“Big Beautiful Bill”! How often are we now hearing this phrase, used as a marketing ploy to make a dumpster full of policies, revenue changes, and costs sound as if there is magic within, designed to solve a myriad of issues and problems facing our country?
Once again, the American public is being misled by both advocates and opponents, most of whom seek political advantages from whatever is occurring in DC, rather than genuinely seeking the public benefit. They parse our minds by offering selected goodies for select groups while ignoring any long-term detriment from continuing to spend monies that neither the government nor the public actually have in their possession, nor a means of reducing it going forward. Debt is thought to be an inconvenience at best, and a tool for acquiring votes at worst. The bill, as written, puts tax reductions and new programs up front while any needed program and expenditure cuts are backloaded, hoping that policy changes might result in savings somewhere down the road.
Count me amongst any real conservatives who would vote NO on this loaded Big Beautiful Bill. It’s way past time for Congress to embrace using single-subject matter bills. It is a requirement in Florida that substantive bills contain single subjects. It should be a requirement in DC as well. Funding bills should not be laden with policy issues. Congress has long forgotten the value of honest debate and discussions at the committee levels.
First, they should discuss policies and get them passed, all while working to include funding increases, or preferably reductions, in separate appropriations processes. It is also past time for seriously addressing the spending addiction that has taken over both sides of the aisle; one side just arguing for less profligate spending than the other. There are but a handful of true conservatives in Congress these days. Members seeking real limits on spending are called names and ostracized from decision-making. We elect those who talk a good game and then fall prey to the voices calling for government to fund every perceived unmet or not fully completed need, promising tax reductions without commensurate spending reductions.
We have completely mortgaged generational futures, and little is said about this. Instead of seriously addressing tax levels they seek to parse taxpayers further using tax on tips, taxes on overtime, taxes on social security, seeking to divide concerned electorate into advocacy groups for “freedom from taxation. Think about it. How can they give special treatment by eliminating taxes on segments of the taxpaying public, without reducing commensurate amounts of spending. Bills for government activities come due, just like they do in our homes. People do not plan expensive vacations when they know their income is going down. Only the government spends money they do not have, just thinking that someday someone will pay for it. How about the long-discussed flat tax that applies to all incomes, however earned? How about balancing income vs. expenses just like we all do in our personal lives?
We are being played with gimmicks and special treats for selected groups. I’m disgusted with Congress. They are just not serious about fixing their preferred tax, some, spend more habits
DC suffers from the lack of honest debate. This time it is the Democrats using alarming phrases like “Millions of people will be cut from Medicaid” instead of acknowledging there is waste and possible fraud within the program or even discussing the potential for cost savings if able-bodied people receiving benefits were required to work to continue receiving benefits.
Much could be written about how politics has been infused into every policy discussion. Congressional committees play “Gotcha” with witnesses, rather than delving deeper into policy issues. One would welcome real philosophical discussions but instead we get soundbites and platitudes.
Further we suffer from an abundance of hypocrisy from Members. How often have we heard Democrats using the phrase “tax cuts for the rich’, again seeking to both divide segments of voters while posturing rather than being honest about what they seek. Then they advocate higher deductions for state and local taxes (SALT) because from where they come from the state and local taxes are enormously high. If you live in Florida or other lower tax states, they expect you to have the added burden of federal tax collections to support the profligate spending of deep blue states. They advocate allowing high tax state’s taxpayers to write off hundreds of thousands of state and local taxes. Remember “tax cuts for the rich”? Who pays hundreds of thousands to the state and local governments? Surely not moderate to low income.
Their hypocrisy has no bounds as they seek political rather than good public policies. DC continues to play one group against the other. DC continues to fail us both in the short term and in the long term as they continue to advocate for political ends rather than public needs.
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