President Trump calls it his “big, beautiful bill.” The Congressional Budget Office has another name for it: a $3.4 trillion addition to the national debt.
Signed into law just weeks ago, the sweeping tax-and-spending package is being hailed by Trump as a win for American workers and businesses. But the CBO’s nonpartisan analysis offers a less celebratory picture: by 2034, the law is expected to pile nearly $3.4 trillion onto federal deficits. That’s more than the combined GDP of Denmark, Ireland, and Portugal.
At the heart of the cost? Tax cuts — specifically, extensions of the 2017 Trump-era reductions to corporate and individual income tax rates. These alone account for a $4.5 trillion revenue drop through 2034. While some of the cuts, like raising the standard deduction or loosening the cap on state and local tax deductions, are politically popular, others deliver major wins to private equity firms and pass-through businesses.
To help offset the losses, the bill slashes spending across the social safety net. Medicaid and food assistance programs take a deep hit, with the CBO projecting 10 million more uninsured Americans by 2034. Student borrowers will also feel the impact, as the law phases out popular repayment plans and imposes tighter restrictions.
The bill also delivers a $150 billion boost to defense and $160 billion for immigration enforcement, aligning with President Trump’s broader campaign themes. But the trade-offs are stark: deeper deficits, fewer insured Americans, and a federal budget that leans harder on military and border spending at the expense of healthcare and economic equity.
Fiscal conservatives are split. While many Republicans cheered the bill’s tax reforms, some budget hawks are sounding the alarm. Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, criticized the package as a missed opportunity to rein in the deficit: “When they actually had an opportunity to fix it, they instead made it $4 trillion worse.”
Trump and his allies argue the tax cuts will pay for themselves through economic growth — a claim the CBO doesn’t endorse, and one that economists have repeatedly challenged since the 2017 tax law. In fact, many believe the real cost may be even higher once broader macroeconomic effects are factored in.
In the short term, Americans may feel the boost of bigger paychecks or more generous deductions. But over the long term, the nation is left with a heavier fiscal burden, a thinner safety net, and a tax code that increasingly favors capital over workers. Trump promised bold reform. What the country got was a bill that’s big, yes — just not necessarily beautiful. Go beyond the headlines…
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