The “Big, Beautiful Bill” and the Slow Disembowelment of the American Citizen

Another day, another grandiose promise from the world’s most famous bankruptcy artist. Donald Trump is talking up a “big, beautiful bill” again, which, if history and MAGA logic hold true, likely means fewer rights, fewer benefits, and more profits for the already rich.

Let me cut through the gold-plated BS and tell you what this bill could mean—not just for me and my daughter, but for anyone who’s not living off stock options and tax loopholes.

Who This Hits First: The Disabled, the Neurodivergent, and Anyone Struggling to Make It Work

I’m 62. Retired due to chronic pain. I spent over three decades teaching college students the power of critical thinking, literature, and film. And now, I live on a patchwork of pension, disability, and determination.

My daughter is 22. Neurodivergent, deeply intuitive, emotionally intelligent—and navigating a world that often punishes people for not being neurotypical. She benefits from mental health care, inclusive education, and public support structures that recognize that not everyone fits neatly into a standardized box.

Trump’s “big, beautiful bill”—let’s be honest—would target both of us.

Let’s Translate the MAGA Policy Code:

When they say “Entitlement Reform”…
They mean gutting or privatizing Social Security and Medicare. They want to raise the retirement age. They want to make it harder for people like me to qualify for disability or to get healthcare without jumping through flaming bureaucratic hoops.

When they say “Cutting Government Waste”…
They mean axing programs that support the vulnerable—like mental health care, autism services, and state-funded education initiatives for the neurodivergent and disabled. These “cuts” are often sold as common sense. But let’s be real—they’re cruel. They’re designed to save money by abandoning people who need support.

When they say “Freedom and Parental Rights”…
They mean the government gets to decide which books your kid reads, which therapists they can see, what gender they’re allowed to identify as, and whether or not their school can accommodate their differences.

This isn’t freedom. It’s control. It’s regression.

The Personal Becomes Political Real Fast

I’m not theorizing here. I live this.

If Trump’s next big policy bomb includes the kinds of proposals we saw during his first term—privatizing Medicare, turning Medicaid into block grants, repealing protections for pre-existing conditions—it becomes harder for me to afford pain treatment. It becomes harder for my daughter to find safe, effective mental health care. It becomes harder for families like ours to keep functioning.

Add to that the growing hostility toward education, the arts, and public broadcasting—areas I’ve devoted my life to—and what you’ve got is a cultural war that’s also a financial assault.

Who Else Should Be Worried?

• Parents of disabled or neurodivergent kids
• Veterans on VA or disability benefits
• Educators
• Students relying on Pell Grants or loan forgiveness
• Anyone who isn’t wealthy, white, male, and MAGA-aligned

And here’s the kicker: Even a lot of Trump’s supporters fall into those categories—they just don’t know it until the safety net’s gone.

So What Do We Do?

1. We call it out—publicly, loudly, relentlessly.
2. We vote—locally and federally. Even when we’re jaded. Especially when we’re jaded.
3. We protect each other—through mutual aid, community support, and refusing to let people be gaslit into silence.
4. We tell our stories—not with shame, but with pride. Because when they try to cut us out of the national narrative, it’s up to us to write ourselves back in.

Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” isn’t policy. It’s propaganda dressed in red, white, and bullshit. And if we don’t fight back with facts, empathy, and defiance, we’ll all be paying the bill—for generations.

Let’s not go quietly.