The Bloody Big Bamboozle Pared Down

When you sit down to do your budget, you prioritize the items on your list of things that are important - housing, groceries, transportation, etc.

If there's a few bucks left, you also decide what other stuff you might want to fund - savings, college fund for the kids, entertainment, travel, charities, church, etc.

After the essentials, you fund what matters to you. And that makes your budget a statement of your morality.

It should come as no surprise that Republicans don't give one empty fuck about anything but staying in power so they can put more Yacht Money in the very well-lined pockets of their fat cat "donors".

DONORS

RHYMES WITH

OWNERS

Senate parliamentarian’s no-go list: 12 pieces struck from Trump’s megabill

The Senate parliamentarian has rejected several controversial provisions in the GOP’s tax and spending package over the past few days.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) aims to have the “big, beautiful bill” on President Trump’s desk by July 4. But first, some of the megabill’s most controversial aspects must undergo the “Byrd bath,” a challenge of whether they are eligible under the Byrd Rule to be part of a reconciliation package that can pass with a 51-vote majority.

Republicans can still retool the provisions in an attempt to address the conflicts and resubmit them for review.

Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has ruled several parts of the tax and spending legislation violate Senate rules and must taken out.

Here’s a look at what didn’t make the initial cut:

Change to Federal Employees Retirement System contributions
MacDonough ruled against language that proposed increasing the Federal Employees Retirement System contribution rate for new civil servants who refuse to become at-will employees. She argued the provision violates the Byrd Rule, which bars provisions that are considered “extraneous” to the federal budget.

State authorization to conduct border security and immigration enforcement
The megabill originally included language that gave states the authority to conduct border security and immigration enforcement, a responsibility that has traditionally fallen on the federal government. MacDonough rejected this language, ruling it violates the Byrd Rule.

Measure to limit court contempt powers
The parliamentarian rejected a measure in the bill that would have made it harder for courts to enforce lawsuits against the Trump administration. The measure targeted preliminary injunctions and temporary restraining orders issued by federal judges against Trump’s executive orders and other directives. MacDonough argued that limiting courts’ ability to hold Trump in contempt violates Senate rules.

Language barring noncitizens or permanent residents from receiving SNAP
Last week, MacDonough ruled against a measure that prevented immigrants who are not yet citizens or lawful permanent residents from participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

She also rejected another SNAP-related provision that required states to pay a percentage of food assistance under SNAP depending on their individual error rates in delivering food aid. The provision required states to pay between 5 percent and 15 percent of food benefits in 2028, depending on their error rate. Nearly every state has had SNAP error rates of 6 percent or higher.

Extending the suspension of permanent price support authority
MacDonough pushed back against a Republican measure that sought to extend the suspension of permanent price authority, which has traditionally been a part of the farm bill.

The original bill had attempted to end a long-held farm bill practice in which farm commodity programs — the network of subsidies for products such as dairy, corn or rice — that underpin large-scale U.S. agriculture expire every few years, effectively forcing congressional Republicans back to the negotiating table annually to participate in the grand bargain of SNAP and conservation funding in return for farm welfare.

The measure knocked down by the parliamentarian would have extended those subsidies past their normal cutoff to expire in 2031 — which advocates of sustainable agriculture and SNAP warn would have removed any need for farm state legislators to pass any farm bill this decade, because they would have gotten what they needed.

While this would be within bounds of a normal farm bill, the Senate parliamentarian ruled that legislators couldn’t do it through reconciliation and would therefore need to come up with 60 votes.

Funding cap on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
MacDonough has ruled against a provision that would have essentially eliminated the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) by placing a cap on its funding. The provision would have lowered the agency’s maximum funding to zero percent of the Federal Reserve’s operating expenses.

She also ruled against several other measures that fell under the control of the Senate Banking Committee, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and the Senate Armed Services Committee. One would have cut $1.4 billion in federal costs by lowering the Federal Reserve staff pay.

MacDonough also rejected measures that proposed cutting more than $1 billion in costs by slashing the Office of Financial Research funding and getting rid of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

Selling off millions of acres of public land
The Senate parliamentarian ruled against a provision championed by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) that would have sold off millions of acres of Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management land in up to 11 states.

Lee, in a post on the social platform X, said he would revamp the plan. The new legislation will still sell off land owned by the Bureau of Land Management — but not land owned by the Forest Service.

He also said he would “SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE” the amount of land in the bill, limiting it only to lands within 5 miles of a population center.

Easing offshore oil and gas project compliance
MacDonough blocked a provision that would deem offshore oil and gas projects as automatically compliant with the National Environmental Policy Act.

She also rejected a measure in the bill that required offshore oil and gas leases to be issued to successful bidders within 90 days after their sale.

She also said Republicans could not include a provision in the bill that requires the Interior secretary to OK the construction of Ambler Road, a more than 200-mile-long access road that would facilitate the development of four large mines and hundreds of smaller mines in northern Alaska.

