The president’s “big, beautiful bill” will benefit the wealthy by raising taxes on the poor, gutting the safety net, and increasing health care costs. — Rolling Stone
The quiet part is now loud: “According to the bipartisan Joint Committee on Taxation, the GOP’s proposed tax provisions would increase the national debt by $5.3 trillion. It’s a phenomenal cost that Republicans intend to offset, to some degree, by forcing 10 million Americans off Medicaid, pushing millions off food stamps, and increasing health care costs for many. ”
Just like Trump’s 2017 cuts, this new tax bill would add trillions to the deficit — and it would once again disproportionately benefit the rich. The poorest Americans, meanwhile, could see a tax increase. In order to pay for the legislation, Republican lawmakers won’t look toward the people who are hoarding the vast majority of the wealth in this nation, but will instead take a hacksaw to social services and safety-net programs that help the nation’s poorest families survive, as well as raise taxes on universities, charities, and nonprofits. — RS
Behold, the quick and dirty. Where are ten of the worst policies in this “Big, beautiful bill” ? Rolling Stone lists the following:
—Keeping taxes low on the rich
—Slashing Medicaid
—Raising costs for people on individual health insurance plans
—Attacking food stamps
—Terminating the IRS Direct File program
—Diverting big money for Trump’s mass deportation efforts
—Giving Trump new powers to target charities
—Gutting green energy subsidies
According to a report from Heatmap, the House Ways and Means Committee is prepared to phase out the electric vehicle tax credit; get rid of technology-neutral production and investment tax credits that supported the development of renewable energy plants; eliminate tax credit sales by companies that were already reaching sustainability targets; and repeal tax credits for residential use of sustainable energy sources like solar power. — RS
—Blocking state and local AI regulation
Given how vague and expansive the provision is as currently written, it could conceivably bar any regulation of social media firms, which rely heavily on AI, or health insurance companies, which have been using AI to deny patients’ claims. Broadly-speaking, the provision would provide a massive shield to Silicon Valley giants like Meta, Google, and OpenAI, which have been courting the AI-friendly Trump administration.
One of the ways the AI preemption provision could potentially impact consumers is keeping rent prices high. According to a report from The Lever, the 10-year block on state and local AI regulations would kill efforts by local governments to crack down on real estate brokers and rental companies using AI software to jack up rent prices across their large inventories of properties.
—Cutting taxes on gun silencers
— The Ways and Means’ reconciliation text includes a provision that would eliminate a $200 excise tax on the transfer of firearm silencers. Rep. David Kustoff (R-Tenn.) said in a statement on X: “I proposed [the] policy that would eliminate the tax on suppressors. This would be more than $1.5 billion in tax savings for gun owners over the next 10 years.”
What the hell. — Rolling Stone
