Donald Trump’s ridiculously named Big Beautiful Bill is beautiful mainly to the very wealthy, for whom it extends regressive tax cuts, to the tune of adding some $3.8 trillion to the federal debt while cutting Medicaid. Having passed the House by a margin of a single vote after some late-night scrambling after an all night session, the Senate needs to do some major surgery on the legislation.
However, one aspect that the upper chamber needs to keep intact is the raising of the deduction for state and local taxes, called SALT, up to a far more reasonable level of $40,000 than the miserly amount of $10,000 it has been at since Trump’s tax bill in his first term.
Thank you to New York Republicans Mike Lawler, Andrew Garbarino, Nick LaLota and Elise Stefanik for holding out. Lawler went toe to toe with Trump, who wanted them to settle on $30,000 and won the bump to $40k.
As for the main part of the package, the administration will try to claim victory for the working class on the basis of the fulfillment of Trump’s promise to axe taxes on tips and overtime. The overarching economic impact of this policy are complex, but even if you think that’s a good thing, the positive is certainly outweighed by the negative as legislators take a hacksaw to Medicaid and food assistance while making student loan repayment more difficult and trying kneecap cheaper and job-creating renewable energies.
Lest anyone try to pass this off as a bill focused on responsible spending, it is dumping tens of billions into pointless non-issues, including $46.5 billion for the vanity project of Trump‘s border wall, an effort that has never been shown to accomplish much beyond serving as a monument to Trump, destroying local habitats and straining relations with Mexico. It certainly has not prevented the flow of fentanyl into the country, which mostly comes via official ports of entry ferried by U.S. citizens.
It pours cash into the coffers of the internal immigration enforcement agencies and detention that the administration has clearly demonstrated it will severely misuse at a time when White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller is talking about the suspension of habeas corpus. Tack on to that $25 billion for some sort of missile defense dome that experts mostly agree is yet another bottomless money pit for defense spending that will yield no dependable results.
On the good side, there is perhaps also some benefit to the idea of having government-supported savings accounts specifically set up to help newborn children with eventual costs like college, though they would probably be better off if the government wasn’t striving to cut existing benefits that they will need before they turn 18.
Despite some of the haggling that’s gone on behind the scenes, no one should take this as a compromise bill. It is an extreme effort, with the main disagreements being between different sets of right-wing groups pushing their own particular preferences.
The Senate should give the bill a substantial rewrite and Democrats should use all procedural tools in their arsenal to gum it up while explaining its shortcomings to the public. Senate Republicans who value the long-term health and prosperity of their constituents should think hard about what they’re signing onto.
