We all learned this in school. We fought a revolutionary war, in large part because of it. No taxation without representation. Right?
It bothered us in 1773, but we seem less concerned 252 years later.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., forced a name change for the tax/spend bill proposed by Trump and Congressional GOP members, just before it passed the Senate Tuesday, on a 50-50 vote, with the Vice President casting the tie-breaking vote.
Schumer raised a point of order against lines three to five on the first page of the legislative proposal that said, “SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ‘’One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
Schumer argued that the title of the bill violated Section 313 B1A of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Wow, excellent job, Democrats!! You got the name changed right before it passed the Senate. Maybe when it gets back to the House you can ask them to change the font.
And what do we think of the bill? Polling taken throughout June showed that most Americans disapprove of the mega-bill overall. But in 2025, Congress knows better.
Quinnipiac polling, conducted last week and released Thursday, found that 55 percent of voters oppose the bill while 29 percent support it. Another 20 percent had no opinion. One in five people have no idea; amazing and sad.
The Washington Post-Ipsos polling from June 6-10 found that 42 percent oppose the bill while 23 percent support it and 34 percent had no opinion. Really?
Drilling deeper, when asked about extending the Trump 2017 tax cuts, most (71 percent) support extending cuts for individuals with incomes under $100,000. For those earning between $100,000 and $200,000, 53 percent were in support.
But that support cratered when asked about extending tax cuts for individuals with income above $400,000 (29 percent support) and corporations (30 percent), who already pay significantly less than they did fifty years ago.
Other recent polls that looked at the bill’s favorability showed that Fox News (59 percent opposed vs. 38 percent favored), and Pew Research Center (49 percent opposed and 29 percent in favor) had similar results.
Based on those numbers, are we being represented? Ron Johnson R-WI, noted concerns over the U.S debt and deficit saying, “I know everybody wants to go to Disney World, but we just can’t afford it.”
He added that he could not be convinced by a threat to primary his seat over the bill. “Listen, in the House, President Trump can threaten to primary, and those guys want to keep their seats. I understand the pressure. Can’t pressure me that way,” Johnson said, before voting to approve the bill.
Josh Hawley, R-MO warned, “We can’t be cutting health care for working people and for poor people in order to constantly give special tax treatment to corporations and other entities.” He added, “The party has a lot of thinking to do.” Then, after a minute or two of heavy thinking, he voted yes, noting that maybe the House will make changes.
And Lisa Murkowski, R-AK, who came out against the bill, negotiated special concessions for Alaska residents, selling her vote and rationalizing after, “Do I like this bill? No. But I tried to take care of Alaska’s interests.” That’s nice for Alaskans. What about the other 99.7 percent of Americans?
Of course, Mitch McConnell, R-KY, assured us that we’ll all “get over it.”
Did any of these so-called leaders consider what Americans wanted? Were they being good Representatives of the People, or good party members? Today, those are often in conflict. Where is John McCain when we need him?
And to those who have “no opinion” in these polls, I’d like to give you all the details, but the bill runs about 1,000 pages. I don’t have room. But you can find summaries online, and I encourage you to read those rather than listening to biased podcasters. Then, regardless of what you think, speak up. Call your congressperson. Email your senators. Post your view here. Get involved. This stuff is important.
One thing that does seem certain is that we are going to add trillions to the national debt, an issue that I have encouraged Americans to address for years, without success. If you read my column from last week, you’ll see my latest plea:
https://wtvbam.com/2025/06/22/rants-by-mac-how-much-is-enough/
Were we represented? Or do we need to dump some tea into the harbor?
Curt MacRae, a resident of Coldwater, MI, publishes regular opinion columns.
To be notified by email when a column is published, or to offer feedback, email rantsbymac@gmail.com.
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