ONE BIG, FAT, HORRIBLE BILL
The Biggest Upward Redistribution of Wealth in American History
I’ve been quiet the last few weeks because, on a whim, I decided to shift my focus to fiction and started writing a novel. Progress on the book has far exceeded my expectations, and I’m now closing in on 20,000 words. That said, with the passing of Trump’s, One Big Beautiful Bill Act I felt inspired to return briefly to political writing.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed this morning at 7:00 a.m. ET by the slimmest of margins,—215-214-1— after a 19-hour session that went through the night.
Let me be clear: the bill that House Republicans voted for and passed this morning—while most Americans were still asleep or just waking up—is the biggest upward redistribution of wealth in American history.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO)—a non partisan federal agency within the legislative branch—projects that the legislation will increase the federal deficit by approximately $3.8 trillion over the next decade, primarily due to the permanent extension of Trump’s 2017 tax cuts for the rich and significant spending cuts that will hurt the country’s most vulnerable.
Here’s a breakdown of the most significant cuts:
Medicare: As part of the Pay-As-You-Go law (PAYGO), the $3.8 trillion increase to the deficit would trigger automatic spending cuts, including $500 billion from Medicare between 2027 and 2034.
Medicaid: The legislation—if signed into law—would cut Medicaid by $600 billion over the next 10 years, and enforce a stricter work requirement for eligibility. The CBO estimates this could cause up to 8.7 million Americans to lose their coverage.
Affordable Care Act (ACA): The legislation doesn’t directly repeal the ACA, but cuts to Medicaid and other provisions in the bill are expected to increase the number of uninsured Americans to 7.6 million.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): Also known as food stamps, SNAP provides eligible, low-income Americans with monthly benefits so they can put food on their tables. The legislation imposes stricter work requirements for eligibility and may potentially reduce benefits by up to 30%.
Clean Energy Incentives: Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill also aims to make America’s—and the world’s—environment significantly less beautiful. Should the bill be signed into law, it will repeal the clean energy incentives introduced under the Biden Administration.
Education and Welfare Programs: The bill includes significant reductions to education and welfare funding.
Tips, Overtime Pay and Car Loan Interest: While the bill’s removal of taxes on tips, overtime pay, and car loan interest sounds good for everyone, it will benefit higher earners in practice. This is because lower-income tipped-workers already pay little to no federal income tax on tips because of existing tax deductions like the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit. Higher earners who already face higher tax liabilities end up being the big winners.
Removing taxes on tips and overtime pay also creates what’s known as horizontal inequity in the tax code. This essentially means that two people earning the same income would end up paying significantly different amounts in taxes. For example, someone earning $50,000 primarily through tips would pay far less in tax than someone earning $50,000 in regular wages.
$150 Billion Defense Budget Increase: Under the proposed legislation, the Defense Department will see a massive boost to their already bloated budget, specifically aimed at increasing autonomous drone systems and AI warfare capabilities. This part of the legislation has been criticized as excessive during a time of peace, while other essential programs like Medicaid, Medicare, the Department of Education, and the CDC are seeing their budgets slashed.
MAGA Savings Accounts: The bill establishes a $1,000 “MAGA savings account” for every child born between 2024–2028. This is seen by some as a gimmick and by others as—eerily similar to the Nazi’s birth award, the Cross of Honour of the German Mother.
A Fast Track for Deregulation: The bill includes provisions to substantially weaken or ELIMINATE regulatory oversight over finance, labor standards, and environmental protection. Critics feel this favors corporate interests over workplace safety and the environment.
Elimination of the Gun Silencer Tax: The proposed legislation includes the elimination of an almost 100-year-old customer tax on gun silencers. Repealing the tax will cost $1.4 billion over ten years.
Representative Mike Thompson (D-CA), says the elimination of the silencer tax will "make it harder for victims of mass shootings to know where the shots are coming from as they’re trying to run for cover." He continued, “As a combat veteran, a lifelong hunter and gun owner, I can tell you this has nothing to do with hearing protection, but everything to do about making money for one segment of the gun industry."
Final Thoughts: I’m sure there’s a lot more in this bill that could be discussed, but I think I’ve presented enough to support my statement that Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill is the biggest upward redistribution of wealth in our country’s history. According to the CBO’s report, corporations and the top 1% of earners will benefit most from the tax benefits, while lower income earners will see little relief—or losses as a result of the legislation.
The One Big Beautiful Bill is the legacy President Donald Trump and his Administration will leave this country.
There is nothing in their big, fat, horrible bill that will “Make America Great Again” or put “America First.”
To every single House Republican who voted in favor of its passage: you should be ashamed of yourself.
To the 77,284,118 Americans who voted for Trump on November 4, 2024 because you were told we were in a recession, or egg prices were too high, or Haitians were eating your dogs and cats: YOU WERE HOODWINKED!