The "Big Beautiful Bill" is Probably Garbage. But There is a Silver Lining
As a moderate independent, I tend to take the middle ground when it comes to legislation. In other words, it's rarely as good as one party says it is and usually not as bad as the other claims.
That said, there are a lot of red flags about the "Big Beautiful Bill" that was just passed by Congress today and only needs Trump's signature to become law. It starts with the number of Republicans who needed to be strong-armed and/or bribed with incentives for it to pass by a very small margin. It includes the very deliberate effort to pass the bill in the middle of the night, when most people were asleep. And the biggest red flag of all is the world's richest man, Elon Musk, who stands to benefit from the tax cuts more than anyone else, effectively ending his friendship with President Donald Trump because he thinks it is bad for the country.
As a result, while there are things I am OK with (for example, I personally don't see an issue with a reasonable 80-hour per month work/volunteer requirement for people who are physically able to), I'm leaning a lot more toward the "it's as bad as the other party says" than I normally would.
There is, however, a bit of a silver lining even in that scenario. While there are some who are claiming it is making Trump a king, I think it is actually doing the opposite of that.
I'm not saying the bill doesn't give Trump a lot more leeway than most non-brainwashed people would be comfortable with. It does, however, put down, in writing, budget guidelines that he is obligated to follow once he signs it into law.
This means he's no longer able to dictate financial priorities through random executive orders because Congress has set those priorities via this bill and he is going to be expected to follow the rule of law. At minimum, it gives a level of checks and balances that didn't seem to exist in the weeks prior to the bill's passage and gives Democrats ammunition during the mid-terms if he isn't following the budget guidelines he agreed to.
He's not a king who has unlimited power. He's a president who has his party wrapped around his thumb but still ultimately answers to the people. It's not perfect, but I'll take it over the alternative.
Let's just hope the unpredictable Trump doesn't realize that and veto the bill at the last second.
