Families 8: Seniors

Foot the Bill for GOP
Tax Cuts



October 2018

 JOINT ECONOMIC COMMITTEE
 DEMOCRATS Egil?igasf?m?fm ?eim?ich

 

Republicans have spent the last two decades driving up the debt in order to provide tax
giveaways to the wealthiest among us. Now Republicans are telling Americans, including
seniors, that we cannot afford the programs they rely on. New analysis shows that the Bush and
Trump tax cuts are projected to run up a $2 trillion bill in tax giveaways for the wealthiest by
2025, even as the Republican budget aims to slash the same amount from Medicare, Medicaid,
Social Security, and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). 1
R

Nearly 40 percent of Americans—130 million—count on these programs to stay healthy,
provide for themselves and their families, and achieve dignity at work and in retirement.
Congress should be investing in families, not trying to stick working families and seniors with
the bill to pay for Republicans’ tax giveaways.

GOP Tax Breaks for Wealthiest = Cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and More
Projected Tax Giveaways to the Top 1% from
Bush and Trump Tax Cuts
(2001-2025)

$2 Trillion

Proposed Republican Budget Cuts to
Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and the
ACA
(2019-2028)

$2 Trillion

Source: Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, House Budget Committee
Note: In nominal dollars.

Driving Up Debt to Give Tax Cuts to Wealthiest
The recent Trump tax law passed in 2017 is the latest in two decades of Republican tax cuts
focused on the wealthiest Americans. By 2007, the top 1 percent of households was receiving
over $90 billion from the Bush tax cuts in that year alone. 2
By contrast, the Obama administration’s American Taxpayer Relief Act extended tax cuts for the
middle class while making our tax code fairer. After rebalancing our tax policy and making
important investments in American workers, families, and infrastructure, President Obama left
office having mitigated the effects of the Great Recession and stabilized the growth of public
debt as a share of the size of the economy.3

2 D e m o c r a t i c S t a f f o f t h e J o i n t E c o n o m i c C o m m i t t e e

 Trump Tax Cuts Restore Big Giveaways to the Wealthiest
Billions of $

2001 & 2003: Bush tax cuts
140
prioritize giveaways top 1%
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011

2012: Obama reduces tax giveaways
for top 1%

2017: Trump tax cuts
restore giveaways to
top 1%
2013

2015

2017

2019

2021

2023

2025

Source: Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy
Note: In nominal dollars. Wealthiest refers to the top 1 percent of households.

Republicans again prioritized tax breaks for the top 1 percent last year with the passage of
Trump’s tax law. The Bush and Trump tax cuts combined hand 18 percent of the benefits to the
top 1 percent, which is more than the benefits for the entire bottom 60 percent. Altogether,
the top 1 percent is projected to receive a total of nearly $2 trillion from the start of the Bush
tax cuts through 2025.4

Republicans Now Asking Working Americans and Seniors to Pay More
For as long as Republicans have been trying to cut taxes for the wealthy, they have also tried to
cut key benefits for working Americans and retirees. Since 2010, budgets proposed by nowSpeaker Ryan have consistently cut Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act. 5 This
year, the FY2019 House Republican budget resolution cuts Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security,
and the ACA by $2 trillion.
The new Republican budget advances the same failed ideas. It moves Medicare towards
privatization, ending the program as we know it. It cuts Medicaid by imposing arbitrary,
draconian caps and proposes burdensome work requirements for Americans who need health
care, not more red tape. It includes ACA repeal provisions, which could strip away tax credits
that help Americans afford insurance and increase premiums and out-of-pocket costs. 6
Nationwide, 130 million people depend on Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, and the ACA’s
tax credits. Republicans continue to place the burden of balancing the budget on the backs of
working Americans to pay for their giveaways to the wealthiest. 7

3 D e m o c r a t i c S t a f f o f t h e J o i n t E c o n o m i c C o m m i t t e e

 Real Impacts for Americans
There are 130 million people in the United States that are beneficiaries of Medicare, Medicaid,
Social Security, or the ACA’s tax credits, totaling 40 percent of all Americans. These
beneficiaries are part of 67 million households—or over half of all households—across the
nation.
The average beneficiary would lose over an average of $1,500 per year in services or tax
credits. 8 That translates to 3.6 weeks of pay for retail salespersons earning $23,210, the most
common job in America. 9

The Average Beneficiary Stands to Lose
Over $1,500 a Year from Republican Cuts
That’s equal to…

3.6

weeks of pay for Retail Salespersons earning $23,210

4.2

weeks of pay for Food Preparation and Serving Workers earning
$20,180

4.0

weeks of pay for Cashiers earning $21,030

Source: JEC Democratic Staff calculations based upon data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, American
Community Survey, and Bureau of Labor Statistics

The average beneficiary household would lose over $3,000 in services and tax credits per
year. 10 Seniors living on fixed incomes may be forced onto health plans that do not cover the
services they need at a cost they can afford, placing greater financial and time burdens on
family caregivers. Parents may have to choose between shouldering greater costs to take their
child to the doctor, or forgoing care altogether. If families are forced to pay more out-of-pocket
for needed health care, they will have to make tough decisions elsewhere.

The Average Beneficiary Household Stands to Lose
Over $3,000 from Republican Cuts
That’s equal to…

4.4

months of
child care or

7.5

months of
or
health premiums

27

months of
electric bills

Source: JEC Democratic Staff calculations based upon data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, American
Community Survey, Child Care Aware of America, Kaiser Family Foundation, and Energy Information Administration

4 D e m o c r a t i c S t a f f o f t h e J o i n t E c o n o m i c C o m m i t t e e

 Moving Our Country Forward
Taxing and spending decisions are about priorities and it is clear that Republicans have failed to
prioritize working Americans and seniors. To pay for tax giveaways for the wealthiest,
Republicans have chosen to endanger the health and financial security of 130 million
Americans.
It is time to move our country forward, not backward. Democrats stand ready to build on these
successful programs while tackling the issues Americans care about, such as stagnant wages,
skyrocketing health care premiums, and the rising cost of prescription drugs.

