When politicians talk about tax cuts for the wealthy, they often avoid mentioning who pays the price. The reality is that these tax breaks don’t come for free—they are funded by cutting essential services that everyday Americans rely on. Recently, House Republicans proposed a plan to finance massive tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% of Americans by slashing programs that support working- and middle-class families. These cuts will have real consequences for people’s health care, grocery bills, energy costs, and their children’s education. If enacted, they will make life harder and more expensive for millions of families.
“These cuts don’t just take away funding from programs—they take away stability,
security, and peace of mind from millions of hardworking Americans.”
One of the most significant changes would be deep cuts to Medicaid, the program that provides health coverage for nearly one in five Americans, including low-income families, children, pregnant women, elderly adults, and people with disabilities. If you or a loved one rely on Medicaid for doctor visits, prescription medications, or long-term care, these cuts could mean losing access to the care you need. The proposed budget would reduce Medicaid funding by up to $2 trillion over ten years, putting pressure on states to limit enrollment, reduce benefits, or raise local taxes to make up the difference.
If you’re a parent, these cuts could also impact your children. Schools and community programs rely on Medicaid to provide essential health services, including speech therapy, mental health counseling, and care for children with disabilities. If these cuts go through, schools may have to cut back on these services, making it harder for children to get the support they need to succeed. Families with elderly parents who rely on Medicaid for nursing home care could also face major challenges, as states struggle to cover the cost of long-term care.
Food assistance is another critical area facing deep cuts. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which helps 1 in 8 Americans put food on the table, is on the chopping block. If you or someone you know depends on SNAP to buy groceries, this proposal would slash benefits by reversing a 2021 update that adjusted payments to better reflect the actual cost of a healthy diet. The average SNAP recipient currently gets about $6.20 per day for food—a modest amount that would shrink even further under the proposed cuts.
At the same time, the plan would increase the tax-free inheritance limit for the wealthiest families, allowing the richest households to pass down up to $28 million without paying estate taxes. That change would give the heirs of the largest estates a $6 million tax break—roughly the same amount being taken from struggling families through SNAP cuts. In other words, this plan prioritizes tax benefits for multimillionaires while making it harder for working families to afford basic groceries.
House Republicans are also targeting tax credits that help lower energy costs. Right now, clean energy tax incentives help keep electricity bills more affordable, encourage domestic manufacturing, and ensure America stays competitive in the global energy market. Eliminating these incentives would not only harm American businesses but could also raise household energy bills by an estimated 10%. That means higher heating and cooling costs for your home, more expensive gas prices, and fewer job opportunities in the growing clean energy sector.
For families with college-bound students, these cuts would make higher education even more expensive. Since 1954, tuition scholarships have been exempt from taxation, helping millions of students afford college. Now, for the first time in 70 years, House Republicans are proposing to tax tuition scholarships, making it harder for students to pay for their education.
On top of that, the plan would eliminate the American Opportunity Tax Credit, which helps families offset tuition costs, and remove the tax deduction for student loan interest. It would also allow interest to start accumulating on student loans while borrowers are still in school, making college debt even more overwhelming. Meanwhile, tax benefits for 529 college savings plans—which primarily benefit wealthy families—would remain untouched, ensuring that the financial burden of these cuts falls mostly on middle- and working-class students.
If this proposal becomes law, the consequences will be felt in households across the country. Parents may have to choose between paying their own medical bills and covering their child’s tuition. Seniors could struggle to afford health care or assisted living. Families already on tight budgets may see their grocery bills rise while their energy costs increase. These are not abstract policy changes—they are decisions that will affect millions of people’s daily lives.
Before accepting the argument that tax cuts for the wealthy will help the economy, it’s important to ask: at what cost? For many American families, the cost will be higher medical bills, less food on the table, higher energy expenses, and fewer opportunities for their children’s future. These cuts don’t just take away funding from program’s—they take away stability, security, and peace of mind from millions of hardworking Americans.
