{ "article": { "title" : "What Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” Really Means", "author" : "EIP Editors", "category" : "essays", "url" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/readings/what-trumps-big-beautiful-bill-really-means", "date" : "2025-07-02 11:21:00 -0400", "img" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/uploads/EIP_bbb-00eaee.jpg", "excerpt" : "Let’s be honest: the “One Big Beautiful Bill” isn’t beautiful at all. It’s dangerous. It’s a massive attack on our rights, our environment, and our ability to live with dignity—no matter how they try to sell it to us, we all know it’s bad.", "content" : "Let’s be honest: the “One Big Beautiful Bill” isn’t beautiful at all. It’s dangerous. It’s a massive attack on our rights, our environment, and our ability to live with dignity—no matter how they try to sell it to us, we all know it’s bad.This is the kind of policy that sounds good on cable news, but when you look closely, it’s a disaster for people and the planet. So let’s break it down, plain and simple.What Is It?Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” (yes, that’s really what it’s called) is a sweeping package of tax cuts, spending shifts, and policy changes that would: Cut taxes for the rich by over $1.5 trillion over 10 years1, with nearly half of the benefits flowing to the top 1%2. Slash social services like Medicaid and food assistance—proposing $2 trillion in cuts over the decade3, including: $900 billion from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act3 $200 billion from SNAP (food stamps)3 $25 billion from Supplemental Security Income for disabled people3 Give more money to ICE and the military—$800 billion in new military spending4, and $25 billion for expanded ICE operations, border walls, and detention centers5. Roll back climate protections and expand fossil fuels—$100 billion in subsidies and tax breaks for oil, gas, and coal companies6. Criminalize poverty and deepen surveillance of immigrants.It’s one big gift to billionaires and fossil fuel CEOs—and one big punishment for everyone else.How Does It Hurt People? More people will lose healthcare. The bill adds new “work requirements” to Medicaid, meaning if you’re not working enough hours (or can’t prove you are), you could lose your coverage. Up to 10 million people7—many of them women, disabled folks, and people of color—could be pushed out of the system. Food assistance is being cut. Adults aged 55 to 64 would lose access to SNAP (food stamps) if they don’t meet new restrictions. This hits low-income people who are already struggling—especially elders. Family separation and deportation will increase. The bill pours $25 billion into ICE, deportation forces, and border militarization5. It turns migration into a crime, rather than a response to global injustice, climate collapse, or colonial borders. Electricity costs will go up. By rolling back clean energy incentives and increasing reliance on fossil fuels, the bill is projected to raise electricity prices for U.S. households by up to 15% over the next decade8. This especially burdens low-income families and seniors living on fixed incomes. What About the Climate?This bill is a disaster for the planet: It cuts support for solar, wind, EVs, and home energy upgrades—slashing $80 billion in incentives9 over the decade. It opens up public lands for more oil and gas drilling—projected to generate $100 billion in giveaways and lease sales to fossil fuel companies6. It silences climate monitoring—especially in schools and marginalized communities.It’s not just a step backwards. It’s a full sprint toward climate collapse.Who Wins? Who Loses?Winners: Oil companies, who will receive $100 billion in new subsidies and tax breaks6 Weapons manufacturers and defense contractors Landlords and billionaires, reaping hundreds of billions in tax cuts1 Private healthcare and prison contractors benefiting from societal painLosers: Working families, who will see $2 trillion in cuts to basic services3 Climate organizers Disabled folks, elders, undocumented communities The Global South The Earth itselfThe Bigger PictureThis bill is not about economics. It’s about power. It’s about reshaping the country so that rich people have fewer obligations and more control—while everyone else has fewer rights and more surveillance.It’s designed to distract, divide, and destroy. And let’s be clear: this is part of a global pattern. From Gaza to the U.S.