Our lives are under attack – not by foreign powers that those in power claim threaten our well-being. But by those who hold power in this society. Tens of millions of people across the country are being squeezed financially and finding it difficult or impossible to maintain the basics of life. And tens of thousands more are being kidnapped off the streets by armed ICE militias, imprisoned at the border, or arrested when they show up to court appearances.
Those of us who are “free” are struggling to maintain. Some work overtime, if they have a job where it’s available. And that overtime seems to be drying up. Others pick up a second job, but the majority try to make do on what we’ve been earning, which has steadily fallen behind the cost of living. It’s not our collective imagination, it’s real!
Utility rates are soaring. In the last five years, average utility rates have risen nearly 40%. With summer here and climate disruption leading to hotter weather every year, it can be a matter of life and death for those living in areas with hot summers. There are “heat domes” that descend on normally moderate climates where people don’t have air conditioning. Extreme winters cost even more. The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program is being eliminated, further endangering the most vulnerable members of our society.
Food prices have gone up from 3% to more than 5%. That may increase further now that fertilizers that are shipped through the Strait of Hormuz are blocked because of the U.S. war on Iran. More than 3.5 million people who depended on SNAP (food stamps) have been cut from the program, leaving them and their families without regular access to food. And more are being cut due to rules that demand the people have a job to qualify. Where are those jobs? And a slight increase in income can mean an end to other public assistance they are now receiving.
More than 27.2 million people don’t have jobs with health benefits, and with Medicaid being cut and healthcare costs rising, millions of people don’t have access to healthcare. And those who do are facing increasing expenses and co-pays. Clinics and hospitals across the country are cutting back or closing. So, access to healthcare is becoming non-existent for many.
Cuts to Medicaid, Obamacare (Affordable Care Act), and Federal aid to the states mean that there have been huge cuts already, and estimates are that between 4.9 and 10.1 million people will lose Medicaid coverage in 2028. About five million people are expected to drop from Obamacare due to cuts in state funding.
Homelessness is also increasing, with people who were working living in their cars or moving from place to place, depending on family and friends. An estimated 2.5 million children experience homelessness each year—1 in 30 children. There have been deep cuts to federal subsidies for housing.
And who hasn’t noticed the gas price increase since the war on Iran began? Many people have no choice but to drive or ride with someone to work. Nationally, gas is $4.22 per gallon. And the oil companies’ stock prices are soaring, and their profits continue.
In addition to these attacks on our survival, the government has built up the ICE paramilitary force that is carrying out brutal attacks on members of our community, some who have recently arrived and some who have been here decades or were born here. “Detention centers” are being built across the country where people are kept under horrific conditions for months. Children are separated from their families. Some people are put on planes and flown to countries they have no connection with.
The Trump administration is carrying out these attacks in a more brutal fashion than previous administrations, eliminating government agencies and programs. Those programs were never enough. But they offered some relief. The rich have always benefited, and that is on display. As Trump and his family enrich themselves, he rewards the super-rich. There are now 902 U.S. billionaires, with a reported wealth of over $6.8 trillion! They have gotten bigger tax breaks and huge military contracts to build weapons and surveillance systems to defend their control over resources and people to exploit around the world.
We cannot allow this to continue at our expense. We need to find the ways to say, ENOUGH! NO MORE! We cannot continue to surrender our needs and the needs of those who depend on us to their greed.
