Trump's 'big beautiful bill' is an ugly fiscal mess created by Republicans | Opinion
Real reforms to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are all required to balance the federal budget, and currently, neither party has the stomach to do so.
Tensions are high among congressional Republicans as President Donald Trump pushes House Speaker Mike Johnson to pass his so-called “Big Beautiful Bill,” which features sharp tax cuts and tepid spending reductions.
Maybe Trump's biggest concern about his legacy has been the fate of his 2017 tax cuts, which are set to expire at the end of this year. The new bill amounts to nothing more than an attempt by Trump to renew those tax cuts by any means necessary. Experts estimate that the current Republican bill will boost long-term GDP slightly, but at the cost of adding trillions to the deficit.
While slashing taxes is the dream of any conservative, doing so without cutting spending is flat out irresponsible. America cannot continue to borrow from its future to pay for current programs.
Trump’s bill is far from beautiful and does not come close to controlling spending enough to compensate for the loss of revenue from its tax cuts.
The Trump-endorsed tax bill will make things worse
Trump had reportedly pushed for tax hikes for the wealthiest Americans in recent weeks, but the members of Congress opted not to include them, instead renewing the 2017 tax cuts as they were. The renewal of these cuts boosts long-term GDP while putting more money in Americans' pockets at all income levels, helping the wealthiest Americans the most.
This time around, however, Trump's plan is slated to include his campaign promise of lifting taxes on tips. While the legislation is in flux, some of its proposals are aimed at helping working Americans rather than the wealthy Americans to whom Trump is accused of catering.
These tax breaks don't pay for themselves, however. Experts estimate that the legislation will add around $3.3 trillion to the deficit over the next decade.
It is completely irresponsible for Republicans to continue cutting tax revenue without cutting spending by the same amount. Borrowing future money to pay for current indulgences is not a good personal financial habit, and the same goes for our federal government. America spends $684 billion annually on servicing the debt.
Republicans love to complain about the deficit when Democrats are in power, but Trump-endorsed legislation that is fiscally irresponsible can only muster a handful of Republicans in staunch opposition. After all, the deficit increased in every single year of Trump's first term as president, and is projected to increase again in 2025. Once again, most elected Republicans are more loyal to Trump getting his way than they are to any semblance of conservative governance.
“We are writing checks we cannot cash, and our children are going to pay the price,” said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, in front of Congress.
Roy and three others voted present during the committee vote on May 18, which allowed the bill to move on to the House floor vote promised for later this week, but they have made it clear that the current form of the bill is unacceptable. Johnson can only afford three GOP defections on the final floor vote.
GOP's proposed spending cuts are good, but they must go further
I recognize that it is a difficult political sell for leadership to take benefits away from people, but if we ever want to have a balanced budget, there needs to be a serious look at entitlement reform beyond the newly suggested cuts.
Despite worthwhile Medicaid reforms in the form of work requirements for able-bodied recipients, the cuts don’t go far enough or begin early enough. The proposed work requirements were originally slated to begin in 2029, pushing the political flak of the legislation until after Trump had already left office. The budget hawk holdouts have been pushing for that timeline to be moved sooner, but we don’t yet have confirmation of what the final bill will look like.
It truly is a tragedy that most Republicans today have become squeamish about cutting entitlements. Work requirements for Medicaid should be the bare minimum of reforms. Far deeper cuts should be on the table to balance the budget. The most serious offense is the Social Security problem, a program that can no longer pay for itself through its Ponzi scheme function that Republicans refuse to even question.
Modern conservatives hesitate to touch the programs because they might offend their voters.
Other well-meaning attempts at balancing the federal budget, such as Elon Musk’s DOGE effort, generally amount to more headlines than actual spending cuts. Real differences in federal spending have to go through Congress, but the current Congress is downright cowardly when it comes to addressing serious budgetary strains.
Real reforms to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are all required to balance the federal budget, and currently, neither party has the stomach to do so. Until someone gets the guts to cut entitlements, America’s budget is stuck in purgatory, and Republicans are currently the reason for that.
Dace Potas is an opinion columnist for Paste BN and a graduate of DePaul University with a degree in political science.