Natasha Sarin, a Yale professor and founder of the Yale Budget Lab, and Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman, a Harvard Kennedy School doctoral candidate, tackle the fallout of the recent Republican Megabill. They discuss how the bill threatens crucial social support programs like Medicaid and SNAP, leaving the most vulnerable at risk. The conversation highlights the exacerbated struggles of marginalized communities, especially women of color and young generations, against tax system injustices and the escalating impact of student debt.
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Republican Megabill Deepens Inequality
The Republican 'Megabill' is a $3.4 trillion deficit-financed tax and spending bill that benefits the wealthy at the expense of the vulnerable.
It imposes Medicaid work requirements and SNAP cuts that will hurt millions, vastly shifting costs onto the working and middle class.
insights INSIGHT
Deficit Spending Hurts All Borrowers
The bill’s massive deficit spending raises borrowing costs for everyone, making mortgages, car loans, and student loans more expensive.
It also limits fiscal space needed for investments in children and climate change by prioritizing tax cuts for the rich.
insights INSIGHT
Who Benefits and Who Suffers
Historical racial wealth gaps mean those benefiting most from tax cuts are wealthy, disproportionately white.
Women of color, especially Black women, bear the brunt of healthcare job layoffs, Medicaid reliance, and rising costs due to the bill.
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On July 4th, Trump signed the devastating and dangerous Republican "Megabill" into law — a sweeping measure that targets the young and the vulnerable to further enrich the wealthy. But we’re all collateral damage. Among its many cruelties: new Medicaid restrictions that could strip coverage from 11.8 million Americans over the next decade, a cost shift in SNAP that may cut food benefits for 22.3 million families, and a $5 trillion debt ceiling hike. While working and middle class families across the board will suffer, some groups stand to lose even more, like women of color, young millennials, Gen Z and Gen Alpha. This week, Stacey sits down with Natasha Sarin, Yale professor and founder of the Yale Budget Lab, and Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman, Harvard Kennedy School doctoral candidate and author of the upcoming The Double Tax: How Women of Color Are Overcharged and Underpaid, to unpack how this Republican tax-and-spend bill uniquely harms, displaces, and disenfranchises marginalized Americans.
For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
Learn & Do More:
BE CURIOUS: Tax policy feels remote and complicated, but remember: that’s intentional. It’s easier for politicians to control your money when you don’t understand the rules. Read Anna's book, The Double Tax, and follow her at @itsafronomics on Tiktok and Instagram.
SOLVE PROBLEMS: State and local governments will now have to take on more and more of the costs for federal failures. We must understand how our state legislatures work. Already, states are planning to cut programs or shut down hospitals. Let them know you are watching. Look up your state rep and state senator, then call and introduce yourself. Ask for a meeting with you and your friends to discuss how they plan to protect you from these dangerous decisions. It doesn't matter which party you voted for — if they got elected, they work for you. Remind them.
DO GOOD: As this bill accelerates the cost of living crisis, consider getting involved in ways that might help foster your own security and help the most vulnerable in your community. According to the organization Feeding America, SNAP already gives just six dollars and sixteen cents a day to the average person, which they note is barely enough for a basic breakfast. Now these cuts will result in families having even less. If you are most concerned about food insecurity, visit feedingamerica.org/advocate/snap to type in your zip code and learn about how cuts will impact your community. Consider donating if you are able, and seek out food assistance programs where you live to get involved. If you are worried about housing costs, find out if there is a tenants union available to you, or consider creating one. Visit the National Housing Law Project at https://www.nhlp.org/ to read the National Tenants Bill of Rights and learn more. To protect healthcare access, continue supporting Planned Parenthood as their funding remains in jeopardy. Finally, to keep your community informed amidst massive cuts to public media, check out ways to support your local public radio station.
Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams 
