How Trump’s Bill Will Impact North Carolina– 3 Key Takeaways
Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” blew up the internet this week, largely due to Elon Musk calling the legislation a “disgusting abomination.” Insults were hurled. Accusations were flung. Memes were circulated. Buckets of popcorn were filled.
The drama has been enthralling, but amidst the battle between two of the world’s biggest egos, we don’t want to lose sight of who will truly be bearing the brunt of this 1,100 page bill– you.
Here are three key takeaways from Trump’s budget bill, and how it will impact North Carolina if it passes the Senate as written:
1) North Carolinians will have a harder time putting food on the table
The MAGA budget cuts $300 billion from SNAP– the food assistance program that supports working people, hungry kids, aging seniors, and adults with disabilities.
Over 1.4 million North Carolinians utilize SNAP to help feed their families. About 1 in 8 SNAP beneficiaries– including roughly 175,000 North Carolinians– would lose some or all of their benefits. With an average loss of $254 per family per month, there’s a lot of food that will be left on the shelves, unable to reach hungry kids, working parents, and other people who may not be able to afford food otherwise.
Beyond increasing hunger, SNAP cuts will harm our economy as a whole. Every $1 invested in SNAP generates between $1.50 and $1.80 for local economies. These cuts are going to be felt by all of us, whether we utilize SNAP or not.
2) North Carolinians will lose their health insurance
Trump is moving to cut $880 billion from Medicaid, the program that provides affordable health care to over 2.6 million North Carolinians. More than 260,000 North Carolinians are expected to lose coverage if this bill is passed.
Medicaid covers more than a third of births in North Carolina, over 1.4 million children, and over 60% of nursing home stays. It covers a significant number of people in both urban and rural areas, keeping hospitals open that may otherwise need to close. Medicaid cuts will touch people at every stage of life, in every corner of our state.
3) North Carolina’s renewable energy economy, a booming industry, will face serious setbacks
North Carolina is one of the top states in the country for producing clean energy technology. We produce solar panels, electric vehicle batteries, and public chargers. Since 2018, $4 billion has been invested in clean energy projects in North Carolina. And another $1.5 billion is on the way.
Trump’s budget makes severe cuts to clean energy investments put into place by the Biden administration. Gov. Josh Stein has warned that repealing these tax credits would cost the state tens of thousands of jobs by 2030, and billions of dollars in investment in the coming years.
There’s so much more…
The deficit will increase by $2.4 trillion. Planned Parenthood will lose funding. Gender-affirming care will be restricted. The economy will slow. Kids will go hungry. Medical debt will sky rocket. Quality of care will dip.
We’re better than this. We deserve better than this. And the question I’ve been struggling with, and I’m sure many of you are struggling with too, is why? Why should we leave more people hungry, and less people insured? Why take necessary support from working people, to give more money to billionaires?
The good news is that we still have time before this bill passes the Senate. And while we can’t hold our breath waiting for Senator Thom Tillis to grow the courage to stand up to Trump (we’d all pass out), we can at least ask him why he’s refusing to stand up for us during this crucial moment. Your phone calls, your emails, your letters– they matter, and they could turn the tide on a bill that will have very real consequences for all of us.