-Mexico border, from Lebanon to Louisiana, we are watching the violent expansion of authoritarian policies masked as “law and order” or “economic growth.” These are tools of white supremacy and colonial capitalism. And they are killing us.What Can We Do?This is a fight we can win—but only if we organize, locally and globally. Here’s how: Educate your community. Break down this bill in simple terms. Talk about who benefits and who suffers. Share this piece. Host teach-ins. Pressure lawmakers. Call your reps. Tell them to reject this bill and any cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, climate protections, or immigrant rights. Build alternatives. Support mutual aid, public power campaigns, climate justice organizations, and local cooperatives. Design what could be. Tell the story. The people in power want us to believe this is normal. It’s not. Speak truth. Use your platform. Name what’s happening. Center care, not capital.This bill is a blueprint for an empire in decline. But we don’t have to go down with it. We can write a different story—one rooted in solidarity, in justice, and in collective imagination.This is not the end. This is a beginning. If we want a future, we’ll have to design it together. Tax Policy Center, Distributional Analysis of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, 2017–2027 (link) ↩ ↩2 Congressional Budget Office, The Distribution of Major Tax Provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, 2018 (link) ↩ Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Trump’s Budget Cuts Would Cause Severe Hardship for Millions, 2020 (link) ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 Congressional Budget Office, Analysis of the 2020 Defense Budget, 2019 (link) ↩ Migration Policy Institute, Funding for Immigration Enforcement and Border Security, 2018–2020 (link) ↩ ↩2 Friends of the Earth & Oil Change International, Fossil Fuel Subsidies in Trump’s Budget, 2019 (link) ↩ ↩2 ↩3 Kaiser Family Foundation, Estimated Medicaid Coverage Losses Under Work Requirements, 2019 (link) ↩ Energy Innovation Policy & Technology LLC, Analysis of Proposed Rollback of Clean Energy Incentives and Consumer Energy Costs, 2020 (link) ↩ Congressional Research Service, Energy Tax Policy and the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, 2019 (link) ↩ " } , "relatedposts": [ { "title" : "Honoring Indigenous Resilience", "author" : "Water Protector Legal Collective", "category" : "essays", "url" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/readings/honoring-indigenous-resilience", "date" : "2025-10-13 08:50:00 -0400", "img" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/uploads/mni-indigenous-peoples-day.jpg", "excerpt" : "Indigenous Peoples are not relics of the past – despite centuries of colonialism and systematic attempts at genocide and erasure, Indigenous Peoples are still here, stewarding world biodiversity, protecting land, water, and life for future generations. On this Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we uplift ongoing resistance struggles and honor the continued resilience of our relatives.", "content" : "Indigenous Peoples are not relics of the past – despite centuries of colonialism and systematic attempts at genocide and erasure, Indigenous Peoples are still here, stewarding world biodiversity, protecting land, water, and life for future generations. On this Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we uplift ongoing resistance struggles and honor the continued resilience of our relatives.As climate disruption intensifies, Indigenous knowledge guides climate and justice movements, offering visions of futures rooted in kinship, stewardship, and collective survival.Honoring and supporting Indigenous resilience is not just a moral imperative - it’s a blueprint for a more sustainable, just future. We uplift the courage and commitment of Indigenous Peoples who safeguard the land, water, and life that sustain us all.From Standing Rock to Palestine, from Mauna Kea to the Amazon, Indigenous Peoples resist settler colonialism, land theft, and water apartheid.This #IndigenousPeoplesDay, we invite you to honor the resilience of Indigenous Peoples who, for millennia, have stewarded the land and waters, ensuring the preservation of 80% of the world’s remaining biodiversity.In a world that often sacrifices frontline communities for profit, we believe in a future where people and planet thrive together. A future built on Indigenous knowledge, sustainable practices, and the dismantling of oppressive systems that harm both human and ecological wellbeing.Together, we can build a world that is grounded in care for our communities, for the Earth, and for the generations to come.Standing Rock #MniWiconiNine years ago, the historic, Indigenous-led resistance against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) ignited a global movement to protect