This summer, Republicans voted to slash taxes for billionaires and corporations, drastically scale back the social safety net, and send spending skyrocketing for both the Pentagon and ICE. Those decisions are part of what’s driving our political crises to a head this fall.
This week in OtherWords, Karen Dolan explains how the “Big Beautiful Bill” set a ticking time bomb for America’s health system that’s about to start exploding. As tax credits for health insurance expire and Medicaid faces steep cuts, she explains, millions of Americans are about to see huge premium increases or lose coverage altogether. But with the GOP refusing to reverse those changes in a bill to fund the government, the impasse has brought us to a shutdown.
That bill also deeply cut SNAP benefits. Ta’Kyla Bates shares this week about the importance of “food stamp days” growing up, when her low-income family would go to the grocery store together and cook a special Sunday dinner. But not only are benefits being cut, she warns, but the administration is also canceling a regular federal report on who’s even hungry, raising the risk that we’ll lose data about hunger in this country just as it spikes.
On the other side of the ledger, ICE and the Pentagon are flusher than ever — dangerously so. Rounding out our package this week, Peter Montgomery condemns the administration’s all too literal war on American cities like Chicago and Portland. And Alliyah Lusuegro shares the silver lining finding that the more Americans see of the administration’s immigration crackdown, the less they support it.
New This Week…
The Health Care Emergency Behind the Government Shutdown | Karen Dolan
Health care costs are about to skyrocket for working Americans, but GOP lawmakers are prioritizing tax breaks for the wealthy.
Declaring War on the American People | Peter Montgomery
The White House’s war on “the enemy within” is dangerous, unconstitutional, and grounded in lies.
Stop Trump’s SNAP Coverup | Ta’Kyla Bates
The administration isn’t just cutting food benefits for hungry kids. It’s canceling federal research into who’s even hungry.
The More Americans See of Trump’s Immigration Crackdown, The Less They Like It | Alliyah Lusuegro
Amid a wave of attacks on migrants, 80 percent of Americans now say immigration is good for this country — a record high.
In Case You Missed It…
Privatizing the VA Will Be a Disaster for Rural Vets | Suzanne Gordon and Steve Early
Forcing millions of veterans out of the VA and into our crumbling rural hospitals will hurt both vets and their communities.
RFK Threatens a Century of Medical Progress | Sonali Kolhatkar
The antivaxxer-in-chief may lead us back to an era of long-eradicated diseases.
Christian Nationalism Is Neither Christian Nor Patriotic | Rev. Dr. Caleb Lines and Rev. Dr. Mark Sandlin
As Christian pastors, we believe that when power is cloaked in piety, our nation is neither faithful nor free.
AI Is a Dangerous Billionaire Boondoggle | Kendra Kay
Billionaires want to use your tax dollars to put nuclear-powered AI data centers in drought-prone farmland. What could go wrong?
