# What do you think about OBBBA? \[One Big Beautiful Bill Act\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [July 2, 2025, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399 "2025-07-02T13:36:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2025, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/61 "2025-07-02T19:50:56Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Among the bill’s key features are tax cuts that will mostly benefit the rich – 60% of the cuts go to the top 20% income earners. I haven’t looked into it in any detail, but I DID see somethings claiming that down the line, the tax will result in tax INCREASES on folk earning \<$50k. Good lord! I truly am astounded that there aren’t more Repubs in either house who have more respect for themselves, their offices, and their constituents to stand up against this atrocity. Realize that it isn’t as though the majority of Reps/Sens are young whippersnappers struggling to support their young families on their paychecks. These old, wealthy folk are truly despicable. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2025, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/62 "2025-07-02T19:56:55Z")
I agree this is a big temporary win for Trump, and it took shrewd judgement to pass this. More shrewdness went into passing it by threatening Congressfolk (who should understand its contents) then into writing a more moderate bill which will appeal to future voters. Comedian Dimitri Martin makes fun of the superficial emphasis some place on ab muscles, saying what they mainly show is one can “poop real good”. I pass things everyday. They may not require party whips and repeated caucuses, but they smell the same and have similar longterm effects. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2025, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/63 "2025-07-02T20:23:24Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Realize that it isn’t as though the majority of Reps/Sens are young whippersnappers struggling to support their young families on their paychecks. These old, wealthy folk are truly despicable. Many of those young whippersnappers struggling to support their young families on their paychecks support tax cuts for the rich because one day they too might become rich. See: The Joe the Plumber Fallacy ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2025, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/64 "2025-07-02T20:26:49Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > You need to understand that right wing media in the US have been aggressively propagandizing Americans that not only is government not working, government _cannot_ work, and it’s the fault of the left for foolishly believing government could _ever_ work. Back in the 80s, Reagan got big laughs with the line, “The scariest words you can ever hear are ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help you,’” and they’ve basically been beating that drum ever since. The majority of people in the US now accept that as a fundamental truth. Government is the enemy of freedom. Maybe a few programs here and there are okay, but overall, government is the problem. Which, ultimately, leads to [![](https://origins.osu.edu/sites/default/files/medi.jpg) ](https://origins.osu.edu/sites/default/files/medi.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2025, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/65 "2025-07-02T20:27:39Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > See: The Joe the Plumber Fallacy A.k.a. “[temporarily embarrassed millionaires](https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/328134-john-steinbeck-once-said-that-socialism-never-took-root-in).” ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2025, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/66 "2025-07-02T20:47:13Z")
FWIW, here is the Economist’s opinion. Limited gift link: > **[The big beautiful bill reveals the hollowness of Trumponomics](https://www.economist.com/briefing/2025/07/02/the-big-beautiful-bill-reveals-the-hollowness-of-trumponomics?giftId=c4161ffe-309e-4e90-975e-5ad3ad3c27a7&utm_campaign=gifted_article)** > > Republicans battle to pass a profligate but insubstantial law Regular link: > **[The big beautiful bill reveals the hollowness of Trumponomics](https://www.economist.com/briefing/2025/07/02/the-big-beautiful-bill-reveals-the-hollowness-of-trumponomics)** > > Republicans battle to pass a profligate but insubstantial law **Excerpt:** _That which is done by presidential fiat is very easily undone by presidential fiat, however. Mr Trump has dramatically raised tariffs: the average rate on goods imported into America is currently 15.6%, or more than six times the level before he became president in January. But he has raised them unilaterally, through an expansive reading of his emergency powers which is currently being contested in court. When Elon Musk was still within the president’s orbit, he was dispatched to run amok through the federal government. But many of the firings and other cuts he ordained have been reversed by court order. These are not durable ways to implement economic policy. Americans still speak of the Reagan revolution, Bill Clinton’s welfare reform and Obamacare. What programme will they remember Mr Trump by?