Democrats keep attacking President Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025, as a tax cut for the rich. But the data show that the average family GAINED roughly $2,000 on their lower tax bill for this year. Every Democrat in Congress voted no, even as they complained of a “middle-class affordability crisis.” Maybe that’s because $2,000 is peanuts to rich and famous limousine liberal Democrats. But not for the rest of us.
The goal of the Trump tax cut was simple: strengthen the economy with lower tax rates and let working and retired Americans keep more of what they earn. The early evidence confirms this is exactly what has happened. Initial IRS data shows that almost HALF of filers have already taken advantage of the bill’s middle‑income tax provisions.
Income taxes have become such an ingrained part of American life that many workers barely notice how much is snatched from their paychecks – payroll taxes, federal income taxes, state income taxes, etc. We see the net amount and forget the gross amount is what we actually earned. Because less is now taken out, the Trump tax cut functions like a pay raise.
So who is getting a pay raise from the One Big Beautiful Bill? Three major provisions were deliberately crafted to help working‑class and middle‑class Americans keep more of their hard‑earned dollars.
First, the law eliminated income tax on tipped wages, subject to certain caps. For millions of waiters, waitresses, bartenders, baristas, barbers, hairstylists, DoorDash drivers, tour guides, casino dealers, and counter staff at casual restaurants, this means a substantial share of their income is no longer taxed. In some of these occupations, tips make up more than half of total earnings, so the impact is enormous. These workers may lead rich and fulfilling lives, but none of them qualify as Trump’s “rich friends.”
Second, the bill eliminated federal income tax on overtime pay, again with income limits. This provision frees hourly workers from being taxed when they put in extra hours. Put differently, eliminating tax on overtime reduces the number of hours each day that hourly workers labor not for themselves or their families, but for the government. Given how many Americans are paid hourly, this provision overwhelmingly benefits people who are not wealthy.
Third, the tax bill reduces the tax RATE you pay. This incentivizes more work because the reward for getting a job and working more hours is more money.
Through March 25, more than 85 million individual tax returns had been filed. Of those, 37.5 million — 44% — saw an immediate reduction in their tax bill.
The bill also created a forward‑looking benefit for children: Trump Accounts. These accounts help young Americans begin investing early, giving them a head start on saving for education, starting a business, or building long‑term financial security. Children born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028, are eligible for a $1,000 federal contribution, and early tax data shows strong enthusiasm. Roughly 2.6 million returns established Trump Accounts for more than 4 million children, and nearly one million qualified for the federal contribution.
When we account for all of these tax benefits, what we find is that far from being “tax cuts for the rich,” the One Big Beautiful Bill’s tax provisions actually reduced the tax bill paid by the middle class by roughly 14%. Meanwhile, the SHARE of federal income taxes paid by the richest 10% rose from 70% to 77% and the top 1% share rose from 38% to 40%.
If the rich are now paying a larger share of the tax pie, how is the Trump tax cut “a giveaway to the rich?” Maybe the left calls the Trump tax cut “One Big Ugly Tax Bill” because they want every one of us – not just the rich – to pay more taxes.
Stephen Moore is a contributor to The Daily Caller News Foundation, a senior fellow at America First Policy Institute, and a cofounder of Unleash Prosperity.
Nearly half of high school seniors are not proficient in reading or math, and one-third of eighth graders cannot read at a basic level. The aftershocks of pandemic-era school closures are still playing out, with students regressing to levels not seen in more than 25 years, and one in four now chronically absent from the classroom. An overreliance on technology, lax policies around personal devices like cell phones, and weakened discipline standards have only deepened the problem, eroding focus, accountability, and real learning.
The current challenges also extend beyond students. Nearly eight in 10 teachers say they have considered leaving the profession, citing burnout as their pay continues to fall behind that of other college-educated workers. The system is strained at every level, and every person with skin in the game knows it.
Who is at the center of it all? America’s teachers’ unions. While students slip to historic lows in reading and math and classrooms struggle to recover from union-driven school shutdowns, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and its president Randi Weingarten appear focused elsewhere, pouring time, money, and political muscle into ideological conflicts and partisan campaigns instead of fixing the schools they supposedly represent.
As president of the nation’s largest teacher’s union, Weingarten represents 1.8 million educators and plays a central role in shaping K-12 policy and the direction of American education. At a moment of historic academic decline, one might expect her influence to be directed toward fixing it.
It’s not. She is focused on her own political ambitions.