sacred lands, water, and treaty rights. Over 100,000 Water Protectors gathered at Standing Rock to defend the Missouri River, a vital water source, from the threat of oil contamination.Today, DAPL still pumps 574,000 barrels of oil less than half a mile from the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation despite evidence of environmental harm. A 2024 report revealed 700 unreported frac-outs, spilling 1.4 million gallons of potentially toxic drilling fluid into Lake Oahe, the Tribe’s main water source. The legal battle to shut down the pipeline continues with an appeal that will be filed next month in the D.C. Circuit.Water is Life.standingrock.org/donatewaterprotectorlegal.orgKū Kiaʻi Mauna #ProtectMaunaKeaFor over 50 years, Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians) have resisted the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) atop Mauna Kea, a sacred mountain of immense spiritual significance now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Though kiaʻi stopped construction in 2020, TMT’s final design continues abroad and as of October 2025, there is a renewed U.S. funding push underway in Congress.The fight for Mauna Kea reflects a broader struggle for Hawaiian sovereignty, cultural preservation, and spiritual connection to the land. The struggle continues, demanding a future that respects ancestral lands and Indigenous rights. Sign the petition—1,349 signatures short of 500,000!@ProtectMaunaKea@MKea.info@PuaCaseProtect Chi’chil Biłdagoteel #SaveOakFlatChi’chil Biłdagoteel (Oak Flat) is a sacred site for the Western Apache facing destruction from a copper mine project by Resolution Copper, a joint venture between BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, the company that destroyed Juukan Gorge, a 46,000 year-old Aboriginal sacred site in Western Australia.Oak Flat, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is vital for spiritual and cultural practices. The mine would destroy the site into a 1,100 foot deep and 2 mile wide crater. Despite court setbacks, Apache Stronghold continues to fight for the land’s protection through legal and spiritual resistance. The San Carlos Apache Tribe continues an active lawsuit on NEPA grounds to protect Oak Flat from irreversible harm.apache-stronghold.com@ProtectOakFlatDefend the Arctic #NoAmblerRoad #ANWRThe Gwich’in Nation continues to resist oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The coastal plain, essential for caribou existence, is sacred to the Gwich’in. A 2025 law removes protections for ANWR and the Western Arctic (NPR-A), opening the door to oil drilling and resource extraction, threatening polar bears, caribou, migratory birds, and Indigenous ways of life.The Gwich’in, along with many Alaska Native nations, also oppose the construction of the Ambler Road, a proposed 211-mile industrial corridor that would cut through sacred lands and critical wildlife habitat to enable mining in the Brooks Range. Together, these extractive projects threaten to fragment one of the world’s last pristine ecosystems and accelerate climate destruction.For Arctic Indigenous Peoples, this is not only an environmental issue but a matter of cultural survival. Protecting these lands honors over 20,000 years of relationship, stewardship, and life in balance with the land and animals.@noamblerroad@native_mvmnt@defendthesacredak@defendbrooksrange@tananachiefsProtect the Great Lakes #StopLine5Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline runs beneath the Straits of Mackinac, threatening the Great Lakes’ ecosystems and water. For over a decade, Line 5 has pumped oil and natural gas through Anishinaabe territories, where Tribes including Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, have called for its decommissioning to protect the water and honor treaties. In 2024, a federal court ruled that Enbridge has trespassed since 2013, when its easements to cross Bad River lands expired and ordered Line 5 to shut down by June 2026. Over 30 Tribal Nations across the Great Lakes region united to call on the U.S. government to shut down Line 5 now.A potential spill could contaminate Lake Superior with over a million gallons of oil, devastating wild rice beds and fish central to Indigenous lifeways. Meanwhile, the proposed Great Lakes Tunnel project threatens this delicate area further. In March 2025, 6 Tribal Nations withdrew from discussions over the U.S. Army Corps’ plan to issue a permit on the heels of an executive order declaring a national energy emergency despite opposition from Tribal Nations. The struggle to stop Line 5 is ongoing.