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Austerity

Trump’s Big, Beautiful Attack On Public Health

On July 4, President Trump signed his 1,000-page “Big Beautiful Bill” (BBB) into law. The bill permanently enacts several income tax cuts that were originally passed in 2017 while providing additional benefits to the wealthiest. It also includes significant funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while rolling back environmental protections. The bill is a massive attack on the working class and will harm the most marginalized, all while adding $3.3 trillion to the national debt. It makes severe cuts to the social safety net, especially healthcare programs like Medicaid and Medicare, as well as other programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), otherwise known as food stamps.

Trump Freezes Over $6 Billion In Education Funding

While President Trump signed his so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” into law this July 4 — locking in massive tax cuts for the wealthy and ramping up funding for ICE and the military — the Education Department quietly froze over $6 billion in federal education funding, throwing thousands of schools and community programs into limbo. The funding freeze, like the ugly spending bill, is part of Trump’s plans to slash programs that benefit the working class while deepening inequality and redirecting public money toward repression, privatization, and militarization. This also comes as Trump effectively dismantles the Department of Education via executive order with the full support of Education Secretary Linda McMahon, and giving ICE the green light to attack immigrant students and families through raiding schools, hospitals, and religious sites.

Fabricating Enemies In Times Of Decline: NATO 2025 Summit

In the backdrop of the ongoing NATO-backed, zionist inflicted genocide in Gaza; the illegitimate bombing of Iran in violation of international law; the western-financed annexation of Palestine's West Bank; and the three-year intense conflict between Russia and NATO-backed Ukraine; the 76th summit was held in The Hague, Netherlands. This gathering of a crumbling alliance—held against the stark reality of American imperial retreat and European vassalage—revealed an empire in terminal decline, desperately clinging to relevance through escalating militarization and propaganda.

Radical New Budget Steals From The Poor, Cuts Taxes For The Rich

July 1 - Yesterday, the Senate passed a budget bill that will create a weaker and more unequal U.S. economy. It is even more radical than the House version, with deeper Medicaid cuts that will destroy rural hospitals and strain state budgets, while adding nearly $4 trillion to the federal deficit. The House should reject this legislation and start from scratch. The stakes couldn’t be higher—the bill being rushed to passage will do grave damage to the economy and the well-being of U.S. families for years to come. The bill is designed to cause a shocking upward redistribution of income. It includes draconian spending cuts—mostly to health care and food assistance for children and families—in order to give massive tax cuts to the wealthiest households.

Austerity Linked To Over One Million Preventable Deaths In Eu

More than 1 million people in the European Union died from avoidable causes in 2022, according to new data from a Eurostats report. Of these, over 386,000 deaths were attributed to diseases treatable with quality healthcare, while at least 725,000 could have been prevented through effective public health interventions. The conditions cited include heart disease, COVID-19, and several cancers – such as colon, breast, and lung cancer – that experts have long said could be more effectively addressed with proper investment in screening and treatment. Despite these warnings, European authorities continue to slash funding for health and care services while committing record sums to military spending.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s Hallucinations

By the end of the annual meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in The Hague in June 2025, it became clear that everything was about money. In fact, the final communiqué was perhaps the shortest of any NATO meeting – only five points, two about money and one to thank the Netherlands for hosting the summit. The Hague Declaration was only 427 words, whereas in the previous year, the Washington Declaration was 5,400 words and ran to 44 paragraphs. This time, there was not the granular detail about this or that threat, nor the long and detailed assessments of the war in Ukraine and how NATO supports that war without limit (“Ukraine’s future is in NATO”, the alliance said in 2024, a position no longer repeated in the brief statement of 2025).

Systemic Decay And The Economic Foundation Of American Fascism

If you live in the United States and feel like everything is caving in around you, like you are being attacked and fleeced from every angle, like you can’t breathe, like you can’t ever seem to catch a break despite doing everything seemingly right, like you are on the verge of a mental-health crisis and/or homelessness, your feelings are justified. We are living in the middle of widespread societal breakdown. We are witnessing the erosion of an empire. We are experiencing the effects of a rotten system (capitalism) coming to its inevitable conclusion. Simply put, the capitalist class and their two political parties have run out of ways to steal from us. Because we have nothing left for them to take. So, the system is responding like a vampire who is unable to find the blood it needs to survive… erratic, rabid, frenzied, and increasingly desperate and violent, while frantically searching for new avenues of exploitation to keep it churning.

