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We Got This Covered
We Got This Covered
Sadik Hossain

10,000 people a year might die under Donald Trump’s rule but don’t worry the billionaires are doing fine

The House and Senate Republicans are working on finalizing their versions of the budget reconciliation bill, which includes significant changes to healthcare, nutrition assistance, and tax policies. These sweeping changes align with Trump’s broader political agenda that prioritizes tax reform and government spending reductions. Both versions propose extensive cuts to Medicaid and SNAP benefits, while simultaneously introducing substantial tax cuts primarily benefiting wealthy Americans.

According to MSNBC, the proposed legislation would result in millions losing their health insurance through historic Medicaid cuts. This approach reflects the Trump administration’s consistent strategy of reducing federal spending on social programs while prioritizing tax cuts. Additionally, numerous households, including those with children, would lose access to nutrition assistance programs due to unprecedented SNAP benefit reductions. The bill’s tax cuts are projected to increase the national deficit by trillions over the next decade.

According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), “Americans on average would be poorer” due to the weakened economy resulting from these tax cuts. The analysis reveals that extending the expiring provisions of the Trump tax cuts would lead to a GDP reduction larger than the size of the tax cut itself. The bill is expected to cause approximately 10,000 deaths annually due to loss of health coverage.

Tax cuts would cost more than expected and harm economic growth

Independent analyses from multiple sources, including the Budget Lab at Yale and the Penn Wharton Budget Model, indicate that the House-passed bill would harm the economy long-term and increase borrowing costs. The CBO, working with the Joint Committee on Taxation, found that the bill would be 15 percent more expensive when accounting for economic effects, rather than providing savings.

The legislation would give roughly twice as much in tax benefits to households earning over $1 million per year compared to the entire bottom half of America combined. The tax cuts would require about $4 trillion in funding, according to budget law estimates from the Joint Committee on Taxation.

The economic impact would include higher interest rates, affecting mortgage payments, credit card rates, and small business loans. The CBO projects that while the bill might provide a small, short-term economic boost, it would only cover 3.5 percent of the legislation’s cost.

The proposed bill is being called the largest transfer of wealth from poor to rich in U.S. history through a single law. It would particularly impact lower-income Americans, with approximately one-third of the population experiencing immediate negative effects, and the majority facing economic hardship in the long term. Despite Republican claims about the tax cuts paying for themselves through economic growth, multiple analyses indicate that, like the 2017 Trump tax cuts, these new cuts would not generate enough revenue to offset their cost.

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