_ [![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20250705_FBC165.png) ](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20250705_FBC165.png) _They may simply remember his profligacy. Wonks are still crunching the numbers on the version of the bbbpassed by the Senate, but preliminary estimates suggest it would add some $4.5trn to American debt over the coming decade. The cbo expects America to run an average annual fiscal deficit of 5.8% of gdp over the coming decade; the bbb would increase that by a further 1.25 percentage points. America would end up with public debt of more than 120% of gdp (see chart 2)._ _The White House has devised a fiscal fantasyland to dispense with such tiresome facts, in which the bbb initiates such breakneck growth that revenues soar and debt plummets. The Council of Economic Advisers (cea) put out a report that predicts that the bbb will add more than a percentage point to annual gdp growth and that there would be “$8.5trn to $11.1trn in total offsetting deficit reduction from Trump economic policies anchored by the bbb”. Heroically, the council predicts that, by the end of this halcyon era, the national debt will have fallen to 94%._ _This is, sadly, preposterous. The bbb is largely a continuation of existing policy, so extending it will not generate a new wave of growth. Some provisions encourage investment: businesses are able to deduct research and development costs from their tax bills in full and depreciate their assets more rapidly. Independent modellers, however, think this would spur a fraction of the growth the White House is promising. The cea gets its maths to work by assuming not only that Mr Trump will manage to unleash America’s animal spirits through deregulation, but also that he will convince Congress to slash spending (the opposite of what it has been doing this week) and that his tariffs will raise trillions for the Treasury._ _It is a big, beautiful fairy tale. A good indication of how much credence Republicans lend these rosy forecasts is the Senate’s decision to include a clause in the bbb to raise the cap on the federal government’s debt by $5trn. A fiscal reckoning is inevitable, and not that far off. The trust funds that make Social Security and Medicare payments are expected to run out of money in 2032, which would force either cuts to benefits or a hefty new burden on budgets. It will be a daunting fiscal hurdle for Mr Trump’s successor._ ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2025, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/67 "2025-07-02T20:48:07Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > I agree this is a big temporary win for Trump, and it took shrewd judgement to pass this. If you’re talking about being passed in the Senate, then you could try to make that argument, but I think this was more about most Republicans in Congress being Trump toadies than any kind of shrewness on the part of Trump or any of his unqualified goons. And don’t forget that it’s back in the House and still has to pass there. The question of why there isn’t broader public opposition to this has come up. One other thing mentioned on Oliver’s show is that the majority of Americans have little or no idea what this bill is about, and many have never even heard of it. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2025, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/68 "2025-07-02T20:49:02Z")
I was also wondering why this hadn’t been discussed on the Dope. We’ve seen plenty about ICE deportations, and the protests against those, as well as over various social issues, but AIUI, this bill is going to hurt an awful lot more people. Is it possible Democratic politicians want it to pass, since unlike many of Trump’s other policies, it will cause general pain and hurt re-election chances for Republicans? That would explain why there isn’t more of a fuss about it, but it seems like a very risky strategy. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2025, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/69 "2025-07-02T20:51:20Z")
I haven’t seen any threads dedicated to it until this one, but it’s definitely been discussed here, in the various Pit threads for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2025, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/70 "2025-07-02T20:52:43Z")
Sure. But few recent leaders have been able to turn small numerical advantages on the Hill into such successful passing of dubious legislation. If few have heard of the bill, part of this failure is due to the Democrats. The Atlantic’s view (gift link): > **[They Didn’t Have to Do This](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/07/big-beautiful-bill-backlash/683390/?gift=FNE9XeXXKzu6Z_8urufLLleyQY0lOELmg_whl8CtbiM&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share)** > > By passing Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, congressional Republicans have talked themselves into an incomprehensibly reckless plan. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2025, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/71 "2025-07-02T20:58:28Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > If few have heard of the bill, part of this failure is due to the Democrats. Yep. If it was the other way around, and Dems were trying to pass a bill that Republicans hated, the right-wing spin machine would be in high gear and working overtime. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2025, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/72 "2025-07-02T21:01:55Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Many of those young whippersnappers struggling to support their young families on their paychecks support tax cuts for the rich because one day they too might become rich. > See: The Joe the Plumber Fallacy Sorry if I was unclear. What I meant was that the majority of Reps/Sens are reasonably (if not very) old and reasonably (if not extremely) wealthy - with generous pensions. It isn’t as tho these fuckers HAVE to keep their jobs to put food on their tables, or even to leave decent chunk of change to their heirs. There is no personal exigency excuse for them supporting this. They could easily walk away. Either they are drunk on power, or they truly want to be horrible to people, the environment, and future generations. I truly cannot understand that degree of venality. