Donald Trump has dubbed it “one big beautiful bill.” But for many in Louisiana—and across the country—it looks more like a blueprint for deepening inequality.
A new report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) offers a sobering analysis of the Republican tax-and-spending proposal. The findings bluntly show America’s poorest households stand to lose the most, while the wealthiest see the biggest gains. According to the CBO, households in the bottom 10% of earners would lose about $1,600 annually by 2025. These losses come primarily from cuts to essential programs like Medicaid and SNAP—programs that tens of thousands of Louisianans rely on to survive.
Louisiana, already one of the poorest states in the nation, is especially exposed. Nearly 19% of residents live below the poverty line, and more than 1.6 million people are enrolled in Medicaid. Many rural hospitals across the state—especially in parishes like St. Helena, Concordia, and East Carroll—depend on Medicaid reimbursements to keep their doors open. If those dollars dry up, entire regions could lose access to critical care.
The bill also threatens food access. Hundreds of thousands of households in Louisiana depend on SNAP benefits to feed their families. If those benefits are slashed or eligibility tightened, it won’t just affect statistics. It will also mean fewer groceries on the table and more kids going to school hungry. In a state where food insecurity already impacts roughly 1 in 5 residents, this isn’t a marginal change. It’s a gut punch.
Proponents of the bill argue that it spurs economic growth by easing the tax burden and encouraging business investment. And while the wealthiest 10% of households would see gains topping $12,000 per year, the supposed middle-class benefits are far more modest. The CBO projects that middle-income families—those earning between $50,000 and $150,000—might see gains of $500 to $1,000. But in states like Louisiana, where health costs are high and wages have remained stagnant, that gain could be easily erased by rising premiums or loss of public services.
The bill also lifts the cap on the state and local tax (SALT) deduction, a change that disproportionately benefits residents in high-income, high-tax states. In Louisiana, where property taxes are low and average household incomes are modest, most families would see little to no benefit from that adjustment.
And while working families are asked to make sacrifices, corporations and wealthy investors come out ahead. Louisiana’s oil and gas industries already benefit from generous state-level tax exemptions. This federal bill adds even more corporate breaks, all while projecting a $2.4 trillion increase to the national deficit over the next decade. That increase raises serious questions about what future programs will be cut to pay for today’s giveaways.
This pattern isn’t new. For years, Republican lawmakers have branded themselves as deficit hawks, calling for fiscal responsibility and balanced budgets. But when it comes time to govern, those priorities often shift, especially when tax cuts for the wealthy are on the table. This bill is no exception. Despite projecting to add $2.4 trillion to the national debt, it delivers virtually nothing to the working class while stripping away vital support systems like Medicaid and SNAP. The only clear beneficiaries are high-income earners and corporations. And in doing so, it deepens the very inequality that’s left so many Americans, particularly in states like Louisiana, struggling to stay afloat.
The national impact mirrors what Louisiana would experience on the ground with more people uninsured, more families struggling with food insecurity, and more public infrastructure under strain. Rural clinics and small-town hospitals will face growing financial pressure. Public schools and elder care services will compete for shrinking funds. And the state’s already fragile safety net will be stretched thinner.
This isn’t just a matter of dollars and cents. It’s a matter of who gets protected and who gets pushed aside. The numbers are clear, and the priorities are even clearer. If passed, this bill would mark one of the most significant redistributions of wealth in modern history, from the bottom to the top.