Elon Musk Steps Down From DOGE

The world’s richest man has just stepped down from his position leading a federal government task-force responsible for gutting large portions of the federal government. In a send-off press conference held in the Oval Office on Friday, May 30, Elon Musk received glowing praise from Trump himself. Trump handed Musk an ostentatious golden key to the president’s office after praising the billionaire as “one of the greatest business leaders and innovators the world has ever produced,” who has “worked tirelessly helping lead the most sweeping and consequential government reform program in generations.”

Anti-Austerity March To Oppose Labour Government Cuts

Trade unions and campaigns focused on housing, welfare, and health rights are uniting for a mass demonstration against a new wave of austerity in Britain, set for June 7. Under the umbrella of the People’s Assembly, the groups will march to demand that the Labour government fund public services, prioritize workers over big business, and stop targeting disabled people. Their announcement comes shortly after the Labour Party suffered significant losses to the far right in local elections, leaving party leaders scrambling to regain support. “Attacking those with the least is easy,” the People’s Assembly stated, referring to Labour’s decisions to cut winter fuel support for the elderly, maintain the two-child cap, and reduce assistance for people with disabilities.

Mass Solidarity Picket Backs Striking Bin Workers In Birmingham

In a mass demonstration of solidarity, trade union activists from across Britain blocked the entrance of a Birmingham waste depot as part of an ongoing dispute between the city’s refuse collectors and the Labour-led council. Birmingham’s bin workers, many of whom are members of the trade union Unite, have been taking intermittent action against planned pay cuts since the beginning of this year – and have spent the past two months on strike. As part of an extreme austerity agenda, the city council is planning to downgrade at least one section of the workforce. This proposal has raised concerns not only about workers’ income but also about health and safety conditions.

May Day In Europe Unites Struggles And Resistance

On May 1, hundreds of events commemorating International Workers’ Day took place across Europe, with tens of thousands of workers mobilizing for better working conditions, an end to austerity, and a radical rethinking of the region’s role in the world. Rallies and marches sought to reclaim the political significance of May Day, as left and progressive groups joined trade unions to reaffirm the need for a militant labor movement to confront the far right, militarization, and exploitation. Demands ranged from workplace-centered issues, like improved health and safety and shorter working hours, to broader international calls for peace, the severing of ties with Israel, and a rejection of racism and austerity.

Belgians To Government: ‘We Won’t Sacrifice Pensions For Warplanes’

Protests against the pro-austerity and pro-militarization plans of Belgium’s Arizona coalition government continue. On Sunday, April 27, thousands of people demonstrated in Brussels, demanding an end to policies that would severely impact workers’ pensions and incomes, and calling for the introduction of a real millionaire’s tax and a politics of peace. “The parties in government want everyone to work longer for less pension, particularly by introducing a malus or weakening pension indexation,” said Raoul Hedebouw, leader of the Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB-PVDA), during Sunday’s protest.

Philadelphia Protest Against Transit System’s Proposed Draconian Cuts

Philadelphia, PA - Philadelphia’s transit system, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA), released a budget on April 10 that includes draconian cuts in services, increased fares and reduced hours of operation. Claiming a $213 million deficit, the budget due to take effect July 1 would impose a 45% service cut, a 21.5% fare increase and layoffs of transit workers. Under the proposed plan, some service cuts would go into effect on Sept. 1, along with the fare increase. Between Aug. 24, 2025, and Jan. 1, 2026, fifty bus routes would be shut down and 16 others shortened. On Jan. 1, 2026, five Regional Rail lines between neighboring suburbs and the city would be eliminated and a 9 p.m. rail curfew would go into effect.

Trade War And Austerity: The Final Stages Of US Capitalism

The Trump administration is imposing tariffs on a growing list of countries in a desperate effort to find leverage for protecting US interests abroad and to ostensibly re-industrialize the United States. Clearing the FOG speaks with Jon Jeter, author of "Class War in America: How the elites divide the nation by asking are you a worker or are you white?", about the motives behind the trade war and how this may impact both the global and domestic economies. Jeter explains that the United States is entering uncharted territory as it increasingly isolates itself from the rest of the world and hurtles toward another Great Depression. For the first time, the US may experience a situation in which the shelves are empty and families are unable to afford what is left.

Labor Fights Back Against Trump’s Medical Care And Research Cuts

Hundreds of organized workers, representing a variety of unions including the United Auto Workers (UAW), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), the National Educational Association (NEA), the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the Communication Workers of America (CWA), the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America (UE), among other groups, took to the streets in demonstrations across the country opposing planning Trump administration cuts to the National Institutes of Health.

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Keep independent media alive. 

Due to the attacks on our fiscal sponsor, we were unable to raise funds online for nearly two years.  As the bills pile up, your help is needed now to cover the monthly costs of operating Popular Resistance.

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