David Cay Johnston on Trump's Power Grabs and Economic Policies

Trump's "Billionaire Welfare" Bill

• 💰 The "one big beautiful bill" is described as a billionaire welfare and tax avoidance bill, not a triumph of democracy.
• 🤥 Trump is accused of lying about the bill's benefits, such as claims of eliminating taxes on tips, overtime, and Social Security, which are only partially true for a limited number of people.
• 📉 The bill subsidizes companies that move jobs offshore and offers a reduced tax rate on offshore profits for American companies.
• ⛽ It incentivizes more fossil fuel burning and replaces subsidies for solar and wind with taxes, leading to higher consumer prices.

Impact on Healthcare and Social Services

• ⚠️ Cuts to Medicaid and Medicare, slated to begin in 2027 (after the 2026 elections), will lead to the closure of hundreds of rural hospitals.
• 🏥 This will significantly increase travel times for critical medical care, impacting rural and Appalachian communities.
• 👵 Nursing homes, largely reliant on Medicaid and Medicare, will also face severe cuts.
• 💸 Even those with employer-provided health insurance will see increased costs as private insurers raise rates to compensate for hospital closures.

Trump's Consolidation of Power

• 👑 Trump, who declared himself a dictator in February, is actively consolidating power by replacing competent generals with less qualified individuals, often based on gender or minority status.
• ⚖️ He threatens to prosecute election officials if election results are not to his liking and sues perceived critics.
• 💸 Trump has extorted over $100 million from media companies, including CBS's parent company Paramount, to approve sales or deals.

Threats to Citizenship and Democracy

• 🚫 Trump has stated his desire to revoke citizenship from natural-born American citizens who oppose him.
• 🗳️ The expansion of Trump's power in the courts, particularly the US Supreme Court, is seen as a direct threat to democracy, with one justice noting that a few more decisions could end it.
• 🏛️ Democrats in Congress have limited power to counter these actions, and the judiciary is perceived as enabling the expansion of presidential power.