As the House of Representatives irons out the final details of the first iteration of the big, beautiful reconciliation bill, congressional Democrats are in total panic mode and resorting to outright lies about what the bill would and would not do.
So far, the most common lie I’ve heard is that the big, beautiful bill is just another tax cut for the rich. This should come as no surprise. In 2017, when the GOP-led Congress was debating the nuts and bolts of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), many of these same Democrats claimed that bill would be a windfall for the wealthy paid for by the middle and working classes.
With 20/20 hindsight, we know for certain that the TCJA, which represents a bulk of the big, beautiful bill’s tax language, reaped huge rewards on the middle and lower classes.
In fact, as The Heartland Institute has shown in two policy studies, one released in 2021 and an updated version released earlier this year, “data from the IRS measuring income tax revenues collected from 2017 to 2022 show the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) reduced the average amount of personal income taxes paid by filers in every income bracket, with the largest benefits going to lower- and middle-income households.”
In terms of the percentage saved per filer, which is arguably the best way to measure the tax savings delivered by the TCJA, consider: according to IRS data, average filers in the $40,000 to $50,000 bracket paid about 19 percent less in income taxes in 2022 than in 2017; those earning $50,000 to $75,000 paid 16.58 percent less; and filers in the $75,000 to $100,000 bracket paid nearly 11 percent less. The ultra-wealthy, those earning $5 million to $10 million, paid 2.3 percent less.
The big, beautiful bill will not only extend the TCJA tax rate cuts. As it is currently written, it includes three specific new measures that are tailored to cut taxes specifically for hardworking Americans. The “no tax on tips,” “no tax on overtime,” and “no tax on Social Security” provisions would provide enormous tax savings for millions of blue-collar workers and low-income Americans.
Another frequent lie Democrats push is that the big, beautiful bill will explode the deficit. However, this is easily proven false. “In fiscal year 2022, federal tax revenues reached a record-high of $4.9 trillion – $1.6 trillion or 48 percent higher than when the Trump tax cuts were passed and $884 billion higher than CBO’s projections for 2022,” notes the House Ways and Means Committee.
Democrats love to cite forecasts by the Congressional Budget Office, but these estimates are fundamentally flawed because they are static, not dynamic, by nature, and therefore always underrate economic growth. According to the House Ways and Means Committee, “In the first two years after passage of the Trump tax cuts, GDP growth was a full percentage point higher than CBO’s pre-TCJA forecast.”
Yet another prevalent lie commonly spread by Democrats is that the big, beautiful bill will cut Medicaid benefits for those who most truly need them. This is absurd.
It is beyond reasonable doubt that Medicaid expansion as a result of the so-called Affordable Care Act has put the program, which was originally intended to provide medical care to the most vulnerable, on an unsustainable trajectory.
Even states like California, which expanded Medicaid with open arms and even provides Medicaid to illegal aliens, has announced it must make reforms to its state program: Medi-Cal.
Under its current form, the reconciliation bill would impose work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents. It is not slashing benefits across the board. Based on a recent KFF poll, more than 60 percent of Americans support work requirements for Medicaid recipients.
Instead of constantly lying about the reconciliation bill, I think it would be far more beneficial if Democrats engaged in an honest debate with their colleagues regarding the particulars of the bill. It is downright sad that Congress has devolved into such blatant partisanship. Moreover, it does not bode well for the future.
I also wish Democrats would drop the scaremongering and engage in an open and honest dialogue with the American people about this bill, and the path forward.
The Trump economic agenda, which is centered upon reviving the American dream for hardworking Americans, is here to stay. The big, beautiful bill is just the beginning, and it would behoove Democrats to find common ground rather than continuing to gaslight the American people.
Chris Talgo (ctalgo@heartland.org) is editorial director at The Heartland Institute.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member