Nick Freitas, a former Virginia state legislator and current Internet content creator, offered an interesting take on Congressional Republicans' spending-cutting fecklessness.
Unfortunately, it goes back to the base. The base demands this, but doesn't demand spending cuts with anything resembling the same fervor. And, when they do, they demand cuts to "other stuff," not their sacred cows.
The BBB is not a budget bill, it doesn't "spend" a single dime of taxpayer money. The 2026 budget is a completely separate process - and THAT's where we expect to see cuts to discretionary spending. BBB is a reconciliation package designed to make permanent the expiring Trump tax cuts from 2017, add in No-Tax-On-Tips and No-Tax-On-SS and cut Medicaid structural abuses - saving 1.6T over ten years. The CBO "scored" the bill as a net debt increase because their analysis assumes the Trump tax rates expire this year - and of course they have to assume that tips will be taxed and SS will be taxed in perpetuity, as their baseline.
So the CBO analysis scores these tax cuts the same as it would "spending". But this is a reconciliation bill - it can't spend anything and can only address taxes and entitlements - like Medicaid. The reason they're doing this on reconciliation is because then it can clear the Senate with just 51 votes - it bypasses the filibuster.
Save your umbrage for the actual budget fight. The Dems will block it in the Senate using the filibuster. The Republicans should plan on shutting the government down and leaving it shut down for months if needed. Only Democrats benefit from an open government - and besides, all the national security and public safety stuff is protected anyway, as is debt service and mandatory spending programs (SS, Medicare, etc).
I'd appreciate if people took the time to understand what the BBB is - and what it isn't - and why the Republicans are going this route.
I'm counting on the Senate to pare that back - the spending tabs will be deemed inappropriate by the Senate Parliamentarian anyway (just as she'd rule on discretionary spending cuts). As for labeling "no tax on tips" or "no tax on overtime" as "pork"???? Yeah, I don't agree. I hate the debt, but I consider keeping hard-earned money out of Uncle Sam's hands Step One. And as I said, I'm counting on the ACTUAL budget to propose spending cuts.
I’m not optimistic whatsoever.
They can’t put them on the dash and drive hard in the corner. None of them! 37 trillion reasons we are self destructing. Excellent take.
Congress needs to be serious about sane budgeting. Instead, they focus on so-called “culture wars” to excite the base.
Unfortunately, it goes back to the base. The base demands this, but doesn't demand spending cuts with anything resembling the same fervor. And, when they do, they demand cuts to "other stuff," not their sacred cows.
The BBB is not a budget bill, it doesn't "spend" a single dime of taxpayer money. The 2026 budget is a completely separate process - and THAT's where we expect to see cuts to discretionary spending. BBB is a reconciliation package designed to make permanent the expiring Trump tax cuts from 2017, add in No-Tax-On-Tips and No-Tax-On-SS and cut Medicaid structural abuses - saving 1.6T over ten years. The CBO "scored" the bill as a net debt increase because their analysis assumes the Trump tax rates expire this year - and of course they have to assume that tips will be taxed and SS will be taxed in perpetuity, as their baseline.
So the CBO analysis scores these tax cuts the same as it would "spending". But this is a reconciliation bill - it can't spend anything and can only address taxes and entitlements - like Medicaid. The reason they're doing this on reconciliation is because then it can clear the Senate with just 51 votes - it bypasses the filibuster.
Save your umbrage for the actual budget fight. The Dems will block it in the Senate using the filibuster. The Republicans should plan on shutting the government down and leaving it shut down for months if needed. Only Democrats benefit from an open government - and besides, all the national security and public safety stuff is protected anyway, as is debt service and mandatory spending programs (SS, Medicare, etc).
I'd appreciate if people took the time to understand what the BBB is - and what it isn't - and why the Republicans are going this route.
https://www.arnoldventures.org/stories/is-there-pork-in-the-one-big-beautiful-bill-let-me-count-the-ways
I'm counting on the Senate to pare that back - the spending tabs will be deemed inappropriate by the Senate Parliamentarian anyway (just as she'd rule on discretionary spending cuts). As for labeling "no tax on tips" or "no tax on overtime" as "pork"???? Yeah, I don't agree. I hate the debt, but I consider keeping hard-earned money out of Uncle Sam's hands Step One. And as I said, I'm counting on the ACTUAL budget to propose spending cuts.
I'll believe it when I see it. The incentives are not there for too many Capitol Hill denizens.