Hypocrites, Liars, Cowards, and Con Men Pass the Big, Ugly Bill
...watch out for all the disinformation they will be trying to "sell" it with
Hypocrites
Republicans are always concerned about budget deficits and the federal debt limit….when there is a Democrat in the White House. They just passed a bill – without a single vote from a congressional Democrat – that will add hundreds of billions to the deficit, while engineering the biggest upward redistribution of income since Reagan started that heist 45 years ago.
Many in their caucus made a show of their opposition to the budget-busting and then caved – every one of them, from Chip Roy (TX) to Ralph Norman (SC).
Liars
My representative John Joyce here in PA is a good example. His e-newsletter claimed
Millions of American families will receive a tax cut as a result of this historic legislation and the Medicaid program will be strengthened for the most vulnerable Americans among us who need it the most.
Yeah, millions of families will receive tax cuts. What he doesn’t tell us is that those tax cuts, they go mostly to multimillionaires like him (net worth $17+ million).
…CBO estimates that if the legislation was enacted, U.S. households, on average, would see an increase in the resources provided to them by the government over the 2026–2034 period. The changes would not be evenly distributed among households. The agency estimates that in general, resources would decrease for households in the lowest decile (tenth) of the income distribution, whereas resources would increase for households in the highest decile. ….The total effects reported in this analysis for the 2026–2034 period include the following:
• An increase in the federal deficit of $3.8 trillion attributable to tax changes, including extending provisions of the 2017 tax act, which includes revenues and outlays for refundable credits.
• $698 billion less in federal subsidies from changes to the Medicaid program.
• $267 billion less in federal spending for SNAP.
• $64 billion less in spending, on net, for all other purposes. That includes increases in outlays for defense, immigration enforcement, and homeland security. Those are offset by reductions in federal pensions, receipts from spectrum auctions, and changes in receipts and outlays associated with changes to emissions regulations.
• $78 billion in additional state spending, on net, accounting for changes in state contributions to SNAP and Medicaid and for state tax and spending policies necessary to finance additional spending.
…And about that “strengthening the Medicaid program? NPR reports that the CBO
…estimates the House bill would cut federal spending on Medicaid by roughly $800 billion over the next decade, and the Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation focused on improving health care access, estimates 1 in 5 children could be at risk of losing their Medicaid coverage if the House proposal goes into place.
Of course Joyce was just following the leader. NPR also reported that Speaker Mike Johnson claimed on NBC's Meet the Press,
"there are no Medicaid cuts in the Big, Beautiful Bill. We're not cutting Medicaid."
Why are they lying? Because they are Republicans and that’s what Trump has taught republicans they can get away with? Maybe. But also maybe because almost 40% of Johnson’s Louisiana constituents rely on Medicaid for their health coverage.
And almost 20% of Joyce’s constituents in PA-13 rely on Medicaid for their healthcare coverage.
No wonder they want you to think they are strengthening the Medicaid program.
Cowards
All of those reps and senators who knew this was a terrible piece of legislation that violated many of the policy positions they claim to stand for (e.g., federal spending, balancing the budget, tax fairness), yet caved in to pressure from Trump and his MAGA mouthpieces. Good for NC Senator Tillis who finally stood up to the bully (after feinting such moves in the past, only to fold), even though his position led him into retirement.
Con Men
And let’s also shine the spotlight on the con men in the story, starting with freshman Representative Robert Bresnahan (PA-8, northeastern PA). He sold his stock in Centene Corporation, a healthcare company that works as an intermediary for government and private healthcare programs during the debates about the Big Ugly Bill, which of course will do great damage to healthcare, especially Medicaid. In July, it was reported that shares in the company fell almost 40 percent after the insurer predicted its 2025 revenues would be hit.
There’s also some con men (or women) working in the Social Security Administration. The SSA sent out an email to Social Security recipients claiming that Social Security Administration sent an email to Social Security recipients yesterday claiming the bill “eliminates federal income taxes on Social Security benefits for most beneficiaries, providing relief to individuals and couples.”
In reality, it does nothing to shield Social Security income from income taxes; what the bill DOES do is it gives a temporary tax deduction of up to $6,000 for individuals older than 65 with annual incomes less than $75,000, or $12,000 for married couples with incomes less than $150,000. Basically, for those in that income range it raises the standard deduction for Social Security recipients 65 or older. It cuts taxes on income from any source via that deduction. There is no mention of ending or cutting taxes on Social Security income.
Don’t be fooled.