Times are tough for working Americans.

Prices are through the roof, from eggs to gas to utilities, and there seems to be no relief in sight. President Donald Trump has promised a future of economic prosperity, but that future won’t pay the bills today.

One step Republicans can take toward bringing a reprieve is to renew the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Acts before it expires and Americans are hit with a $4 trillion tax hike.

Leftmedia chatterers aren’t worried about this tax expiration that would then take more money from the paychecks of the working class. Instead, they lament how much the Republican budget plan might cost the government. Democrats always assume more funding solves problems. This is why we’ve gone decades without any accountability in government spending and why our national debt is $36.5 trillion. They also base the “price tag” on the notion that because tax rates are supposed to go up next year, cutting them will again cost the government.

One key aspect of the Republican tax cut plan is that it directly impacts nearly everyone. As a result, regular middle-class families are the primary beneficiaries of the tax cuts that not a single Democrat supported in 2017, and most of them are likely to vote against them now. Of course, Democrats and their media mouthpieces are resorting to the same playbook by accusing Republicans of helping billionaires over working Americans. In reality, we know Trump’s 2017 tax cuts helped all Americans; we have the receipts.

Back in 2021, The Hill reported, “Income data published by the IRS clearly show that on average all income brackets benefited substantially from the Republicans’ tax reform law, with the biggest beneficiaries being working and middle-income filers, not the top 1 percent, as so many Democrats have argued.”

The Hill added, “A careful analysis of the IRS tax data, one that includes the effects of tax credits and other reforms to the tax code, shows that filers with an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $15,000 to $50,000 enjoyed an average tax cut of 16 percent to 26 percent in 2018, the first year Republicans’ Tax Cuts and Jobs Act went into effect and the most recent year for which data is available.”

So much for the Democrats’ claim that tax cuts only help the rich.

Now comes the hard part.

House and Senate Republicans are working on separate bills and must reach a consensus. The House’s budget plan “sets the stage for advancing many of President Donald Trump’s top domestic priorities,” the Associated Press reported last week, “providing for up to $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and a $4 trillion increase in the debt limit so the U.S. can continue financing its bills. The budget plan also directs a variety of House committees to cut spending by at least $1.5 trillion while stating that the goal is to reduce spending by $2 trillion over 10 years. The blueprint represents a first step in a lengthy legislative process that would allow Republicans to pass some of their top priorities in a simple majority vote.”

For accounting purposes, the House is considering $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid, one of the sticking points that Democrats are sure to take advantage of, but The Hill reports, “Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said last week that virtually all of the savings would come from two initiatives: an aggressive effort to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in the program; and a move to expand work requirements for certain adult beneficiaries.”

Over in the Senate, Republicans are working on a different plan that focuses more on immigration enforcement and energy production but doesn’t extend Trump’s tax cuts. The Senate advanced that bill in the wee hours this morning.

According to Reuters, “Trump came down firmly in favor of the House of Representatives’ plan for one sweeping bill that would also include trillions of dollars in tax cuts. House Republicans fear that the Senate’s ‘skinny’ plan could diminish their chances of extending Trump’s tax cuts later in their own chamber, where the party holds a narrow and fractious 218-215 majority.” Trump favors “ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL.”

We’ll soon know whether House and Senate Republicans can agree on a budget that protects working Americans while ensuring the key components of President Trump’s agenda are locked in place. Otherwise, they’ll end up with a watered-down budget that maintains the status quo and hits the middle class with a tax hike.

Since Trump’s inauguration, DOGE has found billions of dollars in waste, but it’s only a drop of water in a tidal wave of irresponsible and reckless spending over decades. Getting everyone on board to reduce the size of government is never easy, especially when Republicans add to this problem by lacking the courage to effect real change. As for Democrats, they’ll vote against anything that reduces the size and power of the federal government.

Some things in Washington never change, no matter who’s in power. When it comes to big spending for government programs and agencies, politicians always seem to find the money. But giving a little back to those who work for a living is like pulling hen’s teeth.