On May 22, 2025, the House of Representatives passed a sweeping tax and spending package titled the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA). It’s certainly big, but it’s anything but beautiful. In fact, for most Colorado families, this tax and spending cut package is unfair, cowardly, and cruel. Passed in the early morning hours, while families across the country slept, the OBBBA will make massive cuts to social safety net programs like SNAP and Medicaid to pay for a massive giveaway to the richest people and corporations in America.

An analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) highlights just how lopsided the bill’s tax provisions are. It found that the richest 1% of Americans would receive a staggering $121 billion in net tax cuts in 2026. That’s more than the total tax cuts for the entire bottom 60% of taxpayers, who will get a mere $90 billion. 

Meanwhile, working-class and middle-income families are left with crumbs. The middle 20% of taxpayers — a group 20twenty times the size of the top 1% — would collectively receive only $59 billion in tax cuts. And for the poorest fifth of Americans, the total share is a mere 1% of the bill’s tax benefits. Add in the effects of the tariffs and cuts to education and critical safety net programs, and the picture becomes even bleaker: many low- and middle-income families would actually pay more overall.

Here in Colorado, the disparity is equally stark. The top 1% of earners in the state would save around $70,000 on average. In contrast, the bottom 20% — those most likely to feel the pinch of rising prices and weakened public services — would save just $130. That means that if you make over $863,000, you are getting a tax break that is larger than twice the bottom 20%’s annual income of $30,000. The median Coloradan is looking at a modest $990 tax cut, while the median family saves $1,890. These savings pale in comparison to the enormous windfalls granted to the wealthiest households.

Perhaps most absurd and devastating is the fact that even foreign investors — those who own shares in U.S. companies but do not live or work here—stand to benefit more than America’s poorest citizens. In 2026, foreign investors would get $23 billion in tax cuts, while the bottom 20% of Americans receive just $4 billion.

And that’s just the tax side. The bill also includes steep cuts to essential services like Medicaid and food assistance like SNAP. These cuts aren’t captured in the tax numbers, but they represent real losses for low-income families who rely on these programs to make ends meet. When those losses are factored in, the net effect of the bill becomes even more regressive.

The “One Big Beautiful Bill” might be a thing of beauty for the rich and powerful, but for the majority of Americans—and especially for working families in Colorado—But for the rest of Americans, it’s a stark reminder of inequality—and of how their representatives prioritize personal interests over the needs of the people they serve.