But First, the Disgusting Debacle in Alaska:

Every American should be appalled by the president of the United States kissing the ass of ruthless Russian dictator, President Vladimir Putin.  Yet, that is essentially what President Trump did last Friday in Alaska.  He warmly welcomed Putin like a friend, a man who has murdered over ten thousand innocent civilians in Ukraine and kidnapped hundreds of Ukrainian children.  Sadly, most Republicans are afraid to criticize this diplomatic disaster

I am confident that Putin and his aids enjoyed their best vodka on the flight back to Moscow, probably high-fiving and laughing about the buffoon they had just owned, and without giving him anything in the process.  Telling Trump that the 2020 election was stolen from him was enough.

Trump loves to wield his power to illegally suppress domestic opponents, and he has ample leverage to force Putin to negotiate an end to his invasion of Ukraine; he simply refuses to use it. 

When Barack Obama was president, some Fox News anchors pined for a president like Russia’s Vladimir Putin.  Well, now they have one.  Many Americans, however, would probably prefer a president more like Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky.

Now, Some New Tax Break Pluses: 

The Republican’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) will increase the standard deduction by $1,500 for couples filing a joint return for 2025 and by $750 for single filers.  Thereafter, it will be adjusted for inflation.  And starting in 2026, couples filing a joint return can deduct up to $2,000 of charitable donations and up to $1,000 for single filers, even if they take the standard deduction. 

Also, many seniors 65 and over could get a tax deduction of up to $6,000 from 2025 through 2028, even those who take the standard deduction.  This deduction phases out for joint filers whose adjusted gross income (AGI) is over $150,000 but less than $250,000 and for single filers with AGI more than $75,000 but less than $150,000.  For example, the deduction for each joint filer, both over 65 with AGI of $175,000, would be $4,500.  For AGI of $200,000, the deduction would be $3,000 each and for AGI of $225,00 the deduction would be $1,500 each.

Deductions, however, likely won’t benefit between 40% and 50% of Americans who do not owe federal income tax, but we won’t know how the IRS will interpret these changes until later this year.

OBBB Deficits Could Cut Medicare Spending:

The OBBB will cause deficits of $3.4 trillion over the 2025-2034 period, according to the latest Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates.  The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (PAYGO) dictates that all new legislation that increases the deficits requires offsetting spending reductions in selected mandatory programs, including 4% yearly from Medicare.  Social Security is exempted from PAYGO but other programs subject to reductions are farm price supports, the Social Services block grant and many smaller programs. 

Unless Congress passes legislation to override the PAYGO requirements, Trump’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) director, Russell Vought, must trim fiscal year 2026 mandatory spending by $415 billion.  This would reduce Medicare spending by $45 billion and other specified programs by $370 billion. 

Under PAYGO, Medicare spending could be reduced by $491 billion over the 2026–2034 period, which would be a huge minus.  Consequently, Republicans in Congress will be under pressure to totally circumvent PAYGO’s mandatory spending reductions.  I am almost certain, however, that Vought would prefer to retain its Medicare cuts.

OBBB Will Affect Household Resources

Republicans are deceptively claiming that the OBBB will give taxpayers an average tax cut of $3,752 in 2026.  So, if salesman Sam gets a cut of $500 and banker Linda gets $5,000 trimmed from her tax bill, does the average of these cuts ($2,750) mean anything for Sam?

The OBBB, however, will have a much different result, according to the CBO: Household resources in the lowest decile (10%) of the income distribution will decrease on average by around $1,200 per year over the coming decade. Those in the next highest decile will see an average decrease of $400 per year in their household resources. These results are mainly due to the OBBB’s $900 billion reduction in Medicaid and food stamp spending over the next decade.

The average yearly increase of household resources for the middle of the income distribution, the fifth and sixth deciles, will be $800 and $1,200, respectively, over the coming decade.  Those in the nineth decile will be doing much better, with an average increase in household resources of $3,200 per year.  Ah, but wealthy households in the highest decile will enjoy an average annual increase of $13,600 through 2034.  The highest income taxpayers mostly benefit from the OBBB’s federal tax provisions. 

My Conclusion:

An August Pew Research poll shows how Americans feel about the following:

OBBB – 46% disapprove, 32% approve, 23% unsure.  Trump tariff policies – 61% disapprove, 38% approve.  Trump making the federal government worse – 53% agree, 27% disagree.  Trump’s job handling – 60% disapprove, 38% approve.  And I believe these numbers will get significantly worse for Trump as his policies negatively impact the economy and government operations.

Trump badly mishandled the covid pandemic in 2020 and he lost the election.  Polls show a majority of voters believe he is mismanaging the U.S. economy in 2025.  And if that continues, as I believe it will, Trump and Trumpism could be history by 2029.