Congressional Republicans have two goals: Cut taxes and trim the budget deficit.
Because the two are at odds, that means something big has to give in order to satisfy the demands of President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful deal” and a fascination with extending his 2017 tax cuts.
As of Friday, the Republican-controlled House has set a goal of implementing $4 trillion in income tax cuts through 2034. To offset the tax cuts, it’s called on committees to trim spending by $2 trillion.
Yeah, it’s not a wash. Call it a $2 trillion rounding error.
Republicans counter the math by saying the trickle-down effect of the tax cuts will generate trillions in revenue — far more than any independent estimate. That didn’t exactly happen during Trump’s first term.
AS FOR CUTS, Medicaid, the federal-state program that gives the poor and elderly access to healthcare, is in the most vulnerable position.
Last month, the House passed a budget resolution to cut $880 billion from Medicaid over the next decade. How those cuts manifest is yet to be seen, but it’s clear that the only way to save that much money is to insure fewer people.
Also on the chopping block is SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program overseen by the House Agriculture Committee, which has been instructed to “save” $230 billion over the next 10 years.
For Kansas, that means 14,000 parents will lose food assistance benefits and 22,000 children will see their benefits substantially cut.
If both the SNAP and Medicaid cuts were enacted, Kansas would stand to lose $556.8 million over the next 10 years in federal funding, with the majority due to Medicaid.
Nationwide, the federal government pays about 70% of Medicaid expenses with states picking up the remainder. Because Kansas has failed to expand Medicaid to include more lower-income individuals, its share of federal funds is less than what a majority of states receive, running at about 50%.
Medicaid expenditures account for about 23% of the state budget.
In Allen County, 17.3 percent of our population, 2,145 individuals, depend on Medicaid, of which more than one-third are children.
Among the states, Kansas’ Medicaid program is one of the stingiest. A family of four is limited to a household income of $6,375 a year to receive benefits. Adult individuals do not qualify for benefits, no matter their circumstances.
What this means going forward is that if the federal government substantially reduces funding the program, Kansas’ already bare-bones program will be hurt even more.
Adding insult to injury, Kansas legislators foolishly passed massive income tax cuts that amount to a loss of more than $1 billion annually, further compromising the state’s ability to absorb federal cuts, though the writing was on the wall ever since Trump was elected last fall.
