Pushing Uphill

In recent decades, the world and our country have reduced hunger and poverty. But the second  Trump administration—notably his “big, beautiful bill” and the destruction of U.S. international aid—is pushing us into a period of increasing hunger and poverty in our country and worldwide. We know from experience how to reduce poverty, and I’m sure that God wants us to help make it happen. But for the foreseeable future, we will be pushing uphill. 

This post is about Trump’s tax and spending bill and other things that he has done that will increase poverty. It closes with a brief section on hope and activism, including one urgent, high-impact action that anybody with a Republican senator should consider.

The “big, beautiful bill”

Almost every aspect of Trump’s tax-and-spending bill will have negative consequences for poor and low-income people. Most obviously, 17 million people will lose health insurance. The cuts to SNAP food assistance will sharply increase hunger in America. The President and congressional Republicans slashed these programs to help fund tax cuts that disproportionately benefit high-income people.

It’s important to note that the bill has been designed to delay most of the suffering until after next year’s elections, while the tax cuts went into effect immediately. Its commitment to massive deficit spending should stimulate the economy—a sugar high—while the long-term risks of further expanding the federal debt have again been ignored.

The “big, beautiful bill” also ended what the U.S. government has been doing to slow climate change. That’s bad news for all of us, but especially for low-income families. Hurricanes, heat waves, and floods often disproportionately impact low-income Americans. Globally, shifting climate patterns are devastating for poor rural families in the tropics. 

Trump’s big bill also gives him an extra $100 billion for immigration enforcement—yet more abusive arrests of undocumented immigrants, including many people who are working hard to get out of poverty and have committed no crime. Deportation brings great hardship to immigrants and their families. Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV have stressed our religious obligation to show mercy to immigrants. Their counsel is grounded in the law of Moses and Jesus’ special concern for social outcasts.

One harmful administrative action after another

Much of what Trump has done on his own authority is already harming hungry and poor people.   In the first days after his inauguration, he ended funding for international aid and sent DOGE to destroy our country’s lead assistance agency, USAID. The British medical journal Lancet estimates that these actions will cause 14 million deaths around the world over the next five years. I’ve been invited to speak about hunger and poverty at an international conference of faith leaders in Cape Town, South Africa. I’ll need to confess that our nation has abandoned its role as a global leader of progress against hunger and poverty. 

In our own country, increasing opportunity for African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans has contributed to past progress against poverty.  But the current administration has ended federal efforts to protect civil rights for racial minorities and to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.  

Trump’s tariffs will almost surely be a drag on economic growth and increase inflation, and low-income people are least able to cope with macroeconomic problems.

President Trump wants the Nobel Peace Prize, but war has continued in Ukraine and intensified in the Middle East. The United States has looked away while Israel has bombed and starved people in Gaza. Just maybe, Trump and Netanyahu will decide that their interests will be served by showing some mercy in Gaza.

Finally, President Trump is pushing the boundaries of his authority. Republicans in Congress and Republican-appointed justices on the Supreme Court have generally acquiesced. He and his allies in state legislatures are already working to make voting more difficult for people of color and low-income people generally. 

Hope and activism now

Our Creator has built hope into our hearts, and many of us have been encouraged in hope by the Christian gospel of God’s loving intentions for the world.  

Activism can still be impactful—legislative advocacy, helping Democrats get elected in next year’s elections, supporting efforts to protect democracy, and sharing the kind of faith that inspires work for justice.

We have an important opportunity for activism right now. The President has asked Congress to approve a “rescissions bill.” It would retroactively approve the rapid-fire destruction of international aid that DOGE carried out in February and the President’s more recent decision to stop funding for public radio and television. The House has already approved this bill, and it will probably come to the Senate floor next week. Seven Republicans on the Appropriations Committee have publicly expressed support for programs that the Administration stopped. If just four Republicans vote against the rescissions bill, funding for these programs will be restored.