Forcing the Postal Service to sell electric vehicles
The bill originally contained language that sought to undo Biden administration rules meant to encourage electric vehicle use. The Senate parliamentarian rejected a provision that would force the General Services Administration, which handles the equipment used by government agencies, to sell all the eclectic vehicles used by the U.S. Postal Service.

However, a policy that would rescind funds passed by Democrats to allow the Postal Service to purchase extra electric vehicles and charges is still in the bill.

Repeal EPA rule limiting air pollution emitted by passenger vehicles
The bill targeted several Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations, including one that restricts air pollution emissions from passenger vehicles. MacDonough said late last week that Republicans could not include that measure in the “big, beautiful bill.”

Allowing project developers to bypass judicial environmental reviews
Republicans also wanted to change the National Environmental Policy Act to allow project developers to fast-track environmental reviews or prevent judicial reviews if they paid a one-time fee, according to Politico. MacDonough ruled against the measure.

Altering the REINS Act
MacDonough also said Republicans could not include a modified version of the REINS Act in the bill. The measure would have increased congressional power over big regulations, according to Axios.

Elon vs TACO Don

The world's richest man and the world's most powerful man are locked in a playground-level tussle over how best to fuck over Americans in order to hand more yacht money to wealthy people and corporations.

Mathing

Bottom line:

Republicans intend to fuck us, and then demand that we pay for the privilege.

If they drop the stupid idea of More Money For Yacht Buyers, there'd be no "need" for cuts, and no "need" to auction off public goods - the stuff that belongs to all of us.

Tax Cut For Rich Fucks: $2,200,000,000,000

         Proposed Cuts: $2,643,800,000,000

What’s in Trump and Republicans’ giant tax and immigration bill?

How what Trump has called his “big, beautiful bill” could change the federal government and the U.S. economy.

New tax cuts. Massive spending on border security. Cuts to social safety net programs. Pullbacks on investments to fight climate change. New limits on student loans. If it becomes law, President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans’ massive bill will reshape much of the federal government — and the U.S. economy.

GOP majorities in the House and Senate are attempting to move swiftly to reverse many of President Joe Biden’s legislative accomplishments and cement Trump’s legacy in the tax code, on the southern border and in generations-old anti-poverty benefits.

The House’s bill would devote hundreds of billions of dollars to finishing Trump’s border wall, fortifying maritime border crossings, outfitting the Defense Department and more. It would extend the tax cuts that were one of the signature legislative achievements of Trump’s first term, create new savings accounts for newborns and fulfill some — but not all — of the president’s campaign promises.

The legislation still must pass the House, where it faces stiff opposition from blue-state Republicans, and the Senate, where tax writers are eyeing their own policy changes. GOP leaders are using the budget reconciliation process to shepherd the measure, which would allow them to dodge a Democratic filibuster in the Senate and pass it on party lines. Trump on Monday broadly embraced the legislation, which he has taken to calling his “big, beautiful bill.”

Extend the 2017 Trump tax cuts

Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act cut taxes for individuals of nearly all income levels, concentrating most of the benefits among the wealthiest earners and corporations. The business tax cuts are permanent, but the individual portions expire at the end of the year, meaning that if Congress doesn’t act, tax rates will go up on most households. The Republican bill would extend the lower rates for individuals.

Increase the standard deduction

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act doubled the standard deduction, the baseline amount of income filers can collect tax-free. This legislation would preserve that policy and add to it for the next four years, increasing the deduction by up to $2,000 for married couples filing jointly and $1,000 for single filers, to $32,000 for couples and $16,000 for individuals.

Cuts to Medicaid

To meet budget goals, Republican plans to cut Medicaid spending could strip coverage from 8.7 million people and lead to 7.6 million more uninsured people over 10 years. The legislation calls for new requirements for beneficiaries, including co-pays for those above 100 percent of the federal poverty level and work requirements for many able-bodied, childless adults. It would also tighten eligibility verification rules and limit taxes states charge medical providers as a roundabout way of collecting more federal Medicaid dollars.

A little SALT

A group of blue-state Republicans are at loggerheads with House GOP leadership over the state and local tax deduction, which lets filers write off the amount they paid in local taxes from their federal tax bill. The 2017 tax law capped the SALT deduction at $10,000, but that limit expires at the end of the year. The Republican proposal raises that cap to $30,000, far below what those blue-state GOP lawmakers had demanded. The impasse could imperil the fate of the entire package because of House Republicans’ slim majority.


Making states pay for SNAP

The legislation would pass on more of the cost for administering SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program formerly known as food stamps, to state governments, potentially forcing local officials to decide whether to cut benefits or dig into their state and municipal budgets. Twenty-eight states with higher rates of improper payments would be required to shoulder 25 percent of benefits costs in addition to 75 percent of administrative costs. Currently, states only pay half of the program’s overhead and do not contribute to benefits.

