In 2025 the MAGA majority in Congress passed the highly partisan “One Big Beautiful Bill.” While some of its provisions may have sounded good to ordinary Americans, the reality of the bill is that its few benefits for ordinary working Americans were timed according to the political calendar – designed to kick in before the midterm elections and before the next presidential election.
In essence, many provisions of the bill could rightfully be viewed as political bribes to vote for Republicans in the 2026 and 2028 elections. Of course, those are in addition to Trump’s promise of $5,000 checks if Republicans won the midterms.
For example, the enhanced child tax credit took effect in the 2025 tax year along with federal contributions to Trump child savings accounts for children born between 2025 and 2028. So, too, did the expanded federal tax deduction of 40 percent for state and local taxes (SALT). However, that deduction is timed to return to 10 percent after the 2028 presidential election.
Indeed, though the bill’s tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy were made permanent, the benefits for the rest of us were made temporary. The bill was designed to eliminate or reduce safety nets and shift much of the cost of government onto middle- and lower-income voters while further enriching billionaires.
As a result of the bill, tax credits for EVs, energy-efficient appliances, rooftop solar, battery panels, and solar water heaters have already been eliminated. So, too, have the Biden administration rules to streamline Medicaid eligibility and enrollment. And millions of Americans saw their health insurance premiums dramatically rise when ACA subsidies were eliminated in January of this year.
In the coming year, millions more Americans will be harmed by cuts to SNAP and Medicaid so severe that even some GOP members of Congress tried to remove them from the bill.
Immigrant eligibility for Medicaid was limited by the bill prior to the midterms. Though it may seem logical that federal programs should be reserved for citizens, the reality is that it will actually cost citizens more. Since hospitals are mandated to help any patient facing a life-threatening emergency, and healthcare through ERs is many times more expensive than preventative care, the extra costs to treat immigrants will be passed on to the rest of us. Some rural hospitals may even be forced to close.
Were you excited to learn that the bill provided a tax deduction for interest on auto loans? Well, that expires in 2028 after the election. So does the enhanced tax deduction for seniors. The provision eliminating taxes on tips and overtime pay? That also expires in 2028 along with business tax deductions for new manufacturing facilities.
The bill also shoves the costs of some programs onto the states and individuals after the 2028 election. Some states will share the costs for SNAP beginning in 2029 or 2030. Medicaid enrollees will be forced to share some of the costs beginning in October 2028. And Medicaid provider tax rules will be changed between 2028 and 2032.
Seniors will also be adversely affected by some of the bill’s lesser-known provisions. Energy credits will be eliminated. Food assistance for low-income seniors will be reduced. Access to Medicaid will be reduced. And there will be future reductions to Medicare.
So, the bill may be beautiful for billionaires and large corporations. But it’s damn ugly for ordinary Americans.