Trump’s tax bill helps the rich, hurts the poor and adds trillions to the deficit | Katrina vanden Heuvel

The big, beautiful bill' has reaffirmed that a pledged golden age is really just a windfall for the uber-wealthy

The blush is off the rose, or, rather, the orange. The erstwhile First Buddy" and born-again fiscal hawk Elon Musk recently said he was disappointed" by Donald Trump's spendthrift budget currently under debate in the US Senate. Squeaking through the House of Representatives thanks to the capitulation of several Republican deficit hardliners, this big, beautiful bill" certainly increases the federal debt bigly - by nearly $4tn over the next decade.

Equally disappointed are those who have been busy burnishing Trump's populist veneer. Steve Bannon had repeatedly promised higher taxes for millionaires, but he has confessed he's very upset". That's because the bill would cut taxes by over $600bn for the top 1% of wage-earners, also known as millionaires. It amounts to the largest upward transfer of wealth in American history.