The GOP Budget: A "Big Beautiful" Dumpster Fire

How the GOP Budget Prioritizes Billionaires Over Basic Needs—And What You Can Do to Fight Back

, and

May 22, 2025

Updated: May 22, 2025

The so-called “Big Beautiful Budget,” as its supporters might frame it, or more accurately labeled by critics as the “Big People Killing Budget” or the “Big Beautiful Dumpster Fire,” is a chilling testament to the cruelty embedded in the House Republican agenda. Last night, House Republicans stayed up all night pushing what amounts to the largest proposed cuts to health care and food assistance in American history, hoping to sneak it past public scrutiny under the cover of darkness. But we noticed.

This budget doesn't just reshape federal spending: it guts essential social programs while preserving and even extending tax breaks for corporations and the wealthiest Americans. And despite their usual posturing about fiscal responsibility, Republicans are now openly planning to fund a $4 trillion shortfall, created in part by the 2017 tax cuts, by eventually raising the debt ceiling. Apparently, when it comes to enriching their true constituents, the Big Corporations and the top 1%, their debt ceiling outrage conveniently vanishes.

House Republican Plan Would Take Health Care and Food Assistance Away from People to Pay for Tax Cuts for Wealthy

What’s At Stake

Health Care & Food Assistance

The plan would cut health coverage by at least $800 billion and SNAP by roughly $300 billion while giving the wealthy $1.1 trillion in tax cuts. More than two-thirds of these tax breaks would benefit the highest-income 20% of households, even as some low-income earners might eventually face higher tax rates.

At its core, the plan would slash funding for major programs. Medicaid faces estimated reductions of $625 billion to $880 billion over the next decade. This threatens to leave between 7.6 to 10.3 million people uninsured, with some projections suggesting this number could rise as high as 14.4 million. Similarly, SNAP, the critical food assistance program, would see cuts of around $300 billion. Such a reduction would risk support for tens of millions of people, including millions of children.

Work Requirements & Child Labor

These draconian cuts are coupled with tougher work requirements and a dangerous shift of fiscal responsibility to already overstretched states. Given this, it’s no surprise that Republicans have loosened child labor laws. After all, under this plan, children may need to start working just to qualify for food and health care.

Tax Cuts for the Rich

In a stark contrast, the proposal includes significant tax cuts intended for big corporations and the wealthiest earners. Households in the top 0.1% might receive tax cuts up to $300,000, while millionaires could see reductions near $68,000. Overall, more than two-thirds of these tax breaks would benefit the highest-income 20% of households, potentially leading to higher tax rates for some low-income earners down the line. This is chump change for the 1% yet it is more than so many Americans currently make in a year. This budget makes income inequality even worse than it is currently. We need to listen to Patriotic Millionaires and historians who say this top-heavy stratification cannot hold and there will be change.

Even More Alarming Add-ons

Concessions made by Speaker Mike Johnson have pushed the plan further into controversial territory. GOP hardliners demanded even faster and deeper cuts to Medicaid—the largest in history—and voiced no objections to other alarming provisions. These include:

Granting new powers for Trump to target nonprofits.
Selling off public lands to Big Oil.
Terminating IRS Direct File.
Imposing a 10-year ban on state and local AI regulations, which would stifle local consumer protection efforts.

These moves underscore a legislative process that sidesteps traditional debate—using the "budget reconciliation” method and a rushed 72-hour timeline to address deep Medicaid cuts. This is no longer politics as usual—it’s a calculated assault. Cruelty is now policy, not collateral damage.

What You Can Do Now — The Fight Moves To The Senate (Updated)

Call These Senate Offices — Let them know this MAGA DEATH BUDGET does not represent us.

ALL SENATORS:

U.S. Senate Switchboard: (202) 224-3121
Senate Directory: https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm

Say: “Vote NO on the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill.’ If you vote YES, we’ll make damn sure you’re voted OUT.”

Targeted Senate Traitors & Enablers:

Chuck Schumer (D-NY): (202) 224-6542 — Folded to MAGA to avoid a shutdown
John Fetterman (D-PA): (202) 224-4254 — Called protesters “chaotic” while voting with GOP
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY): (202) 224-4451 — Took crypto cash and backed their deregulation scam
Mark Warner (D-VA): (202) 224-2023 — Took lobby cash, now playing footsie with GOP cuts
Ruben Gallego (D-AZ): (202) 224-2235 — Voted with Republicans when it mattered
Cory Booker (D-NJ): (202) 224-3224 — Voted to give billionaires their tax breaks
Mitch McConnell (R-KY): (202) 224-2541 — Mastermind of economic cruelty
Ted Cruz (R-TX): (202) 224-5922 — Always ready to rubber-stamp suffering
Lindsey Graham (R-SC): (202) 224-5972 — Pretending to be shocked while doing nothing

Bonus Numbers — Turn Up the Heat:

Democratic Senate Leadership Office: (202) 224-2934
Republican Senate Leadership Office: (202) 224-2541

A Moral Crisis, Not a Fiscal Plan

This is not a reflection of fiscal responsibility. This is a moral failure. It prioritizes the wealthy over working families, corporations over children, and political expedience over human dignity. Historians and economists alike warn that such top-heavy economic stratification cannot hold forever. This plan deepens inequality, fuels social instability, and sacrifices the well-being of millions to serve the insatiable greed of a privileged few.

50501 CA GO FUND ME

Join the Movement:

This newsletter was created by contributors to 50501 CA, a grassroots coalition exposing corruption and defending democracy. We are committed to amplifying the truth and mobilizing resistance.

Together, we defend what they’re trying to erase. — 50501 CA

Share this newsletter with others who value democracy.

Share 50501 CA Substack

Join us in this marathon for democracy. Find local 50501 CA events and resources at our Linktree.

50501 CA Substack