Last week we promised you even more detail on the Administration’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” as it moves to the Senate. At more than 1,000 pages, it is certainly big but, as the saying goes, the devil is in the details. Herewith, some of the details: READ HERE: https://adaction.org/issue-activism/spotlight-on-democracy/ According to Penn Wharton, in 2026, the lowest income households will lose $820 while the richest 0.1% will get an approximate $390,000 tax break. Using those numbers, the total in tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy would be $546,000,000,000, an astonishing number by any measure but from so-called “fiscal conservatives?” Part of the funding for the tax breaks for the wealthiest would come from approximately 14 million losing their health care coverage. Disclaimer: We know that number isn’t truly real but we thought we would play it out just to see what would happen. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the average family earning less than $50,000 would get under $300 in tax cuts in 2027, less than $1 a day, while the average tax filer earning $1 million or more a year would receive about $90,000 in tax breaks. Others come up with different estimates and this is still a work in progress. According to the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCP), the cost would be $3.7 trillion over the next decade. Taking a closer look at what that could pay for are just a few examples. We use both figures cited calculated using the JCP amount. 💲 The average school lunch costs $3. In other words, that tax break could fund 182 trillion school lunches. The JCP number 1.233 trillion lunches. 💲 Families on SNAP receive an average of $250/month. The tax break could fund approximately 2.184 trillion months of benefits for needy families. JCP 14.8 billion months. 💲 The most expensive estimate for funding a new school library is about $200,000. This includes furniture, shelving, technology, and initial book collections. In other words, these tax breaks could help establish 2.73 billion new school libraries presumably without banned books. Needless to say, even more existing school libraries could be maintained. JCP 18,500. 💲 The average annual salary for an elementary school teacher is $60,000. That means the tax break could fund 9.1 billion elementary school teachers. JCP: 61,666.67. Teachers are required to complete a four-year college degree in order to teach. According to a May 2024 Education Initiative report, an in-state bachelor’s degree for one year costs $27,146 per year and $108,584 spread out over four years. Thus, the tax break could cover the four year costs for 5,043,000 teachers. JCP: 34,100. 💲 The annual budget for CHIP in 2023 was $5.9 billion. That means the tax break could cover the CHIP budget for about 92,305 years. JCP: 629 years. Using either number, it seems like a sound investment in a healthy future even though we doubt any of us will live that long. 💲 In 2023, the annual budget for Medicaid was approximately $600 billion or 910 years in tax breaks. JCP: 6 years. We recognize that the numbers we have given you are astounding but they are meant to astonish because we truly believe they illustrate just how outrageous the misplaced priorities in the current bill are. Further, the numbers cited as JCP are not from them but calculated using their base number and basic division. Now is the time to bring an end to this dangerous nonsense. Please, please, please take a moment now to contact your Senators and tell them to bring our budget priorities back in line with the needs of our country. If you have a chance, also attend a town hall and bring the same message to your Senator, the public and the media. We need every voice to be heard. Please contact your Senators today! https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member (fb)

News of the death of former Congressman Charles Rangel (D-NY) hit us particularly hard. At a time of crisis for Americans for Democratic Action and even as he had the demanding task of chairing the House Ways and Means Committee, he willingly became an active president of Americans for Democratic Action. His leadership helped to propel ADA to new heights and to a renewed and much needed organizing presence. We shall be forever grateful and will miss him. (fb)