The article reflects on the recent passage of President Trump’s sweeping tax and policy bill, describing it as one of the most impressive legislative feats in the past 30 years, despite its deeply troubling consequences. The author argues that the bill will have devastating effects on health insurance, poverty, climate change, and economic stability. It significantly rolls back the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion, dismantles much of the climate progress made under the Inflation Reduction Act, and extends Trump-era tax cuts that primarily benefit the wealthy.
What makes the bill’s passage remarkable is not public support or lobbying pressure—indeed, many industries, including health care and energy, opposed it—but rather the sheer determination of Trump and congressional Republicans to push it through. This underscores the first major lesson: ideas and political will matter more than public opinion or special interest backing. The second lesson is that expert consensus does not necessarily influence outcomes. Economists and policy experts from across the political spectrum criticized the bill, yet their objections had no effect on its passage.
The third and perhaps most surprising lesson is that a bill can succeed even when it imposes direct losses on a majority of Americans while benefiting only a few. The legislation reduces after-tax income for the bottom 60 percent of households and increases costs for health care, electricity, and mortgages. Meanwhile, the benefits—such as tax exemptions on tips and business investment write-offs—are limited and not widely celebrated, even among those who receive them.
Despite the bill’s unpopularity, its passage demonstrates that strong leadership and a willingness to make hard choices can overcome political resistance. However, reversing the damage will be difficult. Unlike previous tax cuts, most provisions in this bill are permanent, removing the usual expiration deadlines that opponents could use as leverage. Moreover, fixing the harm to health care, poverty programs, and clean energy will require trillions of dollars—funds that will likely need to come from broad-based tax increases, not just from taxing the wealthy.
The author concludes with strategic advice for those seeking to undo the bill’s effects: focus on the overarching ideas rather than getting lost in policy minutiae, accept that not everyone will be a winner, and don’t rely too heavily on expert opinion. In short, meaningful legislative change requires bold vision, political courage, and a willingness to challenge conventional wisdom. — Jason Furman, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers from 2013 to 2017, via The New York Times
