OBBBA

The Senate released its version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act at midnight on Friday, into the weekend news graveyard, hoping it would attract less attention in the news and on social media. It remains an Outrageous Budget-Busting Bullshit Abomination, thanks to an extension of the 2017 tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy.

The Republican plan makes deep cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, to pay for those cuts. It uses accounting chicanery to hide the cost further: Instead of an honest acknowledgment that the cuts will reduce revenue, it pretends that continuing the current policy – that is, extending the cuts put in place eight years ago – is budget-neutral, and can be ignored. It's like you deciding that, since you lost your job last year, you don't need to consider your lack of income when you're planning this year's vacation.

Noah Smith has published an excellent piece on another disastrous aspect of the bill: Its culture-war attack on cheap, reliable energy. I strongly encourage you to read it.

Noah points out that the Senate version of the bill cuts investments in renewable energy, and even imposes new taxes on those projects. This is madness, of course. The climate crisis is apolitical. MAGA voters will endure the same hurricanes as the radical left-wing lunatics they hate. And green energy investments in solar, wind, batteries, nuclear, hydro and geothermal projects makes energy cheaper and more reliable. The bill will raise the price of energy and reduce grid reliability for residents across the country.

The Republican congress is doing the bidding of the President, not representing the voters who sent its members to Washington. I predict a backlash, but that's no real comfort. The damage done to current projects – the squandering of smart investment and development already underway – will cause short-term harm and a longer-term reluctance to launch new projects, since lawmakers can't be trusted to care for the country.