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Summers, Miran highlight worst- and best-case scenarios for Trump's megabill

Summers, Miran highlight worst- and best-case scenarios for Trump's megabill

Politico9 hours ago
'These higher interest rates, these cutbacks in subsidies to electricity, these reductions in the availability of housing, the fact that hospitals are going to have to take care of these people and pass on the costs to everybody else, and that's going to mean more inflation, more risk that the Fed has to raise interest rates and run the risk of recession, more stagflation, that's the risk facing every middle-class family in our country because of this bill,' Summers told host George Stephanopoulos on ABC's 'This Week.'
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the law will increase the national deficit by $2.8 trillion over the next decade, taking into account the legislation's impact on inflation, interest rates and economic growth.
Miran, whose interview followed Summers', called his response to the law 'doom-mongering,' echoing comments from National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett who told CBS' Weijia Jiang on 'Face the Nation' Sunday the CBO's estimate is misguided.
'It's the same combination of policies, tax cuts, deregulation, trade renegotiation, and energy abundance that gave us astounding economic growth in the president's first term, 2.8 percent until the pandemic,' Miran said. 'And that's exactly what we forecast again, very similar numbers.'
Summers called Miran's council's forecast projecting $11 trillion in deficit reduction from the bill 'respectfully, nonsense,' arguing that scaled back federal funding for education and research and development will have a negative impact on economic growth.
'There is no economist anywhere, without a strong political agenda, who is saying that this bill is a positive for the economy,' said Summers, who served as director of the National Economic Council in 2009-10. 'And the overwhelming view is that it is probably going to make the economy worse.'
Miran also defended the law's controversial cuts to Medicaid, which the CBO predicts will result in 11.8 million more Americans becoming uninsured by 2034.
Democrats have gone on the offensive against the law's Medicaid provisions, rolling out attack ads bashing Republican lawmakers who voted for the bill and recruiting candidates to challenge them in next year's midterm elections.
'The best way to make sure people are insured is to grow the economy, get them jobs, get them working, get them insurance through their employer,' he said. 'Creating jobs, creating a booming economy is always the best way to get people insured.'
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Big Beautiful BS: Trump Proposes UFC Fights On White House Lawn As Republicans Pass Worst Bill In History
Big Beautiful BS: Trump Proposes UFC Fights On White House Lawn As Republicans Pass Worst Bill In History

Black America Web

time17 minutes ago

  • Black America Web

Big Beautiful BS: Trump Proposes UFC Fights On White House Lawn As Republicans Pass Worst Bill In History

Source: Eric Lee / Getty While Donald Trump prepared to sign what he's calling his 'Big, Beautiful Bill' on July 4th—complete with fireworks, fawning MAGA acolytes, and a potential UFC fight on the White House lawn —the rest of us are trying to figure out how we're going to survive the devastating consequences of it. Behind all the confetti and chaos lies one of the most destructive legislative moves in modern history. One that guts healthcare, slashes food assistance, erodes education funding, and further widens the racial and economic divide in America. And yes, you read that correctly. Donald J. Trump is hosting a UFC match on the White House lawn in 2026. Because nothing screams 'MAGA presidential' like uncouth troglodytes complete with octagon cages and flying elbows on the South Lawn. The UFC confirmed plans to host a fight card on the White House grounds, with Trump noting that he would like the unprecedented event to be part of a celebration honoring America's 250th birthday on July 4, 2026. 'We're going to have a UFC fight on the grounds of the White House,' Trump said in Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday. 'We have a lot of land there.' While he's turning 1600 Pennsylvania Ave into a pay-per-view billboard for corporate sponsors, Black, Brown, and poor folks—are being left to fend for themselves under a bill that should've been shredded on sight. This 'historic win,' as Trump and GOP leaders are calling it, is truly a legislative massacre. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries spoke for hours, breaking the record for the longest House floor speech in modern history, to stall the bill and call out its cruelty to no avail. Unfortunately, the GOP garnered just enough votes to pass it. So what's inside this Trojan horse of tax breaks and flag-waving rhetoric? Let's break down how our communities will be impacted. A Gift to the Wealthy, a Gut Punch to the Poor The bill permanently extends the 2017 Trump tax cuts, pouring more money into the pockets of corporations and the wealthiest Americans. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the richest households will enjoy an average tax break of $12,000, while the poorest Americans could lose up to $1,600 annually. For Black communities, who are overrepresented in lower-income brackets due to centuries of systemic discrimination and economic inequality, this is more than just a tax issue. It's economic warfare. It's a direct assault on any attempt at building generational wealth. Trump calls this a 'birthday present to America,' but for many in the Black and Brown community, it serves as an eviction notice from the American Dream. Healthcare Cuts That Kill The bill also takes a hacksaw to Medicaid, implementing the strictest work requirements we've ever seen and introducing new bureaucratic red tape that will likely push nearly 12 million Americans off of healthcare by 2034. For the Black community, where chronic conditions are more prevalent and access to care is already limited, this is a death sentence packaged as fiscal responsibility. Food Insecurity on the Rise As if taking healthcare away wasn't enough, the bill also slashes SNAP benefits by forcing states to pick up more of the tab and imposing stricter work requirements. Older adults, parents, veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and young people who have aged out of foster care would lose the assistance they need to afford groceries, with no improvement in their job prospects or income. More than 40 million low-income Americans rely on SNAP to feed their families, with many of them being Black and Brown, leading to food deserts becoming food famines. Attacking Education and Opportunity Education also took a hit after the eligibility for Pell Grants was raised along with the termination of subsidized loans. The bill would enforce a lifetime cap of borrowing $100,000 for graduate students as well as a $200,000 cap for medical and law school students. The legislation also reduces opportunities for deferments or forbearance and new limits on lending for part-time students; making higher education even more inaccessible and unaffordable for students of color. Mass Deportation & Militarization While gutting programs and services of importance under the guise of saving Americans money, Trump simultaneously threw a whopping $150 billion at ICE, making it the largest federal law enforcement agency. The earmarked funds will support mass deportations, finance the doubling of migrant detention capacity, and increase border enforcement; providing Customs and Border Patrol with $46.5 billion to build the border wall and associated infrastructure, like access roads, cameras, lights, and sensors. The package also includes $2 billion for the Department of Homeland Security and $29.9 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A 'Golden Dome' and a Hollow Democracy Tucked inside the bill is $150 billion in military funding for projects like Trump's 'Golden Dome' missile defense system, a vanity project disguised as national security that stole headlines as clean energy incentives were slashed, safety nets were ripped apart, and the national debt is projected to rise by $3.3 trillion over the next decade. And yet, Trump's priorities remain painfully clear: throw a spectacle, sell the presidency to the highest bidder, and make governing look more like WrestleMania than responsible leadership. Hosting cage matches on the White House lawn? Bragging about 'hating' Democrats while signing a bill that harms millions? This clearly isn't leadership, it's performance politics at its most dangerous level; where cruelty is policy and spectacle is strategy. The damage is happening in plain sight and if we don't call it out, fight it, and vote like our lives depend on it—they will continue to treat our democracy like it's just another reality show. SEE ALSO: Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill' Will Destroy Medicare, Food Stamps Social Security Projected To 'Go-Broke' Earlier Than Expected SEE ALSO Big Beautiful BS: Trump Proposes UFC Fights On White House Lawn As Republicans Pass Worst Bill In History was originally published on

