One of my granddaughters - brilliant in High School in the North American state of Georgia -, while horseback riding on her vacation in Jatibonico, let me know that she wanted to study Medicine in Cuba, since it was not expensive and she, although a North American citizen, was born on the Island, which is why she was always nicknamed La Cubanita.

But, unfortunately, those results would not be recognized in the United States, where she took advantage of her brilliant performance in secondary education to do her first year at no cost, with all the advantages included; however, she could not continue her studies due to lack of the necessary funds and a final debt that would force her to find nearly half a million dollars to be able to repay it. In this context, she uttered a phrase that I considered ironically historical: “I don't pay a single dollar to these sons of….”

As a tiler, home delivery of meals and in other tasks, a person, a loved one, who could have been a good doctor, is immersed in Georgia and Florida, such was her dream.

In this context, Donald Trump, in a new law that we will discuss later, eliminates the federal Grad PLUS loan program, which helps graduate students finance their studies.

As of next July, income-based student loan payment plans will end, nor will they be allowed to defer due to unemployment or economic difficulties.

This means that new student loan caps will force many to turn to private lenders.

Trump himself complains about the lack of specialists and qualified workers to move the North American economy forward, but his laws in this regard generally benefit a privileged sector, the arms sector, without mentioning other tricks, revealing his true colors.

THE GREAT AND BEAUTIFUL LAW

That is what Trump called it, when on July 4 he stated that this comprehensive budget law is “historic.” But the truth is this: The One Big and Beautiful Act represents the largest upward transfer of wealth in American history, with massive tax cuts for the wealthy financed by deep cuts to social welfare programs. At the same time, it allocates hundreds of billions of dollars to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the militarization of the border. This budget law is nothing more than a brutal and calculated attack against the working class, and of course, it has nothing to do with addressing the neglected educational system.

Now the obsessed president - always with the advice of his foreign minister, Marco Rubio, in his ear - ordered military control of all the country's airports, not aiming at the aggression that Israel ordered him to carry out against Iran, nor the increasingly cruel blockade of Cuba, but to hunt down what he considers illegal immigrants.

This unleashed immigration repression includes $140 billion for “border security” and internal immigration control; 45 billion to increase detention capacity to more than 100,000 people per day. and 29,085 billion for ICE, which will hire about 8,500 new agents, which means it will have more than the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

There is a dismantling of the social protection system, which begins with the imposition for the first time of work requirements to access Medicaid, starting next December, which will have a cut of 930 billion dollars in its financing and will suspend reimbursements to Planned Parenthood, which is equivalent to its definancing.

The considered top leader of the North American nation made the deepest cut in history to SNAP (food stamps): between 267,000 and 300,000 million dollars, he forced the states to cover 5% of their benefits and 75% of the administrative costs, as well as single fathers and mothers must work 80 hours a month to receive it.

It also prohibits non-citizens from accessing the child tax credit, even if their son or daughter does have citizenship.

GREATER EVILS

Permanent extension of Trump's tax cuts for the rich, including him, with increased support for the war, with 153 billion $25 billion for military spending, including $25 billion for the “Golden Dome” missile defense system and $2.2 billion to accelerate the development of hypersonic missiles.

In short, to summarize the Trump administration's beautiful law, now in effect, it includes increased funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), as well as cuts to programs like Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

According to the Congressional Budget Office, 11.8 million Americans could lose Medicaid. Other estimates suggest that number could reach 17 million people without health insurance.

With the cuts planned under the new law, it’s estimated that two million children are at risk of losing food assistance.

Approximately 71 million Americans are enrolled in Medicaid, according to the most recent data published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Of these, 28% are Latino.

“The Medicaid cuts will result in a loss of coverage, as millions of parents, childcare providers, caregivers, and other low-income adults face stricter employment requirements and other bureaucratic hurdles that will only make it more difficult for them to access healthcare.” “Enrollment in and continued coverage for Medicaid,” stated the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University. According to the school, the additional bureaucracy will cause hundreds of thousands of children to lose the coverage to which they are entitled: “These losses of coverage affect family health and increase economic pressure by impacting their finances.”

Among many other issues, let's address electricity. The new rules for solar energy credits could increase the price of electricity for homes.

The law introduces new restrictions for solar and wind projects to access the tax credits established in 2022 by the Inflation Reduction Act. According to the text, only projects that begin construction within one year of the law's enactment will qualify for the full tax credits. Those that begin after that date will only qualify if they are operational before the end of 2027.

Many projects would struggle to meet such a short timeframe, given the lengthy process required to obtain financing, permits, and connect to the electrical grid. According to the technology news outlet The Verge,

“This bill will halt thousands of energy projects in development, jeopardize billions of dollars in private investment, and eliminate hundreds of thousands of well-paying American jobs, from electricians and contractors to local landowners and farmers who depend on these projects for their livelihoods,” Jeff Cramer, president of the Community Solar Access Coalition, told Reuters.

Solar and wind power together reached a milestone last year when, for the first time in the United States, they produced more electricity than coal. “The intentional effort to undermine the fastest-growing sources of electricity will lead to higher energy bills, decreased grid reliability, and the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs,” said Jason Grumet, executive director of the American Clean Power Association, in a press release.

According to the think tank Energy Innovation, the law could increase wholesale electricity prices by 19% by 2030 and by 61% by 2035. “Electricity rates paid by consumers will increase between 9 - 16% by 2035,” he noted, and all this without taking into account the damage caused by the wars waged by the former Nobel Peace Prize nominee.

Translated by Amilkal Labañino / CubaSí Translation Staff