We can still do something about the direction this country is going. The first step is becoming more informed. Don’t believe everything you read on the internet. Don’t believe everything you hear on the news. Don’t believe everything the president says. Fact check. Participate in peaceful protests. Call or write your senators and representatives. Vote for those things that are in your best interests. Vote for qualified, experienced people.

What will you do when he comes after you? Oh wait, he already has. Have we been complicit in enabling this president’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” to be passed? Every single person will be affected, most of them negatively, by the provisions in this bill. The most vulnerable people will be affected the most. Who are the most vulnerable?  

• The chronically ill and the disabled 
• Low income and/or homeless individuals 
• Certain geographical communities — people living in rural areas and Native Americans living on reservations often experience isolation, have a lower socioeconomic status, have limited job opportunities and tend to be older 
• LGBTQ+ populations
• The very young and the very old 
• Immigrants 

It is estimated that up to 10.3 million people will lose Medicaid coverage. The House Committee on Ways & Means has approved tax policies that do not include an extension of enhanced premium tax credits that currently help people pay for health benefits through the ACA (Affordable Care Act) Marketplace plan. It is projected that failure to extend these credits will lead to an additional 7.6 to 8.6 million people becoming uninsured.  

Our entire health care system is intertwined and a cut to Medicaid is a cut to Medicare. The budget bill will make significant automatic cuts to Medicare potentially totaling over $500 billion between 2026 and 2034. These cuts are triggered by the PAYGO (Pay-As-You-Go) Act that requires automatic cuts to programs if legislation creates large deficits such as those fueled by the large tax cuts for the richest Americans and large corporations. It is estimated that the deficit will increase by $3 trillion over the next 10 years.  

Cuts to Medicare reimbursements will affect hospitals and other healthcare providers particularly in rural areas. A significant number of small rural hospitals have already been forced to close and many more are expected. This will result in many more deaths because timely medical intervention will not be available.  

The House Committee on Agriculture has approved a massive cut to SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) also known as “Food Stamps.” Estimates on work and waiver proposals projected that 3 to 3.5 million people would lose all access to SNAP benefits. Another 100,000 to 150,000 would lose some of their benefits.  

Some provisions in the budget will make it more difficult for veterans to obtain disability benefits by reducing the number of qualifying conditions. Reduced staffing has negatively affected the care veterans receive, has increased time to initiate and receive benefits and reduced efficiency.  

There are certainly many more provisions in this 940-page budget bill. At least $168 billion has been allocated for immigration and border law enforcement. The president keeps pushing the envelope on his cruel and inhumane treatment of immigrants. This is something of which we should all be concerned.   

I have many concerns about the direction this country is taking but the following three are most important to me.  

• How can one man be so self-serving that he only cares about himself and has no compassion or concern about the well-being of anyone else. How can this man consistently break the law and not be held accountable. How can he be allowed to threaten the members of Congress by saying he will support primary challengers, destroy their political careers, and threaten harm to them or their families?  
• How can 50 senators and 220 representatives have the ability to pass a bill that they know goes against the best interests of their constituents and takes away many of their basic needs. How can one man or woman think that their political future is more important than the well-being of millions of people. They have the ability to stop this country from becoming a dictatorship and yet they won’t stand up to this president. 
• How can so many people vote against their own best interests or not vote at all. They do not know that their president wants to be a dictator and that he could care less about the people who voted for him. 

There are so many people who still have no idea what is contained in the new budget. They don’t know that they could lose their health insurance or food assistance. They don’t know that their elderly parents might not be able to stay in nursing homes. They don’t know that their immigrant neighbor might be deported to country they know nothing about.  

We can still do something about the direction this country is going. The first step is becoming more informed. Don’t believe everything you read on the internet. Don’t believe everything you hear on the news. Don’t believe everything the president says. Fact check. Participate in peaceful protests. Call or write your senators and representatives. Vote for those things that are in your best interests. Vote for qualified, experienced people. And once again, vote!

Carol Pomeroy