- James Edwards
- Jul 10
- 3 min read
The recently enacted “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” is, like much legislation, a mixed bag. Some of its provisions are highly beneficial and important, while other provisions leave much to be desired.
But it’s about what you could expect from a Senate and House with such tight partisan margins—which leave leadership very little wiggle room to obtain a deal. Recall that old saying about the legislative process’s similarity to watching sausage being made. And President Trump’s shadow fell across the already difficult legislative environment, which didn’t necessarily improve prospects for the reconciliation process or product.
Among the disappointments, the overly generous quadrupling of the state and local tax (SALT) deduction from $10,000 to $40,000 rewards liberal havens for their outrageously high taxation and extremely heavy regulatory hand. Those states can continue their antiproperty rights, anti-economic freedom governance. The SALT bailout also subtracts from reducing the federal deficit, i.e., it adds to the spending side of the balance sheet.
The bill also allows Medicaid to continue growing. The fact is, those “cuts” to Medicaid liberals are whining about aren’t actual reductions in spending—you know, when a dollar line item in this year’s budget is 95 cents next year. They’re actually a modestly slower pace of growth. H.R. 1 hardly reduces Medicaid, which ballooned under Obama and Biden. About 11% (38 million) of the U.S. population meets the government’s definition of poverty. Around two and a half times that are enrolled in Medicaid. This piece of the safety net is welfare for well beyond the needy.
That said, several property-rights wins reside in this budget reconciliation package. The bulk of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act tax measures were made permanent—protecting the wallets of Americans across income levels and stages of life, and giving certainty to businesses, including those organized as LLCs, S-Corps, etc. Immediate, 100% expensing and a combination of profamily tax provisions ease the tax burden for many Americans.
Also, “Inflation Reduction Act” green energy giveaways, like those designed to further electric vehicle mandates and remove consumer choice of internal combustion-powered vehicles, are reduced or repealed.
Health Savings Accounts, which enhance consumerism in health care, get a significant boost. The Death Tax isn’t repealed, but is less punitive and is indexed to inflation; the estate tax exemption for 2026 rises to $15 million for individuals, $30 million for married couples.
Conservatives for Property Rights member the Taxpayer Protection Alliance gives perspective on the legislation: “It is without doubt a significant accomplishment that lawmakers extended pro-growth tax policy enacted under the TCJA. Unfortunately, tax hikes buried elsewhere in the bill derail the hard-earned promise and progress of tax reform. Remittance taxes will punish millions of hard-working Americans, while new taxes on solar and wind projects will cost thousands of jobs across the country. Tax hikes make everyone poorer, while giving government bureaucrats the power to pick winners from losers. This is true regardless of which party passes them.”
Heritage Action’s assessment is, “This legislation makes headway on conservative priorities to reduce spending and ensure Americans’ tax dollars are not used to further liberal wishlist priorities.”
The mix of this sausage led our coalition to remain neutral on this legislation. The Senate got rid of a good bit of the unfair, punitive tax increases, like those on small businesses and the self-employed that the House bill contained. The final bill is a base hit or maybe a double. But more property-rights priorities remain to be accomplished if the baserunner is to score a run.