May 19, 2025

The GOP Budget Is Big, Bloated, B.S.

1 hour 17 minutes

This week, editors Peter Suderman, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Matt Welch critique President Donald Trump's proposed tax legislation and its fiscal irresponsibility, discuss the national deficit and credit rating downgrade, examine the media and political cover-up of former President Joe Biden's cognitive decline, and highlight the broader consequences of institutional failure and partisan denial.

0:00—"Big beautiful bill" breakdown

2:21—The MAGA (Money Account for Growth and Advancement) baby account boondoggle

13:54—SALT cap debate and wealthy blue state subsidies

19:12—Proposed Medicaid cuts and "fiscal illusions"

23:02—Moody's Ratings downgraded the U.S. credit rating system. Does this matter?

27:09—The Supreme Court takes up birthright citizenship and nationwide injunctions

34:41—Who pays tariffs? Trump vs. Walmart

40:24—Listener question: Is the economic inequality data bad?

46:09—What did we know about Biden's health and when did we know it?

48:24—How the media didn't responsibly report on Biden's health

1:01:04—Weekly cultural recommendations

Mentioned in this podcast:

"GINI Index for the United States", by St. Louis Federal Reserve

"Everyone Agrees Government Is a Hot Mess. So Why Does It Keep Getting Bigger?" by Nick Gillespie

"The Long and Whining Road: The Beatles, Boomers, and Boredom," by Nick Gillespie

"Still Fab: Why We Keep Listening To the Beatles," by Charles Paul Freund

"Equal Pay for Equal Work: Appreciating the Female Half of Power Couples," by Nick Gillespie

"Trump's Tax Plan Is a Leftist Economic Agenda Wrapped in Populist Talking Points," by Veronique de Rugy

"Republican Reconciliation Package Will Lead to $3 Trillion Annual Deficits," by Christian Britschgi

"Trump Threatens Walmart Not To React to His Tariffs," Joe Lancaster

"Trump's 'Deal' With China Leaves American Consumers and Exporters Facing Higher Tariffs Than Before," by Eric Boehm

"The Supreme Court May Rule for Trump on Nationwide Injunctions but Probably Not on Birthright Citizenship," by Damon Root

"Trump's Case Against Birthright Citizenship Is a Constitutional Loser," by Damon Root

"Defenders of Trump's Birthright Citizenship Order Offer an Implausible Take on a 127-Year-Old Precedent," by Jacob Sullum

"Joe Biden's Cancer Diagnosis Shouldn't End Scrutiny of the Cognitive Decline Cover-Up," by Robby Soave

"Biden's Cancer," by Liz Wolfe

"Andor Is a Star Wars Show About the Brutality of Bureaucracy," by Peter Suderman

"64 Reasons To Celebrate Paul McCartney," by Ian Leslie

Upcoming Reason events:

Reason Speakeasy: Susannah Cahalan on The Acid Queen, June 3

Reason Versus debate: Jacob Sullum and Billy Binion vs. Charles Fain Lehman and Rafael Mangual, June 24

Today's sponsors:

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Video Editor: Ian Keyser

The post The GOP Budget Is Big, Bloated, B.S. appeared first on Reason.com.

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