# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/141 "2025-07-03T23:47:41Z")
> [@Zoobi](#): > > I don’t want to hear a single word of complaint about this bill from anyone who voted Republican for Congress or President over the past 45 years. ANY TIME someone complains about some federal program they want having been cut or being denied some government service, I wish the FIRST question they are asked is, “Who did you vote for in 2024”? And the disdain should be only slightly less if they did not vote at all. ---
**Author:** ![Jihi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jihi/32/17768_2.png) [@Jihi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jihi)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/142 "2025-07-03T23:50:13Z")
Back during the second Bush years I first heard the term “outrage fatigue”. I’m sure it’s much older, but I first encountered it here on the boards and it was used frequently for a time. I think a lot of the perceived apathy that’s being discussed is at least partially due to that. Previous posters have described a version of it without using those specific words. It’s what the “flood the zone” strategy is designed to trigger. I look at the passage of this bill today. I look at what the Supreme Court just did to the Federal judiciary regarding injuctions. MAGA, the project 2025 guys, are laced throughout the executive and Congress. We are witnessing the dismantling of the efficacy of the federal government. Checks and balances can’t work if all three branches are in collusion. Sure let’s dismantle the social safety net and sabotage rural health Care. And let’s give the top 1% another trillion dollar tax cut. Why the f\*\*\* not? There’s another outrage right around the corner. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/143 "2025-07-04T00:15:39Z")
Three milliseconds? Unless there’s another Democrat, especially a female one or a non-white one, whom he can cast aspersions at. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/144 "2025-07-04T00:22:22Z")
I just received email from the Social Security Administration, saying passage of this monstrosity is the greatest thing that ever could have happened for senior citizens. I expect other agencies that have been screwed over royally are being instructed to send similar claptrap out to the public. ---
**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 4, 2025, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/145 "2025-07-04T00:39:55Z")
I agree with you, but given the comparison from Limbaugh and Brannon to Fox and Breitbart it is hard to argue the Democrats have made the most of their efforts. One hopes that they could appeal to independents and attract new interest rather than be mendacious or serve to divide their own party by doubling down on niches within it. Of course, this kvetching is not the same as offering solutions or practical advice going forward. ---
**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 4, 2025, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/146 "2025-07-04T00:45:57Z")
FWIW the latest from The Economist. I think their gift links are very limited so an excerpt is provided next post. > **[Trumponomics 2.0 will erode the foundations of America’s prosperity](https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/07/03/trumponomics-20-will-erode-the-foundations-of-americas-prosperity?giftId=bc3aa1d5-d630-4b25-9cd1-e4867720c031&utm_campaign=gifted_article)** > > The Big Beautiful Bill is symptomatic of a wider malaise ---
**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 4, 2025, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/147 "2025-07-04T00:46:03Z")
…_Yet it is wrong to expect this bill to create a growth boom. The tax cuts in the bbb that are already in effect offer little fresh stimulus, and tariffs are an offsetting force. In any case, interest rates are three times their level when Mr Trump last cut taxes and the Federal Reserve is more likely to balance looser fiscal policy with tweaks to its monetary stance. Supply-side tax cuts will help boost investment, but account for just 8% of the total, by cost. Many new tax cuts, including exemptions for tips and overtime, are gimmicks. The administration’s deregulation agenda could help, but only on the margins._ _In fact, America’s geyser of debt issuance will increasingly harm growth. In normal times public debt crowds out private investment, raising the cost of capital for new projects like data centres. And the costs of a sudden fiscal adjustment, forced on America by bond markets, would be vast. Goldman Sachs, a bank, reckons that if Congress postpones fiscal tightening for another decade, it may then need to cut spending or raise taxes by an annual 5.5% of gdp to stabilise debt-to-gdp. That is more than the austerity endured by the euro zone after its sovereign-debt crisis in the 2010s. If that proved too hard for legislators, America might resort to tactics used after the second world war: inflation and financial repression._ # Vote-a-rama leads to borrower-drama _The bbb’s neglect of the long term is part of a wider malaise. Riding high on America’s economic might and undoubted negotiating leverage, Mr Trump ignores the foundations of America’s success. He has renewed his attacks on the Fed, adding another threat to economic stability. His defunding of scientific research will harm American innovation. His cavalier approach to the rule of law makes America a riskier place to invest. And despite the moderation of his trade war, the average tariff rate is still its highest in a century and trade-policy uncertainty is a burden. Even as American assets boom in dollar terms, they have fallen behind when priced in foreign currencies. An 11% fall in the dollar this year reflects long-term risks to the American economy that are real, and growing._ ■ Normal link: [https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/07/03/trumponomics-20-will-erode-the-foundations-of-americas-prosperity](https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/07/03/trumponomics-20-will-erode-the-foundations-of-americas-prosperity) [![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1280,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20250705_LDD002_FH.jpg) ](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1280,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20250705_LDD002_FH.