In the swirl of Washington politics, the release of a federal budget proposal can feel like a dull procedural affair — just another policy document churned out in the corridors of power.
Yet the Republicans’ latest budget blueprint is anything but dull. It offers a stark moral and economic statement about whose interests will be prioritized if their vision becomes reality. The message is clear: America’s wealthiest individuals and billionaires will enjoy increasingly cushy tax breaks, while our nation’s poorest citizens bear the brunt of funding cuts that threaten to fray the safety net to the breaking point.
At the center of the Republican plan is a suite of tax cuts that stand to further enrich the top 1%. While Republicans argue that lowering taxes for the wealthy spurs economic growth — a regurgitation of the age old, discredited “trickle-down” theory — the main consequence is that we continue to pile more wealth into the hands of those who need it least. It’s almost a cliché to say that the wealthiest Americans and corporations have armies of lobbyists and accountants to shave their tax burdens down.
But with these new proposals, Washington is effectively handing them the biggest shovel yet. The plan proposes extending or further lowering marginal rates for top earners, as well as easing certain capital gains taxes, moves that are likely to intensify the already staggering wealth inequality in this country.
It might be one thing if the budget simply missed an opportunity to close loopholes for the mega-rich. But Republicans have also laid out severe cuts to programs that are critical in the lives of low-income Americans: food assistance, health care and housing support. In the name of “balancing the budget,” the proposal slashes billions of dollars from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). This vital program has kept tens of millions of families from going hungry. Yet under the GOP’s plan, many of these families — mostly working families, by the way — are set to lose crucial benefits.
Beyond nutrition assistance, the cuts spill over into housing and health care. Reduced funding for Section 8 Housing Vouchers not only heightens the threat of homelessness, it also disrupts basic mobility for families who desperately need more stable living conditions to find and hold onto work. Cuts to Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program imperil access to medical care for children, people with disabilities and seniors, groups who can ill afford to patch over their coverage gaps. Ironically, the burden of these health care cuts will eventually spill into emergency rooms, raising costs for local communities and state governments.
And then there is the oft-floated call to further increase work requirements for federal aid recipients. On paper, it might sound rational: if you receive government benefits, you should at least seek employment. But such requirements often fail to account for the realities of the labor market or for those who struggle with health issues, caregiving responsibilities or the lack of accessible jobs. By attaching stricter work requirements to anti-poverty programs, lawmakers risk throwing vulnerable recipients off vital benefits, even when they’re already working one, two or three jobs. The result is that children go hungry, parents forgo medical treatment and families are cast adrift.
Proponents of the plan will inevitably label it “fiscally responsible.” The trouble is, by doubling down on lavish tax breaks for the wealthy and powerful, any “savings” gleaned from cutting social programs don’t address the core drivers of our debt. Let’s be clear: the largest beneficiaries of the new round of tax cuts will not be the small business owners or middle-class families that Republicans so often invoke in speeches. Rather, the winners will be corporate executives, hedge-fund managers and billionaire heirs. American billionaires’ net worths have already soared over the past decade, especially during the pandemic. It is these ultra-wealthy individuals and corporations that can most easily absorb any tax burden, yet the GOP plan places them at the very back of the line or off the hook altogether.
What’s even more distressing is the backwards economic logic. Decades of research and real-world experience show us that when low- and moderate-income Americans have more disposable income via living wages, subsidized health care and robust nutritional support, they spend it immediately in their communities, driving growth from the bottom up. By contrast, tax cuts for the wealthy do not “trickle down” so much as they trickle into stock buybacks, luxury asset purchases or offshore investments that yield minimal benefit for the average American.
We find ourselves at a crossroads. As a nation, we must decide whether the fruits of American prosperity should continue flowing upward to a tiny slice of the population or whether we will nourish a broad middle class and strive to lift up those who are most vulnerable. This Republican budget is more than just a spreadsheet; it is a vision of who matters, and who doesn’t, in our country.
We can do better. The pandemic taught us that, in moments of crisis, government support can keep families afloat and preserve local economies. Yet the current proposal would actively strip away that safety net. If we truly want to balance the budget in a way that is fair and sustainable, we should start by asking the wealthiest among us to pay their fair share. We should defend the programs that help millions of Americans stave off hunger, stay healthy and keep roofs over their heads. Any budget is, at its core, an expression of collective moral values, and this one leaves our poorest neighbors behind. It is time to demand a more equitable path, one that invests in all Americans, not just those already thriving at the top.
Owen Puckett is an Opinion Editor and a member of the Editorial Board. He is a senior studying political science. Do you agree the proposed federal budget will be harmful to many Americans? Send all comments to opinion@dailycardinal.com
