Republicans Just Rewrote the Tax Code: It’s Sowing Resentment Among Working Families

Republicans swept the government and seized on an opportunity to extend their 2017 tax bill in the One Big Beautiful Bill. Nearly a year since its signing, it has only resulted in One Big Busted Budget — with the US deficit rising to nearly $2T per year.

But making matters worse, the so-called “Working Families Tax Cuts” aren’t actually benefiting working families — not just because of cuts to health care or the social safety net, but because they really aren’t saving that much compared to others.

Tax warfare: Bloomberg reports that “under Trump’s tax regime, salaried workers face comparatively higher tax burdens” and that “the policies elevate Trump’s base over the college-educated Americans who have consistently voted for his opponents.” This is how it has always been: the winners write history (but before that, the laws and tax code). However, the OBBB’s various subsidies are helping to seed genuine resentment among a majority of Americans who are increasingly frustrated with the unfairness.

• An analysis by Creative Planning’s Charlie Bilello found that a 25-year-old married couple with a household income of $150K paid over $3K more in federal income tax in 2025 than a 65-year-old married couple — because of a “senior bonus deduction.”
• Despite everybody getting a tax break, the wealthy “elite” of the country continue to save significantly more and pay less in taxes thanks to the qualified business income (QBI) deduction and the qualified small business stock (QSBS) deduction.

Litigating What is Fair

The current tax regime isn’t sustainable. It’s not conducive to putting America back on course to being a high-trust society. Americans already feel their taxes aren’t well spent — a factor not helped by US war efforts, government corruption, or a lack of PR about the value of taxes. As such, tax initiatives are becoming sparring grounds for fairness.

• Seizing on national malaise, Democrats have teased two proposals to cut or eliminate federal income taxes for many working-class Americans.
• Naturally, though, the lost income taxes would have to be made up — presumably with much higher taxes on everybody who makes above those amounts, namely, billionaires.
• The proposals offer a preview of what might happen if Democrats sweep Congress this November, or go on to seize the Presidency.

But at some point, we need to get real: 70% of voters in a Fox News survey said their taxes are too high, despite taxes being near their lowest in history. The reality is that taxes will have to rise to pay for services, including entitlements like Social Security. Otherwise, an opportunistic politician could seize on working-class frustrations to ax advantages — and unknowingly chop down safety nets too. This is a warning.