Increase the child tax credit — for some

The child tax credit is a tax break for filers with children. The Republican measure would increase the credit to $2,500 per child, from $2,000. But not every family can qualify: The legislation limits eligibility to parents or guardians with Social Security numbers, essentially requiring those people to be citizens. That would mostly exclude noncitizen parents from claiming the credit on behalf of a child who is a citizen.

A border wall, other barriers and immigration restrictions

The bill designates more than $140 billion for the Trump administration’s border and immigration crackdown. More than $50 billion of that total would go toward completing the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and other fortifications, including at maritime crossings. Roughly $45 billion would go to building and maintaining detention centers to house families of deportees, and $14 billion is marked for deportee transportation.

New taxes on colleges and universities

The legislation aggressively taxes income generated by the endowments of colleges and universities. Current law imposes a 1.4 percent tax on those institutions. This bill creates a new system that would set varying tax rates depending on the size of the endowment per enrolled student.

The proposal would give newborn babies a $1,000 “‘money account for growth and advancement,” or “MAGA account.” Parents or beneficiaries could contribute $5,000 each year to that account tax-free until the beneficiary is 31 years old. The idea mirrors a pitch from Democratic Sen. Cory Booker (New Jersey) for “baby bonds.”

No tax on tips

Trump campaigned heavily on ending taxes on tips, and now that policy is in the bill. The legislation would allow a tax deduction for the total amount of tipped income received. It contains some guardrails to prevent “highly compensated employees” from claiming their earnings as tips and specifically identifies food service, hair care, nail care, aesthetics, and body and spa treatments as applicable professions to receive eligibility for the deduction.

No tax on overtime

Another of Trump’s campaign promises, this provision would exempt overtime wages from taxes through a new deduction. The legislation wouldn’t allow deduction of overtime wages from tips or for “highly compensated employees,” and requires filers to use a Social Security number when claiming the deduction, essentially deeming noncitizens ineligible.

No tax on car loan interest

The bill would allow purchasers of American-made cars to deduct up to $10,000 in car loan interest payments for four years — an idea Trump talked about on the campaign trail and then returned to as his tariffs began to bite the auto industry. For tax filers earning more than $100,000 (or $200,000 for married couples filing jointly), the loan interest deduction would decrease by $200 for every $1,000 of additional income.

A bonus deduction for seniors

Trump promised last year to end taxes on Social Security benefits. The bill doesn’t include that provision, but it would add an extra $4,000 to the standard deduction for people over 65 years old. The policy would be in place for four years and would taper off as a recipient’s income increased.

Billions for defense, including Trump’s ‘Golden Dome’

There is roughly $150 billion in the bill for the Defense Department, spread over a number of priorities: $34 billion for the munition and defense supply chain; $33.6 billion for shipbuilding; and $20 billion for missile defense and space capabilities — that’s partially for Trump’s “Golden Dome” continental missile defense system. This spending could increase when the measure gets to the Senate: The upper chamber aims to spend more on defense than the House.

Repeal Biden student loan forgiveness

The legislation would save $295 billion over 10 years by repealing the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness program and making other changes to loan repayments.

Tax credits for home schooling or private school

The bill includes up to $5 billion per year, for four years, in tax credits that benefit people who donate to organizations that help families pay for private-school tuition or home-schooling. It would create a 100 percent tax credit for donations to scholarship-granting organizations, with taxpayers fully reimbursed for their donations when they file their taxes. The program would be capped at $5 billion in the first of four years and grow modestly each subsequent year if there is sufficient demand. Under the proposal, families earning up to three times their area median income would qualify for vouchers. That’s more than $450,000 per year in Washington, D.C., or more than $270,000 in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Rescind money to fight climate change

The proposal would gut elements of Biden’s signature 2022 climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act. It would eliminate a federal tax credit of up to $7,500 that consumers can receive for buying an electric vehicle. Republicans are also seeking to phase out incentives for the production of clean energy, such as wind and solar power.

New oil and gas production

The Natural Resources Committee expects to collect roughly $20 billion by mandating new oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and in protected Alaskan wildlands. There is some dispute about whether that language can stay in the bill, though, because it may run afoul of the strict rules that govern the reconciliation process in the Senate.

Auction electromagnetic spectrum

The electromagnetic spectrum is necessary for everything from wireless technologies to military communications and radars. The legislation would renew the Federal Communications Commission’s authority to auction off bands of spectrum that the Congressional Budget Office says could bring in $88 billion over 10 years.

Raise the debt ceiling

The debt ceiling sets the amount of money the federal government can borrow to pay for expenses already incurred. The government technically eclipsed the limit at the end of 2024, but the Treasury Department is taking “extraordinary measures” to put off the need to take on more debt. But those measures will expire sometime in August, the Treasury Department said Friday. The House bill would raise the debt limit by $4 trillion.