5 D e m o c r a t i c S t a f f o f t h e J o i n t E c o n o m i c C o m m i t t e e

 Estimates of Beneficiaries by State
People and Households Receiving Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, or the Affordable Care Act's Tax Credits

State

Beneficiaries

AK
AL
AR
AZ
CA
CO
CT
DC
DE
FL
GA
HI
IA
ID
IL
IN
KS
KY
LA
MA
ME
MD
MI
MO
MN
MS
MT
NC
ND
NE
NH
NJ
NM
NV
NY
OH
OK
OR
PA
RI
SC
SD
TN
TX
UT
VA
VT
WA
WI
WV
WY
Total

233,100
2,034,900
1,426,300
3,029,500
16,955,600
2,039,600
1,379,000
273,200
382,400
9,135,400
3,698,500
507,900
1,258,700
661,600
4,978,600
2,507,000
1,010,600
2,083,700
2,054,200
2,742,200
558,900
2,099,900
4,301,900
2,275,200
2,067,400
1,301,900
464,600
4,089,400
242,000
646,700
459,000
3,151,500
1,069,100
1,121,400
8,617,900
4,809,000
1,518,200
1,812,800
5,292,600
441,900
2,078,700
305,600
2,784,400
9,288,500
866,700
2,620,600
289,300
2,876,100
2,173,400
944,000
199,000
129,159,800

Beneficiary Share of
Population
31.4%
41.8%
47.7%
43.7%
43.2%
36.8%
38.6%
40.1%
40.2%
44.3%
35.9%
35.6%
40.2%
39.3%
38.9%
37.8%
34.8%
47.0%
43.9%
40.3%
42.0%
34.9%
43.3%
37.3%
37.5%
43.6%
44.6%
40.3%
31.9%
33.9%
34.4%
35.2%
51.4%
38.1%
43.6%
41.4%
38.7%
44.3%
41.4%
41.8%
41.9%
35.3%
41.9%
33.3%
28.4%
31.2%
46.3%
39.5%
37.6%
51.6%
34.0%
40.0%

Households
115,000
1,095,600
744,900
1,492,600
7,769,600
1,075,000
757,200
142,000
196,900
4,673,000
1,922,800
263,900
716,200
339,500
2,662,400
1,383,900
581,200
1,084,100
1,037,400
1,478,700
311,400
1,126,200
2,305,400
1,314,100
1,143,600
682,700
253,100
2,226,100
149,700
386,200
277,500
1,701,900
498,600
571,200
4,380,300
2,634,800
822,500
955,500
2,923,700
247,000
1,102,600
177,300
1,459,700
4,762,900
418,300
1,507,500
163,200
1,523,200
1,244,700
487,400
111,800
67,401,900

Beneficiary Household
Share of All Households
41.6%
55.6%
60.7%
55.8%
56.5%
48.3%
51.4%
44.2%
52.3%
58.4%
48.8%
52.8%
53.1%
53.0%
52.0%
50.9%
48.9%
58.6%
56.1%
52.2%
54.9%
48.2%
56.0%
51.6%
50.1%
57.6%
56.9%
53.8%
43.9%
48.3%
49.3%
50.3%
62.2%
52.3%
56.3%
53.4%
52.1%
57.5%
54.5%
54.8%
54.7%
48.2%
53.9%
47.0%
42.3%
44.8%
58.3%
52.3%
50.3%
63.3%
47.0%
53.1%

Source: JEC Democratic Staff calculations based on the 2016 American Community Survey, 1-year estimates.
Note: Beneficiaries are defined as people who meet any of the following criteria: enrolled in Medicare and/or Medicaid, receiving
Social Security benefits, and/or covered through directly purchased insurance and within 400 percent of the federal poverty level,
which is the maximum threshold for eligibility for premium tax credits under the ACA. Numbers may not sum up due to rounding.

 1

Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimates on the tax cuts for the top 1 percent are from 2001 to 2025.
https://itep.org/federal-tax-cuts-in-the-bush-obama-and-trump-years/; Estimates from the House Republican
Budget Resolution on cuts for Medicaid and Other Health, Medicare, and Social Security are from 2019-2028.
https://budget.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/FY19_Budget-Blueprint-Final.pdf
2
Ibid.
3
https://www.cbo.gov/system/files?file=115th-congress-2017-2018/reports/53651-outlook.pdf
4
JEC Democratic Staff calculations based on data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.
https://itep.org/federal-tax-cuts-in-the-bush-obama-and-trump-years/
5
https://www.cbpp.org/research/chairman-ryan-gets-66-percent-of-his-budget-cuts-from-programs-for-peoplewith-low-or
6
https://budget.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/FY19_Budget-Blueprint-Final.pdf
7
JEC Democratic Staff calculations based on the 2016 American Community Survey, 1-year estimates. Beneficiaries
are defined as people who meet any of the following criteria: enrolled in Medicare and/or Medicaid, receiving
Social Security benefits, and/or covered through directly purchased insurance and within 400 percent of the
federal poverty level, which is the maximum threshold for eligibility for premium tax credits under the ACA.
8
See endnote 7.
9
JEC Democratic Staff calculations based on data from the Institute on Taxation and Economy Policy and data from
the 2016 ACS, 1-year estimates and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
10
See endnote 7. Beneficiary households are defined as households including at least one beneficiary.

7 D e m o c r a t i c S t a f f o f t h e J o i n t E c o n o m i c C o m m i t t e e