Throughout the world and across nearly all cultures, those who are poor and in need are seen as, dare I say… sacred? Certainly, it is frowned upon for a rich man to point at those less fortunate and laugh and mock such a person's life. Adjacent to this point: there are weight classes for a reason. It is seen as ignoble for a man to box a woman, or even for a big man to find and challenge a much smaller one.

There is no bigger difference between the power output of a man to a child, and those children are the most sacred of all. In that way, the capabilities that money grants someone can place them into different categories.

In Islam, Muslims are required to give 2.5% of their wealth annually to the poor and needy.

Qur’an: (2:177) “Give wealth, in spite of the love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler.”

Christianity rocked the Roman world with how focused it was on helping the poor:

1 John 3:17: “If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?”

The highest level of giving in Judaism (Maimonides) is helping someone reach a level of self-sufficiency.

In Buddhism, compassion and generosity are foundational virtues, and in Hinduism, charity is a key duty. 

Though I shouldn’t leave many of the religions of the world to spearhead this point. Born in 1872, Bertrand Russel came to be a Nobel Prize winner, a master logistician and a founder of analytical philosophy who said,

“A decent society is one in which no one is compelled to live in poverty while others live in luxury.”

Key word: “compelled."

So why is the United States government currently punching down on the poorest 47.11 million Americans? 

In the “Big, Beautiful Bill” of President Trump’s administration, taxes are lowered on everyone across the board in the United States – except for 47.11 million Americans. According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, those making less than $15,000 a year will see a tax increase of 53% by 2029, and by 2031, their taxes will rise as high as 74.3% of what they are today. However (as per the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities), if you are making over a million a year, you will see after-tax earnings increase by 4.3%. If you earn 4.3 million a year, you will receive an after-tax boost of $389,000, so says the Penn Wharton Budget Model Research Group.

It would be easy to suppose that someone who is making a million dollars doesn't see the impact of ‘a few hundred’ dollars less to a low-income family when they are making so much money. I wouldn't dare accuse such detachment from reality.

No, not when everyone needs to eat, even poor children. Hundreds of extra dollars a year means more food on the table.

“The Forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer." President Trump, in his inaugural address in 2017.

For the current administration: Is it then that you, rich men, north of Richmond, have forgotten the struggles of “the little guy," and this is an oversight? Though there are tax guys that went to tax school, where they learned to understand bean counting better than I, with the new 1.01 trillion dollar military budget and all. The federal Budget Commission has estimated that in this current “Big Beautiful Bill,” 500 million will be added to the deficit over three years, and over ten years 10 trillion dollars.

Bertrand Russel spoke about “compelling” poverty: it seems that while everyone else gets a break, the poorest will not. As such, their lives will be harder, and harder still as the bill also cuts Medicaid.

A republican congressman from Kentucky, Thomas Massie, actually stood out of the crowd and went against the bill, saying, “This bill dramatically increases our deficits in the near term. This bill is a debt bomb ticking.” Then referencing the Speaker in the House of Representatives, “Mr. Speaker, we are not rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic, we are putting coal in the boiler and setting a course for the iceberg. If something is ‘beautiful’, you don’t do it after midnight.” Representative Massie said the last part because republicans made it so the bill would be voted on after midnight, hoping some representatives would be too sleepy to attend and vote.

I would be remiss without mentioning the very noble tax cuts that were placed in the bill for people who purchase tanning beds. Yes, I’m joking, but only about the word “noble.” Generally, a tanning bed in the U.S. for in-home use runs an average of two grand or so. I doubt someone making less than 15k a year can afford one, let alone the space they take up in the house.

MAGA will decry trans people in sports – because it isn’t fair to those of a smaller body mass and muscle definition – and here we are where I never thought that America, defender of the free, a nation founded on “Christian principles" would be compelling poverty, while everyone else gets a break (at the long term sacrifice to our children’s future, seeing as the deficit will become ever more egregious).

Or maybe because Christ said (in Luke, 6:20):

“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God.”

And the wealthy are patting themselves on the back for making sure there are so many poor to inherit Heaven.

People can go into the temples, and everyone will see that they are praying, but there is a difference in just claiming you are a Christian or a good Samaritan and proving it.

Punching down on the poor and needy, those in the smallest of weight classes, and pushing your immediate benefit of a tax break onto your children and their children is, for lack of a better word, heinous.

Austin Petak is an aspiring novelist and freelance journalist who loves seeking stories and the quiet passions of the soul. If you are interested in reaching out to him to cover a story, you may find him at austinpetak@gmail.com.

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