“Myth” vs. “Fact” vs. Actual Fact

The White House Is Reversing Reality To Boost Its Destructive, Unpopular Budget

By William Rice

The White House has published a “fact” sheet purporting to correct “myths” about the recently enacted Trump-GOP tax-and-spending law. But the “myths” the sheet rebuts really aren’t myths at all: they’re all grounded in the truth. Following is a fact check of this faulty fact check.   

“MYTH”: The One Big Beautiful Bill is “just a tax break for billionaires.”

“FACT”: The One Big Beautiful Bill delivers the largest middle- and working-class tax cut in U.S. history. The President’s legislation will put more than $10,000 a year back in the pockets of typical hardworking families. This is the most pro-growth, pro-worker, pro-family legislation ever crafted.

ACTUAL FACT: While billionaires are not the only ones getting tax cuts, they and other wealthy people are getting the great bulk of them. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of the law’s cuts will next year go to the highest-income 5% of households–with over a fifth (22%) going to the top 1%. That top 1% (all with income over $915,000) will get an average tax cut of over $66,000. “Typical hardworking families” will not get $10,000: families in the middle of the income scale will on average get a tax cut of $1,500. And that can be easily wiped out by service cuts (see below) used to pay for the top-heavy tax cuts as well as higher prices caused by Trump’s tariffs. 

“MYTH”: The One Big Beautiful Bill “takes from the poor to give to the rich.”“FACT”: Low-income workers stand to receive the largest percentage reduction in their tax liability. The One Big Beautiful Bill delivers the largest tax cut in history for working-and-middle class Americans.

ACTUAL FACT: The law cuts $1.2 trillion from Medicaid, the health-insurance program for low-income families; and $186 billion from SNAP (what used to be called food stamps) to help pay for $5.5 trillion in tax cuts mostly for big corporations and wealthy individuals, including billionaires. That’s a textbook example of taking from the poor to give to the rich. 

“MYTH”: The One Big Beautiful Bill “makes life more unaffordable.”“FACT”: The bill delivers bigger paychecks, expanding take-home pay by over $10,000 per year for a typical family.

ACTUAL FACT: Cutting Medicaid and SNAP will raise the price of healthcare and groceries for millions of families. In fact, an analysis of an earlier version of the bill very similar to what became law found that the tax-and-spending plan together with the likely higher prices caused by Trump’s tariffs would indeed make “life more unaffordable” for most Americans–the bottom 60%–to the tune of about $800 in added costs in 2026. (And again, there is no $10,000 payoff for a “typical” family.) 

“MYTH”: The One Big Beautiful Bill “hurts low-income families.”“FACT”: The One Big Beautiful Bill is the most pro-family legislation ever crafted. It will deliver bigger paychecks, giving more than a $10,000 boost annually to everyday families. We are also expanding Opportunity Zones, expanding childcare access, increasing the child tax credit, and creating newborn savings accounts.

ACTUAL FACT: An estimated 14 million low-income people will lose health coverage as a result of the Trump law; two million low-income people would be cut from SNAP in a typical month. Once again, there will be no “$10,000 boost” for “everyday families.” Opportunity Zones would more accurately be called “Exploitation Zones”, since they further enrich wealthy real estate developers like Donald Trump while doing nothing to lift up impoverished neighborhoods or families. The law newly excludes two million children from receiving the Child Tax Credit. 

“MYTH”: The One Big Beautiful Bill “is just a handout to corporations.”“FACT”: This bill drives a Blue-Collar BOOM with tax relief for workers, support for small businesses, and investments in American manufacturing. The One Big Beautiful Bill delivers the largest middle- and working-class tax cut in U.S. history.

ACTUAL FACT: Huge corporations succeeded in reopening three big loopholes that had recently closed, at a cost to the rest of us of over $560 billion in lost revenue over 10 years. Multinationals were able to reduce a planned increase in the U.S. tax rate on the foreign profits of American corporations, thus encouraging more offshoring of earnings and jobs. 

“MYTH”: The One Big Beautiful Bill “increases the deficit.”

“FACT”: The One Big Beautiful Bill reduces deficits by over $2 trillion by increasing economic growth and cutting waste, fraud, and abuse across government programs at an unprecedented rate. This legislation delivers historic levels of mandatory savings. President Trump’s pro-growth economic formula will reduce the deficit, increase wages, deliver American jobs, and drive down the cost of living.

ACTUAL FACT: The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has determined that the Trump law will increase federal debt by $3.4 trillion over 10 years. The well-respected Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimated debt will go up $5.5 trillion. Every other big tax cut since the 1980s has added massive amounts to public debt. Only the delusional and deceptive claim that it’s possible to cut taxes by trillions of dollars more than spending is reduced and not run up huge debts.

The White House document contains 20 more “corrections,” all as fantastical as the ones cited above. It all goes to show that the first step in forcing plainly destructive and highly unpopular policies on the American people is to reverse the definition of myth and fact.