@narf@stopline5Restore Kapūkakī (Red Hill) & End Military Leases #OlaIKaWaiAfter 19,000 gallons of jet fuel leaked from the U.S. Navy’s Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility above O‘ahu’s sole-source aquifer in November 2021, contaminating the water system for nearly 100,000 residents, Hawaiʻi’s water future remains in crisis. The contamination forced the Honolulu Board of Water Supply to shut down the Hālawa shaft and two other wells indefinitely due to uncertainty about the spread of the fuel plume.Just a year later, 1,300 gallons of firefighting foam containing PFAS (forever chemicals) was spilled during a maintenance activity, solidifying the Navy’s mismanagement of the facility and deepening distrust in the military. Since its construction in 1943, the Red Hill facility has leaked between 200,000 and 2 million gallons of fuel into the delicate island ecosystem. The U.S. EPA and Department of Health are overseeing remediation efforts and decommissioning. Community calls for justice, transparency, and military accountability continue amid calls to end live fire training and military occupation of lands under 65 year, $1 leases of stolen Hawaiian kingdom government and crown lands, set to expire in 2029.sierraclubhawaii.org/redhill@SierraClubHI@OahuWaterProtectors@WCTanaka@HealaniPaleProtect Ȟe Sápa (Black Hills) #LandBackThe 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie designated the Ȟe Sápa (Black Hills) as “unceded Indian Territory” for the exclusive use of the Oceti Ŝakowiŋ (Great Sioux Nation), meant to last “as long as the grass shall grow and the rivers will flow.” However, when gold was discovered in the Black Hills, the United States broke the agreement and re-drew the treaty boundaries. In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the 1877 act of Congress, which unilaterally seized the Black Hills, was a violation of the Fort Laramie Treaty and an unconstitutional taking under the Fifth Amendment. Despite recognizing the Black Hills as stolen land, the court’s decision has yet to result in the return of these sacred lands.The Black Hills have long suffered from the destructive impacts of mining, and threats are once again on the rise. 233,000 acres or 1 in every 5 acres in the Black Hills are currently under mining claims. These mining claims range from uranium, gold, lithium, precious metals and others. Mining and exploration activities endanger surface and groundwater safety, with past mining already polluting water through acid mine drainage and spills of toxic chemicals.bhcleanwateralliance.orgndncollective.org@BHCleanWaterAlliance@ndncollectiveProtect Water in the Southwest #WaterBackIn the Southwest, there can be no environmental justice without water. Indigenous Peoples face ongoing water insecurity from extraction, contamination, and the U.S. government’s failure to honor treaty and priority water rights.The Havasupai Tribe is fighting uranium mining near the Grand Canyon that threatens Havasupai Creek. Navajo Nation continues the fight for access to water, after the Supreme Court held in Arizona v. Navajo Nation (2023) the government has no trust obligation or affirmative duty to secure water rights for the Nation.Across New Mexico, a renewed congressional push for Tribal water settlements would secure water rights for the Navajo Nation, Jicarilla Apache Nation, and 11 Pueblo Nations. Protecting water is protecting life.@puebloactionalliance@haulno@nofalsesolutionsIndigenous Resistance to Lithium Extraction #LifeOverLithiumAs the global demand for lithium to power “green” technologies surges, this comes at the expense of Indigenous Peoples, lands and waters. In Nevada, People of Red Mountain (Atsa Koodakuh wyh Nuwu), descendants of the Fort McDermitt Paiute Shoshone Tribe are defending Peehee Mu’huh (Thacker Pass), a massacre site and sacred burial grounds, against an open-pit mine on Paiute-Shoshone lands.In the drought-stricken region of Sonora, Mexico, the Rio Yaqui Nation is fighting to protect the Yaqui river from water-intensive lithium mining under Plan Sonora. The Eight Traditional Yaqui Authorities recently submitted a petition for urgent procedures to the United Nations CERD, supported by International Indian Treaty Council and Water Protector Legal Collective. Mapuche communities are also opposing lithium extraction in the Salar de Atacama of Chile and Puna Plateau of Argentina, demanding protection of water resources in the Lithium Triangle. Water contamination from lithium extraction could last over 300 years.This, along with air pollution and carbon emissions, contradicts the supposed green benefits of lithium extraction.peopleofredmountain.com(iitc.org)(https://www.iitc.org/)@PeopleofRedMountain@M.G.McKinney@IITCIndigenous