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/148 "2025-07-04T01:08:08Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > It really started to make sense to me when I read a study showing that Republicans are willing to spread misinformation they know is false if it means winning, whereas liberals won’t lie even if it means losing. That is a fairly succinct statement although I think it is a bit of a stretch to say that “liberals [or at least, Democrats] won’t lie”; it’s just that they won’t come together as a collective hivemind to tell a coherent lie with engineered verbiage strictly for the sake of self-enrichment or circle the wagons around a demagogue to ensure staying in power. Stranger ---
**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 4, 2025, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/149 "2025-07-04T01:16:25Z")
This is the most nuanced explanation I’ve seen of the phenomenon I’m talking about: > **[How Polarization Drives Republicans To Spread Misinformation | Paul Merage...](https://merage.uci.edu/news/2024/09/How-Polarization-Drives-Republicans-To-Spread-Misinformation.html)** > > Believe it or not, when COVID-19 first hit the United States in 2020, opinions across the country about the virus were not particularly polarized. But as election season approached, something dramatically shifted. Suddenly opinions about COVID-19... > When Republicans feel like they’re in competition, they are more likely to spread misinformation that they acknowledge might be false, says Pechmann. “It can be anything that triggers them, like news headlines, for example, or events in the news, or a political campaign, an election. Election periods are highly polarized because one party will win, and one will lose. That’s when we see these big spikes in which Republicans are much more likely to spread misinformation than Democrats.” Democrats don’t prioritize winning when it comes to spreading misinformation. “What Democrats value more than winning is equity, fairness and spreading the wealth,” says Pechmann. “They aren’t willing to do whatever it takes to win because that’s not their priority.” ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/150 "2025-07-04T01:32:41Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I just received email from the Social Security Administration, saying passage of this monstrosity is the greatest thing that ever could have happened for senior citizens The exemption amount for seniors getting Social Security is pretty nice, give the devil his due. Of course, it is Reagan’s fault we started taxing Socsec in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/151 "2025-07-04T01:41:43Z")
When Trump gets tired of the Fed not lowering interest rates like he wants, he’s coming after Powell. That’s my prediction. I don’t know the legal method to replace the chair, but I expect it to happen somehow. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/152 "2025-07-04T01:44:10Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > When Trump gets tired of the Fed not lowering interest rates like he wants, he’s coming after Powell. Does anyone know why Trump has this obsession with lowering interest rates? It’s a trick he can only really pull once. What exactly is supposed to be the benefit of doing this? And why is Trump so mad about it? ---
**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 4, 2025, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/153 "2025-07-04T02:03:56Z")
AIUI, the Fed says that they can’t lower interest rates because of Trump’s tariffs. IOW, If Trump hadn’t imposed tariffs on everyone, the Fed would have lowered interest rates already. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/154 "2025-07-04T02:24:19Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > Does anyone know why Trump has this obsession with lowering interest rates? It’s a trick he can only really pull once. Trump is not an individual who thinks past the next trick. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/155 "2025-07-04T03:16:04Z")
