Disgraceful abomination

"PROSECUTIONS will warp into persecutions. Political foes, real and imagined, in the press and online and in politician suit will be subject to Trump's whims and power. Pardons and clemency will rain down like manna on 6 January 2021 insurrection. Russian President Vladimir Putin will again have a friend in the White House and an ally in NATO and the West. Immigrants and people from Muslim majority countries will have an aggressively hostile federal government. Civil rights and LGBTQ+ progress will grind to a halt. The economy will function on behalf of the haves, to the detriment of the have-nots and the left-out" (Colbert I. King, Washington Post 3 July 2024).

- By Dr. Ameer Ali

The title of this column belongs to Elon Musk, the billionaire X-friend of US President Donald Trump, who, before parting ways with the president coined that expression to condemn Trump's One-Big-Beautiful-Bill (OBBB) of 2025 passed by the Congress and waiting approval from the Senate, as yet another piece of legislation to realise Trump's dream to Make America Great Again (MAGA). This bill, which aims to ease the tax burden on the rich while reducing assistance to those earning less than $ 50,000 by slashing public expenditure on programs like Medicaid and Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) translates into action what Colbert I. King predicted in his column quoted above.

OBBB is also aiming to punish investors and exporters from foreign countries for their greater efficiency and innovative talent, which were gained mostly from US educational and technical institutions. In the name of preventing the spread of so-called anti-Semitism and communist ideology the denial of funds to Harvard University for example is virtually a denial of opportunities to foreign students from gaining advanced knowledge and training in American institutions. All this demonstrates a systemic failure not only in the US economy but also in the institutional superstructure of the ruling superpower.

Making the rich richer and poor poorer