Here's how Trump's big bill will change taxes
Here's how Trump's big bill will change taxes

Yahoo

time34 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Here's how Trump's big bill will change taxes

President Trump's domestic agenda bill spans military and immigration measures, major cuts to national healthcare, and numerous industrial incentives — but the heart of the bill is still tax cuts. The Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation scored the Senate version of the bill as cutting deficits by $500 billion over 10 years without the cost of the main tax cuts in the bill, which are extensions of cuts initially passed in 2017. With those cuts included in the accounting, the cost is $3.3 trillion, or about 9.1 percent of the total U.S. debt stock of $36 trillion. This number does not include additional interest costs necessary to pay for the debt. Revenues from tariffs are expected to offset a significant portion of the cost at about $2.5 trillion, not counting macroeconomic and debt-service costs, but are still less than the overall cost of the bill. Here's a breakdown of the big tax provisions that are the bill's centerpiece. The 2017 tax law's lower marginal tax rates, higher standard deduction, and cancellation of personal exemptions are all maintained and made permanent. The standard deduction is boosted by $750 for single filers and by $1,500 for couples. Inflation adjustments apply to the bottom two tax brackets only. The child tax credit is boosted $200 to $2,200, adjusted for inflation and restricted to taxpayers with a Social Security number. The alternative minimum tax exemption is made permanent, but the phaseout happens twice as fast. The inheritance and gift tax exemptions are increased to $15 million for individuals and $30 million for couples and are pinned to inflation. The state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap — one of the most controversial provisions that endured a lengthy battle in the House — is increased to $40,000 and upped annually through 2029 for people making less than $500,000 annually. Starting in 2030, the cap goes back down to $10,000. 'There's a good chance a future Congress could move to further extend the higher deduction,' Beacon Policy advisers wrote in an analysis. The bill does away with the IRS direct online tax filing program passed in 2022. Trump promised a number of additional individual cuts geared toward working-class people while on the campaign trail, and most of them made it into the final bill. Tipped wages can be deducted up to $25,000 and overtime wages up to $12,500, with phaseouts starting at an annual income threshold of $150,000 for single filers. Seniors get an additional deduction of up to $6,000 on top of the standard deduction. Auto loan interest payments can be deducted up to $10,000, phasing out above a level of $100,000, as long as the car is made in the U.S. Those deductions run through 2028 and could represent another tax cliff that will factor into future elections, lawmakers have told The Hill. The bill also includes 'Trump accounts' — savings accounts for kids born between 2024 and 2028 into which the government will deposit $1,000. Perhaps the most significant single provision of the 2017 Trump tax cuts was the reduction of the corporate tax rate to 21 percent from 35 percent. The current bill preserves that reduction. Combined with other measures in the tax code, some of the biggest companies in the Fortune 500 and S&P 500 saw the share of profits they paid in tax drop from 22 percent to 12.8 percent as a result of the legislation, according to an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The bill also preserves the 20-percent deduction for pass-through business income. Most businesses in the U.S. are pass-throughs — a designation that includes LLCs, partnerships, sole proprietorships and S-corporations. An up-front depreciation deduction, a new accounting standard for interest deductibility, and expensing for research and development costs are also included. This trio of cuts has been avidly sought by business lobbies since they expired a few years ago. The up-front depreciation deduction is retroactive to the beginning of Trump's current term. There's also a factory construction credit, a semiconductor manufacturing credit, an opportunity zone credit and a carbon sequestration credit, among others. Though details are scarce, the U.S. appears to have struck a deal with the Group of Seven (G7) large economies that would allow it to pull out of the global minimum tax deal being negotiated at another international forum, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Both the U.S. and the OECD are touting a 'side by side' arrangement that would preserve the international Pillar 2 structure at the OECD, which is loathed by Republicans, while allowing the U.S. to have its own international tax structure comprising tax structures known as GILTI, FDII and BEAT, along with the corporate alternative minimum tax. The deal allowed a retaliatory international tax known as Section 899 to be left out of the final text of the bill, much to the relief of international investors in the U.S. Some tax experts have emphasized the separate-but-equal structures of the OECD and U.S. frameworks, but others have said it amounts to the U.S. simply going its own way and effectively pulling out of the deal. 