The Hidden Costs of the Big, Beautiful Bill

The "big, beautiful bill" signed into law on July 4, 2025, is said to boost the economy and improve financial stability. However, a closer look shows it may widen the wealth gap, especially for low-income and minority communities. The racial wealth gap in the U. S. is already huge. Between 2019 and 2022, white families' median wealth was over $250, 000 more than Black families'. This gap is due to years of unfair policies in housing, banking, healthcare, taxes, education, and employment. The new law makes this gap worse by extending tax cuts that mostly benefit wealthy families. The law's tax cuts are similar to those in the 2017 tax reform. Back then, low-income families only gained about $70 a year. But they lost over $4, 000 in healthcare subsidies because of the elimination of the individual mandate. The new law also cuts programs like Medicaid and food assistance, making it harder for poor families to afford food and healthcare. One part of the bill is the "Trump Accounts, " a program that gives a $1, 000 government contribution to investment accounts for children born between 2025 and 2028. While it's called a "baby bonus, " it mostly helps wealthy families. They can contribute up to $5, 000 a year to these accounts and avoid taxes. Low-income families, who struggle with daily expenses, can't take advantage of this.The bill also renews and enhances the New Markets Tax Credit program. This program is supposed to drive investment into low-income communities. But it mostly subsidizes luxury real estate projects that don't benefit existing low-income residents. Instead, these projects often lead to gentrification and displacement. The child tax credit is another part of the bill that seems to help the poor but actually helps the wealthy. Families earning up to $400, 000 can get the full $2, 200 tax credit per child. But families earning $31, 500 or less can only get up to $1, 750 per child. About 17 million children, mostly Black and Latino, won't get anything. The law also requires both the child and the taxpayer to have a Social Security number, which strips the credit from about 4. 5 million U. S. citizen children in mixed-status families. The law also makes significant changes to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). It imposes new work requirements for able-bodied adults to maintain Medicaid coverage. Many of these adults already work, or they are caring for young children or are too disabled to work. The law also requires states to conduct eligibility redeterminations twice a year, which often leads to eligible people losing coverage. For SNAP, the bill expands work requirements and revises benefit calculations in ways that will reduce benefits. In short, the "big, beautiful bill" funds tax cuts for the wealthy while cutting essential services for the poor. This transfers resources up the economic ladder and deepens existing inequalities.