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2025, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/73 "2025-07-02T21:03:50Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > What I meant was that the majority of Reps/Sens are reasonably (if not very) old and reasonably (if not extremely) wealthy - with generous pensions. It isn’t as tho these fuckers HAVE to keep their jobs to put food on their tables, or even to leave decent chunk of change to their heirs. There is no personal exigency excuse for them supporting this. They could easily walk away. Either they are drunk on power, or they truly want to be horrible to people, the environment, and future generations. Or, they are – with no small amount of justification – afraid of being targeted by Trump, and his followers, as traitors to the cause. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2025, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/74 "2025-07-02T21:04:38Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I haven’t seen any threads dedicated to it until this one, but it’s definitely been discussed here, in the various Pit threads for sure Ah, that explains why I didn’t see it. A few people I follow on TwitteX have been complaining about it, but it doesn’t seem to have got much traction there either, compared to other issues. Although it’s hard to get a balanced view since the exodus to Bl\*\*sky. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2025, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/75 "2025-07-02T22:23:32Z")
Some people will vote for anything as long as they’re not a Democrat, and/or say they are opposed to abortion. That’s all some of them need. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2025, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/76 "2025-07-02T23:00:00Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Or, they are – with no small amount of justification – afraid of being targeted by Trump, and his followers, as traitors to the cause. Unless you’re referring to actual violence (and you may well be), all Trump can do is put them back into the private sector. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2025, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/77 "2025-07-02T23:07:40Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Unless you’re referring to actual violence (and you may well be) I absolutely am, though I also think that GOP senators and representatives _also_ worry about not only keeping their jobs (and power) in Congress, but worry about whether they would have any sort of success in the private sector if they have become outcast. With what happened in Minnesota a couple of weeks ago, and to Nancy Pelosi’s husband a couple of years ago, it’s clear that a climate has been fostered which makes unstable people (RWNJs in particular) not only feel empowered to take things into their own hands, but feel called to do so by their leaders. I also think that it’s not entirely unwarranted, at this point, to worry about winding up on a “political enemies list,” and finding oneself imprisoned. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2025, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/78 "2025-07-02T23:14:39Z")
Is this true? > In the BBB, ICE has been granted a $160B budget which is more than the Marines. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2025, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/79 "2025-07-02T23:26:50Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > It greatly reduces funding for abortion and Planned Parenthood. While the bill is an appalling bucket of [santorum™️](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campaign_for_the_neologism_%22santorum%22), I wasn’t aware of any federal funding for abortion, so I’m not sure how it could be reduced. I’m aware that Planned Parenthood previously received some nominal amount of funding, but was specifically required that none of it went to abortion services. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2025, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/80 "2025-07-02T23:34:13Z")
> [@DMC](#): > > I’m aware that Planned Parenthood previously received some nominal amount of funding, but was specifically required that none of it went to abortion services. My understanding is that, yes, this is true, but this bill yanks most, if not all, remaining Federal funding from Planned Parenthood – about $700 million a year; that is apparently about 1/3 of their total operating budget, so it’s more than “nominal.” > [@](#): > > That $700m figure represents the loss that Planned Parenthood would face from a provision in the spending bill that would impose a one-year [Medicaid](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/medicaid) ban on healthcare non-profits that offer abortions and that received more than $800,000 in federal funding in 2023, as well as the funding that Planned Parenthood could lose from Title X, the nation’s largest family-planning program. In late March, the [Trump administration froze](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/01/what-is-in-big-beautiful-bill-trump) tens of millions of dollars of Title X funding that had been set aside for some Planned Parenthood and other family-planning clinics. > **[Planned Parenthood CEO warns budget bill could devastate group and slash...](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/02/planned-parenthood-abortion-ban-trump-bill)** > > Alexis McGill Johnson says nearly 200 health centers could close if US House passes sweeping tax-and-spending bill [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399.md?page=5)