Here’s what that Social Security letter said. (Apparently, every recipient got it. I’m not retired; I’m disabled.) > [@](#): > > Social Security Applauds Passage of Legislation Providing Historic Tax Relief for Seniors > > The Social Security Administration (SSA) is celebrating the passage of the One Big, Beautiful Bill, a landmark piece of legislation that delivers long-awaited tax relief to millions of older Americans. > > The bill ensures that nearly 90% of Social Security beneficiaries will no longer pay federal income taxes on their benefits, providing meaningful and immediate relief to seniors who have spent a lifetime contributing to our nation’s economy. > > “This is a historic step forward for America’s seniors,” said Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano. “For nearly 90 years, Social Security has been a cornerstone of economic security for older Americans. By significantly reducing the tax burden on benefits, this legislation reaffirms President Trump’s promise to protect Social Security and helps ensure that seniors can better enjoy the retirement they’ve earned." > > The new law includes a provision that eliminates federal income taxes on Social Security benefits for most beneficiaries, providing relief to individuals and couples. Additionally, it provides an enhanced deduction for taxpayers aged 65 and older, ensuring that retirees can keep more of what they have earned. > > Social Security remains committed to providing timely, accurate information to the public and will continue working closely with federal partners to ensure beneficiaries understand how this legislation may affect them. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/156 "2025-07-04T03:20:24Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I just received email from the Social Security Administration I did, too. I find it annoying enough when Chase sends me “mortgage updates” that are really just ads, but political messages disguised as official government communications is offensive. > [@DrDeth](#): > > The exemption amount for seniors getting Social Security is pretty nice I’m not old enough to get social security, and I still got the email telling me how great the tax breaks for social security will be. It gives me no reason to believe social security will even be a thing by the time I’m old enough to qualify, and it isn’t _that_ far away. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/157 "2025-07-04T03:45:39Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Trump is not an individual who thinks past the next trick. I think you misspelled ‘buck.’ He wants the prime rate lower because he’s constantly borrowing money – it’s called leveraging. The lower the rate the more he can borrow, it’s as simple as that. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/158 "2025-07-04T10:33:54Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The exemption amount for seniors getting Social Security is pretty nice, give the devil his due. Of course, it is Reagan’s fault we started taxing Socsec in the first place. You realize, of course, that this is nothing other than someone saying, “_The aspect of the budget that I personally benefit from is good. The rest is horrible._” I’m sure folk who can now leave $15 million to their heirs tax free think that “pretty nice.” Greedy self interest, pure and simple. I’m not receiving SS yet, but will benefit financially from the increased standard deduction. No, I cannot think that “pretty nice” when I am aware of the context. ---
**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 4, 2025, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/159 "2025-07-04T11:31:24Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > The passage of the Billionaire Bonanza Bill was a mathematical certainty, assuming that Donald could exert his usual threats against any wavering Republicans. (Which he did.) > > A thread to lay out the numbers would have been fairly cut and dried, apart from expressions of our horror at this Really Destructive Bill. > > (The latter is certainly legit. But you can see why people gravitated instead to talking about topics that might include some _hope_, as in _'if we get the word out about these ghastly street-kidnappings, maybe that could make a difference_’.) > [@Jihi](#): > > Back during the second Bush years I first heard the term “outrage fatigue”. I’m sure it’s much older, but I first encountered it here on the boards and it was used frequently for a time. I think a lot of the perceived apathy that’s being discussed is at least partially due to that. Previous posters have described a version of it without using those specific words. It’s what the “flood the zone” strategy is designed to trigger. Makes sense. It’s understandable. But of all the things Trump has done, it seems to me this is the one Dems/left-of-centre media should be hammering on the hardest. Because AIUI, this is going to directly hurt a lot of people who might be persuaded to change their vote. You aren’t asking them to care about strangers or an abstraction like due process, but their own wallet or those of family and friends. That’s something everyone cares about. And you need to make damn sure they blame Trump and the Republicans for any pain they feel. If the Democrats did well enough in the mid-terms, would they be able to reverse some or all of this bill before the worst parts go into effect? Or could Trump just veto any changes? ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399/160 "2025-07-04T12:29:11Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > Because AIUI, this is going to directly hurt a lot of people who might be persuaded to change their vote. You aren’t asking them to care about strangers or an abstraction like due process, but their own wallet or those of family and friends. I would hope Dems would be able to target ads for every red/purple state, pointing out the incumbent voting for the budget, and asking, “Do you or someone you love receive/value” various specific programs gutted by the budget. And saying directly, “Are you going to vote to re-elect this. official who voted to take away your benefits?” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/1020399.md?page=9)