'The architecture is not really the same,' David Rosenbloom, director of the international tax program at the New York University School of Law, told The Hill. The main difference is that multinational subsidiaries get to blend their incomes together for taxation purposes in the U.S. system, thereby paying less tax, while the OECD framework counts subsidiaries individually, Rosenbloom said. The minimum rates of taxation are also different, as are the handling of tangible business assets, which can allow income to be exempt from the minimum. Rosenbloom said it was 'strange' that the U.S. has effectively pulled out of the deal while intending to remain at the table in the OECD process. 'If we're out, we're out,' he said. 'I don't see why other countries should need our views on their tax issues.' Other tax changes in the bill include an expansion of the low-income housing tax credit, the elimination of moving expenses, an extension of the mortgage interest deduction limit, and increases to care programs for dependents. There's also a private school tax credit that some groups are calling controversial. This credit reimburses donors for the first $1,700 they give to groups that provide private school tuition vouchers. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy called the credit 'unprecedented' and warned about hidden costs stemming from the measure. 'The lack of an aggregate cap on the tax credit creates the possibility that this policy could carry an immense price tag,' the group said in an analysis. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Trump says Musk is ‘off the rails' with his third-party effort
Trump says Musk is ‘off the rails' with his third-party effort

Boston Globe

timean hour ago

  • Boston Globe

Trump says Musk is ‘off the rails' with his third-party effort

Advertisement Their close bond crumbled in a public spectacle last month, as Trump pushed his sprawling domestic policy bill through Congress. Musk panned the legislation, which is projected to add trillions to the federal debt, as a 'disgusting abomination.' He has said he would support primary challengers against any Republican who voted for the legislation, which passed with almost unanimous Republican support, but he has given few details about his new political party. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'Backing a candidate for president is not out of the question, but the focus for the next 12 months is on the House and the Senate,' Musk wrote on his social platform X on Sunday. Trump has also threatened to cut billions of dollars in federal contracts and tax subsidies for Musk's companies. Advertisement Trump said Sunday night that Musk had opposed the legislation because it eliminated the electric vehicle mandate, which would have been a boon for Tesla, one of Musk's companies. 'I have campaigned on this for two years and, quite honestly, when Elon gave me his total and unquestioned Endorsement, I asked him whether or not he knew that I was going to terminate the EV Mandate -- It was in every speech I made, and in every conversation I had,' Trump wrote in his post. 'He said he had no problems with that -- I was very surprised!' Musk did previously support ending the electric vehicle tax credits, but has done an about-face more recently, as Tesla's sales have dropped this year. Trump also said that Musk was furious that the president had pulled the nomination of Jared Isaacman, who has twice launched into orbit in a SpaceX vehicle and is a close friend of Musk, to run NASA. Trump withdrew the nomination after a White House official highlighted for Trump that Isaacman had previously donated to prominent Democrats. Isaacman met with Trump during the transition and disclosed the donations before he was nominated. But as Trump's relationship with Musk was fracturing, a White House official resurfaced the donations, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. Trump, who also has not walled off his or his family's business interests from the government, offered another reason Sunday for pulling Isaacman's nomination. 'I also thought it inappropriate that a very close friend of Elon, who was in the Space Business, run NASA, when NASA is such a big part of Elon's corporate life,' Trump wrote. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that the goals of Musk's past government cost-cutting effort, through the Department of Government Efficiency, were popular. But the billionaire himself, Bessent said, was not. Advertisement 'I believe that the boards of directors at his various companies wanted him to come back and run those companies, which he is better at than anyone,' he said on CNN on Sunday. 'So I imagine that those board of directors did not like this announcement yesterday and will be encouraging him to focus on his business activities, not his political activities.' This article originally appeared in

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