagonists can be a good way to defend American industries and jobs. But Trump’s chaotic, scattershot tariffs on a broad range of goods from friend and foe alike mostly give corporations an excuse to raise consumer prices. When a likely version of the administration’s ever-changing tariff policy is considered alongside the House Republicans’ skewed-to-the-rich budget, 60% of households would face on average $800 in higher costs next year.
There are non-economic reasons to oppose the unwieldy GOP bill. It would, for instance, prohibit federal judges from enforcing their rulings against the administration by holding recalcitrant parties in contempt. A court unable to enforce its rulings is a powerless court; this provision would move us further from a republic and closer to an autocracy.
But the bill is mostly about money, and its purpose is to shift resources from workers and families to the rich and big corporations. That’s the opposite of what we should be doing, so we should let the Senate know we oppose this bill. It’s something you can do right now.