Call for Amazon No-Go Zone #DemarcationIn Brazil, while deforestation in the Amazon decreased by 7% in 2024, forest degradation surged by 497%. Indigenous leaders across the Amazon are demanding that their lands be declared “no-go zones” for extractive industries. With increasing pressure from illegal logging, mining, and agribusiness, they are calling for clear, legally recognized land demarcation.In August, the IV Indigenous Women’s March in Brasilia brought together over 7,000 Indigenous women from the seven biomes of Brazil who marched on Congress under the banner of “Nosso Corpo, Nosso Territorio” to demand demarcation and protection of Indigenous territories, seen as living extensions of Indigenous bodies. As the world gathers in Belem for COP30 in November, the call for environmental protection increases. For Indigenous Peoples, this is not just about one of the planet’s most vital ecosystems, but a matter of sovereignty and cultural survival.@ANMIGA@AmazonWatch@COIABIndigenous Resistance in Ecuador #ParoNacionalAcross Ecuador, Indigenous communities are rising to defend their ancestral lands, rivers, and way of life. Government-backed mining and extractive projects threaten sacred territories and vital water sources that sustain thousands of families. The Shuar, Cañari, and other Indigenous Peoples are standing firm despite violent repression and criminalization of their leaders. Nationwide mobilizations, led by CONAIE, highlight widespread opposition to policies that prioritize profit over life, culture, and ecology. This resistance is more than a fight against mining - it’s a fight for water, for land, and for the survival and dignity of future generations.@kichwahatari@conaieLenca Defenders Resilience in Honduras #JusticiaParaBertaProtecting Indigenous territories comes at great cost: in 2024, 146 environmental defenders were killed or disappeared worldwide. Still, Indigenous Peoples persist. In Honduras, the resilience of the Lenca people to protect their lands, water, and cultural survival from destructive projects like the Agua Zarca Dam, is a testament to the power of collective strength in the broader struggle for environmental justice despite overwhelming odds.Lenca defender Berta Cáceres, a Goldman Prize laureate and COPINH’s co-founder, was killed for her activism but her words, “Lo vamos a lograr, me lo dijo el río” (We will succeed, the river told me so) and resilience lives on in the generations of Lenca and other Indigenous defenders who continue the fight for land, water, and justice. COPINH, now led by her daughter, Berta Zuniga Cáceres, continues to advocate for the defense of natural resources, standing against corporate interests and neoliberal policies that prioritize profit over people.@COPINHFree Palestine #RivertoSeaPalestinians in Gaza and the West Bank have long endured militarized occupation, settler colonialism, land theft, and water apartheid. A permanent ceasefire is only the beginning - the need for justice, accountability for 773 days of genocide and other crimes against humanity, and the recognition of Palestinian rights to land, water, and self-determination remains.In 1948, the Nakba (“catastrophe”) resulted in the forced displacement of over 700,000 Palestinians. From October 7, 2023 to the present, over 67,000 Palestinians have been killed and UNRWA reports over 1.9 million, or 90% of Gaza’s population, have been forcibly displaced.Despite repeated attempts at erasure, the Palestinian spirit endures, resisting occupation in a centuries-old struggle for freedom and self-determination. Palestine will be free.Ancestral Resilience Shapes the FutureJoin us:The Water Protector Legal Collective (WPLC) is an Indigenous-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit law firm and advocacy organization that protects the rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Earth, and climate justice movements. Born out of the #NoDAPL movement at Standing Rock as the on-the-ground legal team for Water Protectors facing criminalization, WPLC continues to serve as a legal holding line for the Earth and front line environmental justice communities.waterprotectorlegal.org/donateSlow Factory is an environmental & social justice nonprofit organization. Since 2012, Slow Factory has worked at the intersections of climate and culture to build partnerships and community to advance climate-positive global movements through the lens of human rights, science, technology, and fashion. We redesign socially & environmentally harmful systems – we want what’s good for the Earth & good for people. Slow Factory empowers people of the global majority to advance climate justice