Economic Futures
What This Tax Fight is Really About
04. 21. 2025
Right now, Congress is advancing a tax and budget plan that would define our economy for the next decade. Instead of investing in the foundations of a strong economy—like housing, healthcare, and education—it rewards billionaires and corporations with massive tax giveaways. Here’s what’s in it:
- The plan would make the Trump Tax Giveaways—a.k.a. the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA)—permanent, handing $1.4 trillion in tax cuts to the top 1%.
- It would also preserve the corporate tax breaks of the TCJA that cut the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, a move that has already allowed some of the biggest corporations to pay zero in federal income taxes while raking in record profits.
- To pay for these tax cuts, the plan would slash $1.5 trillion to critical programs like Medicaid and SNAP—putting healthcare for 36 million people at risk and making it harder for millions of families, children, and seniors to afford food.
- Senate Republicans are trying to bend budget rules (and basic math) to make it seem like these tsunami of tax cuts at the top won’t cost anything. House Republicans, meanwhile, are pushing their own false narrative that these cuts will trickle down, boost economic growth, and pay for themselves—a claim unsupported by evidence or history.
And while Congress advances this plan, President Trump is enacting tariffs that will raise the prices of everyday goods like groceries, clothing, electronics, and personal care items, adding even more pressure to families navigating an affordability crisis and fueling the threat of a recession. These tariffs act as a hidden tax for families and would amount to a 13% hike in the U.S.’s effective tariff rate, the highest since 1937.
It’s a rigged agenda – plain and simple. Tax breaks for the rich, paid for by the rest of us.
But we’re demanding a tax system that works for everyone. That starts by putting more money in people’s pockets by expanding and strengthening tax credits like the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit—proven tools that help families stay afloat. It means raising the corporate tax rate and ensuring billionaires finally pay their fair share so we can invest in what really grows the economy: education, healthcare, childcare, and more.
We’re not alone. Across the country—from rallies in small towns like Folsom, CA that attracted 30,000+ attendees to demonstrations in Washington, D.C.—people are demanding change.
- We partnered with Washington Interfaith Network (WIN) and Community Change on “People Over Profit: Tax Justice for All,” a powerful gathering that brought together faith leaders, economists, and advocates outside the U.S. Treasury where we demanded a tax system rooted in justice, equity, and shared prosperity (see photos above and more here).
- Economic Security Project Action also worked with Representative Ro Khanna on his “Benefits Over Billionaires” tour, where thousands turned out in swing districts across California to call out GOP tax priorities and demand an economy that works for everyone. The packed rallies echoed the energy of recent town halls and rallies led by leaders like Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—proof that people power is building across the country to push back against tax breaks for the wealthy and calling for real investment in working families.
Let’s be clear: this isn’t just a fight about taxes. It’s a fight about who the economy works for—and who it leaves behind. We can keep writing the rules to benefit the wealthy few, or rewrite them to ensure every family has a real chance to thrive.
What Else We’ve Been Up To
Direct File: A Win They’re Trying to Take Away
We’re advocating for resources like Direct File that put money back in people’s pockets and make it easier for working families to access tax credits they’re entitled to.
For decades, tax prep giants like TurboTax and H&R Block profited off the complexity of the tax filing process, forcing people to hand over their hard-earned money to find out what they owed or what tax credits they were eligible for. Direct File challenged that.
And people loved it. It scored an outstanding 98% user satisfaction rate and 84+ Net Promoter Score. Despite its overwhelming popularity, news outlets like the Associated Press, Washington Post, and Politico have reported that the Trump administration plans to shut down Direct File.
“It is an outrage to see everyday taxpayers play no role in this decision. Cutting costs and saving money for families were just empty campaign promises,” explained ESP’s Vice President of Campaigns and Political Strategy, Adam Ruben, via the Associated Press, who first reported about the administration’s plan.
This isn’t just about a tax filing tool. It’s about whether the government works for working people or billion-dollar corporations. We’re proud to have advocated alongside the IRS and a powerful coalition, including Groundwork Action, Code for America, Public Citizen, RESULTS, and Americans for Tax Fairness, to bring Direct File to life and are committed to fighting for a tax system that works for everyone. Learn more here.
Marketcrafters is Here
In Marketcrafters: The 100-Year Struggle to Shape the American Economy, ESP co-founder Chris Hughes challenges the myth of the “free market” and makes the case that government entrepreneurs or “marketcrafters” have shaped our economy. At a time when Trump and his allies are pushing policies that increasingly destabilize our economy, this book offers a roadmap for what comes next and how we can rebuild a more secure and equitable economy. Marketcrafters hits shelves tomorrow—secure your copy here.
ICYMI: Our Picks
From rising costs to who shapes the rules, we’re digging deeper into what’s driving today’s economy—and what it’ll take to build one that works for everyone. Here’s a glimpse at some of the perspectives we’ve enjoyed this month.
- The Price Crisis: A New Culprit in Rising Costs
ESP President Natalie Foster breaks down how corporations are using algorithmic price fixing to increase costs for Americans and how states like California are holding them accountable. “Technology should advance the public good, not make it easier for corporations to squeeze Americans already facing rising costs.” - “Cook County leaders tout success of their guaranteed income pilot program”
Cook County was the first publicly-funded guaranteed income pilot to become permanent, and earlier this month, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle doubled down on that commitment, setting a strong example for GI pilots across the country. “We’re the richest country in the world … and we don’t take care of our own. And we got to do better.” - “America Has Never Been Wealthier. Here’s Why It Doesn’t Feel That Way.”
New York Times columnist Talmon Joseph Smith wrote a must-read unpacking the contradiction at the heart of today’s economy: rising incomes and record wealth on paper are juxtaposed with deepening inequality in reality. “The U.S. economy remains deeply unequal, with vast gaps in wealth and financial security persisting even as inflation has ebbed and incomes have risen. And data designed to capture the overall population may be obscuring challenges experienced by a broad range of Americans, especially those in the bottom half of the wealth or income spectrum.” - ESP’s Take on Tariffs
Tariffs can be a strategic economic tool, but President Trump’s tariffs threaten to drive up everyday costs at a time when families are already struggling with an acute cost of living crisis. “Not all tariffs are bad, but when they are poorly planned and applied indiscriminately, they put pressure on some of the most important sectors of the economy. […] “From businesses to the financial markets to grocery store clerks, there is collective uncertainty, unease, confusion, and genuine concern about what this means for risking a recession.”
•“If You Care About Your Savings, Pay Attention to Trump’s Attack on The Fed”
In a New York Times op-ed, ESP co-founder Chris Hughes lays out how Trump’s push to assert control over the Federal Reserve threatens its core function. The Fed doesn’t just set interest rates—it guides markets, keeps prices stable, and ensures credit flows. Undermining its independence risks unraveling all of that. “The Fed’s effectiveness, like that of these other efforts, rests on a shared formula: clear missions, necessary independence and professional leadership insulated from day-to-day political interference. By undermining these principles, Mr. Trump isn’t making America great. He’s dismantling the institutional architecture that made American prosperity possible in the first place.” - “Is paying to file your taxes a scam?”
We think so. Read writer and comedian Alex Falcone’s TIME piece where he breaks down how our tax system is unnecessarily complicated and costly, benefiting a few giant tax prep companies—and how it doesn’t have to be this way. “Over the past several decades, tax preparation software companies have built a multibillion-dollar industry that’s so ubiquitous, most people have forgotten to be mad about it. As a comedian who specializes in scam identification, I would argue that paying for the privilege of paying taxes is bonkers and, yep, a scam.”