Trump’s Economic Agenda Is a Gift to the 1% and a Crisis for the Rest of Us

The latest jobs report confirms what working people across this country already feel in their bones: Donald Trump’s second term is an economic assault on the 99%. In July 2025, the U.S. added a meager 73,000 jobs, missing expectations by a wide margin. Worse still, the prior two months were quietly revised downward by a staggering 258,000 jobs combined. In other words, the real economy—where most Americans live—has ground to a halt.

Almost all the meager job growth came from the healthcare and social assistance sectors. Meanwhile, stable public jobs are disappearing: 84,000 federal positions have been cut since January. Manufacturing and construction have stalled. Unemployment ticked up to 4.2%, with Black unemployment rising above 7%. For millions of Americans, wages aren’t rising fast enough to keep up with food, rent, and healthcare—yet the wealthy are thriving.

This is not an accident. It’s a design.

Trump’s Policies Are Not Failing. They’re Working—as Intended.

When Trump took office again in January 2025, he inherited one of the strongest economies any modern president has ever seen. The unemployment rate was around 4.0%, inflation was stabilizing at 2.2–2.4%, and GDP was growing at nearly 3%, outperforming pre-COVID forecasts.

Instead of building on that progress, the Trump administration hit the gas pedal on policies that funnel money upward to the ultra-wealthy and corporate elite. The so-called “Big Beautiful Bill”—Trump’s signature legislative effort—reads like a billionaire’s wish list:

• Massive corporate tax cuts, slashing rates and giving new loopholes to private equity and real estate investors.
• Weakened labor protections, stripping away wage standards and overtime rules.
• Deep cuts to federal agencies that working people rely on—from the EPA to the Department of Education.
• Public sector layoffs, eliminating tens of thousands of middle-class jobs with benefits and union protections.
• Abolishing federal oversight, letting corporations police themselves on everything from pollution to worker safety.

All of this comes while Trump expands a new round of tariffs that economists rightly call “regressive taxes.” A 10% blanket tariff on all imports—plus 60% or more on Chinese goods—has raised prices on everything from groceries to electronics. These price hikes hit low- and middle-income families the hardest, while the ultra-rich absorb the cost or profit off inflation.

This is not just policy failure—it’s class warfare.

This Is What a War on the 99% Looks Like

Trump’s second-term agenda amounts to a full-scale political and economic offensive by the 1% against everyone else. Consider the pattern:

Policy	Who Gets Hurt	Who Benefits
Mass layoffs in federal agencies	Rural communities, veterans, public workers	Wealthy donors, private contractors
New tariffs on imports	Working families, small businesses	Multinationals that benefit from consolidation
Tax cuts for the rich	Public schools, infrastructure, safety nets	Billionaires and corporations
Immigration crackdowns	Agriculture, healthcare and hospitality workers	Nativist interests and corporations
Labor standards rollbacks	Gig-workers, low-wage and shift workers	Corporations
Attacks on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid	Seniors, disabled and low income Americans	Wall Street and private insurers

This is not a government for the people. It’s a boardroom coup—and every working person is being made to pay for it.

The Path Forward: A Working-Class Revolution at the Ballot Box

We don’t need a revolution in the streets—we need one at the ballot box. A working-class revolution.

We need leaders who will:

• Raise wages, not walls.
• Fund schools and hospitals, not billionaire tax breaks.
• Strengthen unions, not destroy them.
• Invest in public infrastructure and climate resilience, not fossil fuel handouts.
• Reverse the tide of privatization and reclaim democracy from the corporations.

It’s time we stopped asking politely for fairness—and started organizing like our lives depend on it. Because they do.

The 2026 Midterms Must Be Our Turning Point

The 2026 elections will be the most consequential of our generation. Congress can either become a rubber stamp for Trump’s plutocratic vision or a firewall of working-class resistance.

This is not just about left versus right. It’s top versus bottom. The 1% is waging war on us. We either fight back with our votes, our organizing, and our solidarity or we get crushed under the weight of their greed.

We deserve an economy that works for everyone, not just the stock market. We deserve a government that answers to people, not profit.

The moment is urgent. The stakes are real. And the choice is ours.

Join the working-class revolution. Start organizing. Start voting. Start winning.