and social equity through educational programming, regenerative design, and materials innovation.slowfactory.earth/donate" } , { "title" : "100+ Years of Genocidal Intent in Palestine", "author" : "Collis Browne", "category" : "essays", "url" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/readings/100-years-of-genocidal-intent", "date" : "2025-10-07 18:01:00 -0400", "img" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/uploads/1920-jerusalem.jpg", "excerpt" : "Every single Israeli prime minister, president, and major Zionist leader has voiced clear intent to erase the Palestinian people from their lands, either by forced expulsion, or military violence. From Herzl and Chaim Weizmann to Ben-Gurion to Netanyahu, the record is not ambiguous:", "content" : "Every single Israeli prime minister, president, and major Zionist leader has voiced clear intent to erase the Palestinian people from their lands, either by forced expulsion, or military violence. From Herzl and Chaim Weizmann to Ben-Gurion to Netanyahu, the record is not ambiguous:{% for person in site.data.genocidalquotes %}{{ person.name }}{% if person.title %}<p class=\"title-xs\">{{ person.title }}</p>{% endif %}{% for quote in person.quotes %}“{{ quote.text }}”{% if quote.source %}— {{ quote.source }}{% endif %}{% endfor %}{% endfor %}" } , { "title" : "Dignity Before Stadiums:: Morocco’s Digital Uprising", "author" : "Cheb Gado", "category" : "", "url" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/readings/dignity-before-stadiums", "date" : "2025-10-02 09:08:00 -0400", "img" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/uploads/EIP_Cover_Morocco_GenZ.jpg", "excerpt" : "No one expected a generation raised on smartphones and TikTok clips to ignite a spark of protest shaking Morocco’s streets. But Gen Z, the children of the internet and speed, have stepped forward to write a new chapter in the history of uprisings, in their own style.The wave of anger began with everyday struggles that cut deep into young people’s lives: soaring prices, lack of social justice, and the silencing of their voices in politics. They didn’t need traditional leaders or party manifestos; the movement was born out of a single hashtag that spread like wildfire, transforming individual frustration into collective momentum.", "content" : "No one expected a generation raised on smartphones and TikTok clips to ignite a spark of protest shaking Morocco’s streets. But Gen Z, the children of the internet and speed, have stepped forward to write a new chapter in the history of uprisings, in their own style.The wave of anger began with everyday struggles that cut deep into young people’s lives: soaring prices, lack of social justice, and the silencing of their voices in politics. They didn’t need traditional leaders or party manifestos; the movement was born out of a single hashtag that spread like wildfire, transforming individual frustration into collective momentum.One of the sharpest contradictions fueling the protests was the billions poured into World Cup-related preparations, while ordinary citizens remained marginalized when it came to healthcare and education.This awareness quickly turned into chants and slogans echoing through the streets: “Dignity begins with schools and hospitals, not with putting on a show for the world.”What set this movement apart was not only its presence on the streets, but also the way it reinvented protest itself:Live filming: Phone cameras revealed events moment by moment, exposing abuses instantly.Memes and satire: A powerful weapon to dismantle authority’s aura, turning complex political discourse into viral, shareable content.Decentralized networks: No leader, no party, just small, fast-moving groups connected online, able to appear and disappear with agility.This generation doesn’t believe in grand speeches or delayed promises. They demand change here and now. Moving seamlessly between the physical and digital realms, they turn the street into a stage of revolt, and Instagram Live into an alternative media outlet.What’s happening in Morocco strongly recalls the Arab Spring of 2011, when young people flooded the streets with the same passion and spontaneity, armed only with belief in their power to spark change. But Gen Z added their own twist, digital tools, meme culture, and the pace of a hyper-connected world.Morocco’s Gen Z uprising is not just another protest, but a living experiment in how a digital generation can redefine politics itself. The spark may fade, but the mark it leaves on young people’s collective consciousness cannot be erased.Photo credits: Mosa’ab Elshamy, Zacaria Garcia, Abdel Majid Bizouat, Marouane Beslem" } ] }