On July 4, Trump signed his so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law after it was passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate, in which JD Vance broke the tie during the vote in that chamber. The bill addresses taxation and spending.
The bill is dramatically unpopular, with only 29% of Americans believing that it will help the economy. Their doubts are justified.
Firstly, the bill is inflationary, with its deep tax cuts. In combination with Trump’s bullying of Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates and his expansive tariffs, inflation is at risk of accelerating. Worse yet, these tax cuts will flow to wealthy Americans at a cost to the poorest in the country.
The bill is partially paid for by significant cuts to health care and nutrition programs, like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill would add $3.4 trillion to federal deficits over the next 10 years and leave millions without health insurance.
CBS
The Congressional Budget Office also estimated that the bottom ten percent of households will see their income fall by four percent in 2033, while the top ten percent would receive a two percent increase during the same year. The Yale Budget Lab came to a similar conclusion. Both analyses did not even account for the Medicaid restrictions, which includes work requirements for able-bodied adults and “more frequent eligibility checks.”
The bill is profoundly fiscally irresponsible. It raised the debt ceiling by $5 trillion in its final version. As mentioned before, the deficit will also increase as a result of it.
Trump less than half-delivered on his no-tax on tips promise. The provision expires in 2028, though the tax cuts for the top percentile of earners do not expire. The Senate limited the potential deduction to $25,000.
The Senate also terminated most of the tax incentives for “clean energy, electric vehicles, and energy efficiency programs.” This will obviously lead to job loss and higher costs for consumers.
Trump once described himself as a “popularist.” While this may be true on other issues he has embraced, such as isolationism, he has all but abandoned this self-proclaimed moniker by signing this unpopular bill, which does nothing but help the entrenched elite at the expense of the working-class base that got him into office once again.
