The House-passed “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” has sparked outrage and applause in equal measure — a sweeping package that includes permanent tax cuts, Medicaid reforms, defense hikes, and even a $1,000 savings account for every American newborn. Critics immediately cried foul, labeling the legislation a “fiscally reckless giveaway to the rich.” But as the usual suspects hyperventilate about deficits, they ignore the deeper, more persistent truth: Tax cuts do not cause deficits. Government spending does.
The Real Budget Buster Is the Spending Machine
Let’s start with the math. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the “One Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBBA) will add roughly $3.8 trillion to the deficit over the next decade. But not because of the tax cuts alone. While the bill does extend the 2017 individual and corporate tax cuts — and expands child tax credits and deductions for tips, overtime, and car loan interest — it also balloons spending on defense, border security, and new programs.
The legislation allocates:
- $150 billion in new defense spending, including a “Golden Dome” missile defense system,
- $70 billion to border security and deportation infrastructure,
- Creation of “Trump Accounts” — $1,000 per newborn, with optional $5,000 annual contributions,
- And broad restructuring of entitlement eligibility requirements, especially within Medicaid and SNAP.
That’s not a tax policy problem. That’s a spending spree with a campaign slogan.
Weaponizing the Deficit Myth
Progressive pundits now howl that this bill “proves” tax cuts are fiscally irresponsible. But this ignores decades of data showing federal revenue rises after tax reform when paired with economic growth. In fact, the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act saw tax receipts rebound within two years, despite initial drops. What sabotaged the fiscal picture then — and now — is Washington’s refusal to cut or even restrain spending.
Critics of OBBBA also blast its supposed favoritism toward the wealthy — particularly the raised SALT cap from $10,000 to $40,000. But this argument misses the mark: wealth isn’t the issue. The structural deficit persists regardless of top marginal rates, because we continue to promise more than we can afford.
Spending, Not Revenue, Drives Deficits
Consider this: in 2023, the federal government collected over $4.4 trillion in tax revenue, a near-record haul. And yet it still ran a $1.7 trillion deficit. The problem isn’t what Washington isn’t taking — it’s what it refuses to stop spending.
The “One Big Beautiful Bill” provides an unexpected teaching moment. The debate shouldn’t center on whether working families deserve to keep more of what they earn — via higher child tax credits, deduction expansions, or exclusion of overtime from taxable income. Those are economically stimulative and morally just. The focus should be on why Washington keeps attaching billions in new spending to every tax reform, whether the party in charge wears red or blue.
Misplaced Criticism and Political Convenience
Ironically, some critics who deride OBBBA for its tax cuts had no issue with $1.9 trillion in COVID stimulus or the half-trillion-dollar Green New Deal-lite proposals from the left. The selective outrage is telling. Deficits, it seems, only matter when tax cuts are involved — not when bureaucracies or entitlements swell unchecked.
Yet the “One Big Beautiful Bill” also raises fair concerns:
- Medicaid work requirements could be overly punitive for vulnerable groups.
- Judicial oversight may be weakened by provisions limiting contempt enforcement.
- And sweeping reforms passed via a 1,100-page bill rushed through on partisan lines undermines transparency.
These are legitimate criticisms — but they have nothing to do with tax policy and everything to do with the way our government legislates: with maximal ambition and minimal restraint.
Conclusion: The Root Problem Remains
The real fiscal threat isn’t the return of your tax dollars — it’s the insatiable appetite of a federal government that sees every surplus as permission to spend more, and every deficit as an excuse to tax more.
The “One Big Beautiful Bill” may be flawed, but its tax reforms aren’t the enemy. They are an opportunity to spur growth and reward work. If lawmakers want to tackle deficits, they must stop pretending that tax relief is the culprit and start confronting the beast of unchecked spending that truly drives America toward insolvency.
Until then, deficits will continue — not because you got a break, but because Washington refuses to take one.
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