Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

The budget bill has passed and will no doubt be signed by the President today.

 July 4th – Independence Day. The day we declared our independence from the tyrannical rule of European kings, we recognized that all people should be equal in the eyes of the law. However, we surprisingly passed a budget bill that violates these principles. For the first 79 years of my life, I watched this dream bear fruit for other races and other genders.

The checks and balances in the Constitution were functioning quite well. I am disappointed by how quickly we’ve lost the ground we had made. We seem to have elected a tyrant as President, and he is doing everything he can to bully individuals and institutions to forget their roles and do his work.

Today, the budget bill was passed and is expected to be signed on July 4th. This bill should never have passed. It benefits the rich by burdening the poor and ill. It also attempts to conceal this by making the benefits to the rich immediate, while cutting the benefits to the poor the next year.

Things in the Budget Bill That Favor the Wealthy

1. Biggest tax cuts go to the rich: The richest Americans get the largest tax breaks as you will see in the summary table below.
2. SALT deduction cap raised: The limit on how much rich people can deduct for state and local taxes (SALT) went up from $10,000 to $40,000,
3. Pass-through business tax break: Owners of certain businesses (like LLCs or partnerships) get a special tax deduction, mainly helping the top 1%.
4. Corporate tax breaks: Big companies and their owners get permanent tax cuts, which mostly benefit wealthy shareholders.
5. Estate tax changes: The bill makes it easier for rich families to pass on their money without paying as much tax.
6. Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) changes: Loosening rules on this tax helps the very wealthy avoid extra taxes. The AMT was designed to ensure that wealthy individuals pay at least some tax, even if they utilize numerous deductions.
7. Opportunity Zone tax breaks: These investment tax breaks are made permanent, mostly helping wealthy investors. Wealthy individuals can invest in certain neighborhoods and reap significant tax savings, but studies show that the benefits rarely reach the residents living there.
8. Temporary cuts for ordinary people, permanent for rich: Regular families get short-term tax cuts, but the rich and corporations get permanent ones.
9. Loopholes revived: Some tax loopholes that primarily benefit the wealthy are reinstated, allowing them to pay lower taxes. These are special rules or exceptions that only individuals with substantial wealth or sophisticated accountants can utilize.

Things in the Budget Bill That Affect the Poor

1. Cuts to Medicaid: Millions of low-income individuals could lose their health insurance due to the bill’s reduction in Medicaid funding.
2. Cuts to food stamps (SNAP): Over 2 million people may lose access to food assistance, making it harder for low-income families to afford food.
3. Work requirements for Medicaid: Low-income individuals must demonstrate that they work at least 80 hours per month to maintain their health insurance, which can be challenging to meet and may result in some losing coverage even if they qualify.
4. Out-of-pocket costs for Medicaid: Some low-income individuals may have to pay more for doctor visits and tests, which can amount to hundreds of dollars per year. Even small fees can make it difficult for low-income families to access medical care when they need it. This could lead to people skipping important check-ups or taking their medication incorrectly.
5. Small or no tax cut: The poorest families get an average tax cut of only $108 or $150, compared to thousands for the rich. This small amount doesn’t make much of a difference when families are struggling to pay their bills. In some cases, the cost of losing other benefits is much greater than the tiny tax cut.
6. Some see a tax increase: By 2029, families making less than $30,000 a year could actually pay more in taxes. This happens because some tax breaks expire or are modified over time, while others for the wealthy remain in place
7. Loss of federal aid outweighs tax breaks: Any small tax cut for the poor is more than offset by the loss of health and food benefits, leaving them worse off overall. The extra money from the tax cut doesn’t make up for losing help with food, health care, or housing. This could push more families into poverty.
8. Child Tax Credit changes overlook the poorest: The bill expands the Child Tax Credit slightly, but the lowest-income families don’t benefit because the rules remain unchanged for them. Families who don’t earn enough to pay taxes can’t get the full credit, so the help goes to those with higher incomes. This leaves out the children who need it most.
9. Rural hospitals may close: With less Medicaid funding, some rural hospitals serving low-income communities could shut down. These hospitals often depend on Medicaid payments to stay open. If they close, people in small towns may have to travel far to get care or not get it at all.
10. Living costs rise: Other changes, like new tariffs, make things more expensive for everyone, but the poor feel it most because they have less money to spare. When prices go up for food, clothing, or gas, it takes a bigger bite out of a poor family’s budget. This makes it even harder for them to make ends meet.

In summary:

The budget bill provides the largest tax breaks and benefits to the wealthy and large companies, while making life more difficult for low-income Americans by cutting health care, food aid, and other support programs, and offering them only modest or temporary tax cuts.

1. Summary Table: Visualized Gains

Group	Projected Change (Annual)	Main Reason
Poorest 20%	-$700 to -$1,600	Medicaid, SNAP cuts
Middle 20–60%	-$100 to +$1,000	Modest tax changes
Top 20%	+$5,700 to +$12,000	Major tax cuts
Top 1%	+$30,000	Largest tax breaks
Top 0.1%	+$390,000	Corporate, estate tax cuts

• Charts from sources like The New York Times, The Economist, Yale Budget Lab, and NPR all use these visual techniques to make the income gains for the rich—and the losses for the poor—immediately apparent

So, Republicans should be embarrassed by the passage of such a one-sided bill. It is now the people who must speak out at the polls to curb this President and win back our Democracy! It is time for us to become active.