Notable Quotable: Amy Hanauer On OBBB

We talk so much about division in this country. We say it's a clash between left and right, liberal and conservative, Democrat and Republican. Certainly, that's how it looks. That's what it feels like. And that's what the architects of our divide need us to believe.

But beneath the aggrandizing and grandstanding of elections, the wealthy elites, those who shape and fund our social division along with our elections, continue to be the only winners.

Over the last 45 years, or 12 presidential elections, the one clear outcome continues to be another transfer of wealth to the wealthiest among us. This year, it comes through tariffs that drive inflation, tax giveaways to the rich, and the upending of our social safety net.

The beneficiaries hope you'll believe, as usual, it's good for the nation. But, for nearly half a century it hasn't been good for the vast majority of Americans.

As the economy worsens for most of us, as crime rises, as homelessness increases, the impact—visible as it is—gives us a reason to blame and hate others. This is how it works.

Pitting citizens against each other through politics is as old as the hills. We should be wise to that. Defining us as red or blue states works for the powerful, but not the rest of us.

The so called One Big Beautiful Bill did one beautiful thing for the rich and several hideous things for the poor. The rich got their huge tax breaks. The very poor, especially those in poorer, rural red states, lost their social safety net and their hospitals.

Americans need to stop playing the game of make-believe and color coding. Your neighbor is not your enemy. Your real enemy is money in the hands of too few.  Start talking to your neighbors about this and you'll discover you have more in common than you can currently fathom.

If you would like to learn more on how this bill impacts you or others according to income, the Institute On Taxation And Economic Policy provides excellent analysis here.