Why Can’t We Have Nice Things? Who Pays for Trump’s America?
To the editor:
At a time when millions of Americans are struggling to pay for groceries, housing, medical care, insurance and utilities, our billionaire president is calling the affordability issue a Democratic hoax. Yeah, Trump really said that.
President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress have pursued reductions in social safety-net programs that help working class Americans buy food, healthcare, utilities, and gas in order to provide huge tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans and corporations. Yet, the Congressional Republicans are willing to provide billions of dollars for Trump’s ego-driven construction projects and the very unpopular war with Iran he started and now sees no exit that is not a humiliating defeat for America.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analyzed the 2025 tax-andspending law and concluded that working-class Americans will have reduced economic resources, while wealthier Americans will generally have much more. In particular, many families will lose at least $1200 a year.
Twelve hundred dollars may be pocket change to Trump and his billionaire donors. However, for many American families, $100 a month can mean making hard choices about groceries, medicine, electricity or gasoline.
How does it make sense that in the wealthiest nation in history a great many working Americans struggle to pay for the basic necessities of life, nutrition, housing, and medical care? The overall direction is clear: Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill does not help ordinary working Americans. But the wealthiest Americans will make out like bandits.
That is welfare for the rich. That is blatant upward wealth redistribution. Trump’s Republicans maintain that making the rich richer will result in corporate innovations and job creation, thus benefiting folks at the bottom. Yeah, they really say that.
Unfortunately, Medicare, Obamacare, Medicaid and food stamps are favorite targets when Republicans talk about reducing government spending, Republicans love to claim that these programs to help working class Americans are not only too expensive but are overwhelmed with rampant fraud.
The overwhelming majority of improper payments involve documentation problems, eligibility mistakes, administrative errors, or incorrect amounts. Actual fraud accounts for less than one percent of payments..
Do you know that the cap on Social Security Taxes is $184,500? That means the person who makes $500,000 per year pays the same amount of Social Security tax as some one who makes $184,500. Gee, I wonder how we could make Social Security solvent for the long term. If only I were trained in economics maybe I could figure it out.
Yet, while Republicans claim these social safety-net programs must be restrained, they have had little difficulty finding enormous sums for other so-called priorities of the Trump administration. Consider immigration enforcement.
The Congressional Research Service reported that in 2025, ICE’s regular appropriation was about $10.0 billion. Trump’s 2025 reconciliation law then provided ICE an additional $74.85 billion including $45 billion for detention capacity and $29.85 billion for enforcement, transportation, personnel, facilities and related operations.
These program was suppose to capture and deport the worst of the worst. That has clearly not happened. About two-thirds or more of people entering ICE detention had no criminal convictions, while only a small percentage had violent-crime convictions Americans can legitimately disagree about immigration policy. The United States must protect and secure its borders. Unfortunately neither the Democratic or Republican parties have done a good and responsible job of developing an immigration policy that secures our borders, but is also efficient and just.
Even more wasteful is President Trump’s massive White House construction program.
Reuters reported in August 2026 that planned projects on the White House grounds include at least $900 million on a ballroom to replace the historic East Wing that Trump bulldozed to the ground without Congressional authorization. Trump lied when he claimed private donors will finance the gaudy, gold-plated ballroom. Trump’s illegally knocking down part of the White House is an outrage. The White House belongs to the American people, not its temporary occupant.
Economists are expressing major warnings about our massive national debt. The US. national debt has hit the $40 trillion threshold, and about one-fourth of that debt has been incurred while President Donald Trump has been in office. This is what happens when our tax money is wasted and the government does not have a fair tax code so that everyone pays their fair share.
There was once a GOP conservative principle that government should live within its means. There was also a basic American principle that when sacrifices are necessary, those most capable of bearing them should not escape responsibility while struggling working families carry the burden. A government budget is more than numbers. It is a declaration of priorities.
Trump has chosen to spend billions of dollars on ego-driven projects like starting a war with Iran with no exit strategy, It is reported that this disastrous and unpopular war is costing about one billion dollars per day. Think about that. What could a billion dollars a day buy if spent on cancer research, rural hospitals, aging infrastructure, affordable health care, or job training in the age of AI?
President Trump is driven to put his name on federal buildings, monuments, airports, and even an aircraft carrier. He is determined to restructure the historical exhibits of the Smithsonian museums to change the understanding of American history. Unfortunately, when the courts tell Trump he can’t legally do something, he does it anyway because he has no respect for the law, or the American people. And the Republican party is too cowardly to put a stop to it.
Further absurd choices on Trump’s wish list include building a massive monumental arch to honor himself near the Lincoln Memorial, addingTrump’s face to the Mount Rushmore Memorial, and constructing an ugly, massive, environmentally destructive, and unnecessary wall in the Big Bend region of Texas. All this insanity is driven by a profoundly disturbed, narcissistic, sociopathic, and needy personality.
America is a wealthy nation. But its resources are not unlimited. A responsible American president would put the welfare and security of Americans first. Unfortunately, President Donald J Trump lacks the character and will to do so. He has continuously demonstrated he cares only about himself and his wealth.
President Trump and his incompetent administration should stop lying that the cupboard is bare of the funds needed to make sure all Americans have the resources they need to live safe and dignified lives.
The cupboard isn’t bare. The real question is who gets invited to the table.
We The People have an opportunity next November 3 to reset America’s priorities and throw the rascals out.
Vote.