Weingarten has directed the AFT’s resources toward organizing and amplifying explicitly political activism, including the anti-Trump “No Kings” rallies. There, she took the spotlight to declare that “we are not going to let Donald Trump continue to do what he has been doing” and ignoring the fact that Americans voted to elect Donald Trump as President, boldly claimed that “we, the people, have to have the ultimate say.”
Unfortunately, this latest spectacle is nothing new. The AFT has a long record of channeling resources into left-wing political campaigns, protests, and advocacy efforts that have little to do with whether students can read, write, do basic math, or are proficient in these core competencies.
The AFT has funneled tens of millions of dollars to left-wing aligned groups and candidates since 2022, and spent most of last year engaged in aggressive legal and activist campaigns against Trump administration-directed education reforms aimed at restoring parental oversight in curricula and de-politicizing the classroom.
This ideological activism was on full display during the pandemic, when Weingarten advocated and defended keeping schools closed far longer than necessary, even as evidence showed it was safe to reopen. After these devastating setbacks from school closures and virtual learning, the average student is less than halfway to a full academic recovery. In some grades, there has been little to no improvement in reading since classrooms reopened. Chronic absenteeism has surged, especially among lower-income students; in 2024, rates were 57 percent higher than before the pandemic, and Weingarten is directly responsible for this generational learning loss.
Even after nearly $200 billion in emergency federal spending on K-12 education, student performance continues to decline. Students are doing worse than they were a decade ago, and lower-performing students are now further behind than their counterparts were more than 30 years ago. National test scores have fallen to their lowest levels in decades, while The Nation’s Report Card data shows the gap between high- and low-performing students continuing to widen.
At a moment when student outcomes are deteriorating at record levels, the priorities for educational leadership like Weingarten should not be difficult to identify. It begins in the classroom: ensuring children are given foundational tools for critical thinking and can learn how to think (not what to think) and supporting teachers and parents as they help students achieve their full potential.
At the American Parents Coalition, we will continue to educate parents on the blatant partisan actions academic leaders like Weingarten are doing, at the expense of our children. It’s time to reclaim parental authority, and to demand teachers’ unions focus on academic success and not divisive ideologies.
Our children do not get another chance at learning. Their childhood is finite. The major setbacks taking hold now will shape not only academic prospects in their immediate future, but also their confidence, opportunity, and quality of life.
Randi Weingarten prioritizes a political agenda over our kids. She promotes policies that cut parents out of their children’s lives. She uses her platform to advocate for herself, not teachers or students. It’s time for Randi Weingarten to be replaced with a true advocate for education.
Friday’s strong jobs report smashed expectations and demonstrated that the economy and labor market are far stronger than the mainstream media suggests. The economy added 178,000 jobs in March, and the unemployment rate fell to 4.3 percent. Real wages rose again, increasing average American living standards.
After a rough February distorted by brutal weather across large parts of the country, the labor market has roared back. The naysayers who insisted that blip represented a crumbling economy were wrong, and the March data makes that plain.
Friday’s jobs report follows a strong ADP employment report on Wednesday that showed small businesses created 112,000 private-sector jobs in March. While the employment picture was more nuanced at bigger companies, small businesses remain the engine of the economy.
Thanks to President Donald Trump’s strong border policies, which have stopped the massive influx of the labor force, the nation is, by any measure, at full employment. The Kansas City Fed estimates that the number of jobs needed each month to keep the unemployment rate steady has fallen from around 150,000 to roughly 50,000.
Elevated oil prices are always a threat to small businesses, the labor market, and the broader economy. But the jobs report shows employers recognize today’s high gas prices as short-term pain that doesn’t alter the administration’s domestic pro-energy agenda, which represents a long-term structural shift. Expanded drilling, streamlined permitting, and a commitment to American energy independence mean that today’s prices are a temporary headache, not a permanent condition.
Meanwhile, the federal government workforce continues to fall. Since Trump took office, federal government jobs are down by 12% and at the lowest level since 1966, a huge victory over big government. Every position shed from the federal payroll is a resource freed up for the productive private economy — the part of the economy that actually creates goods, services, and lasting prosperity.
America’s resilient economy and labor market are a direct result of last year’s Republican tax cuts. The restoration of 100 percent immediate expensing — allowing businesses to write off capital investments in full the year they’re made — gives employers a powerful incentive to expand. The permanent 20 percent deduction for small business income and new interest deductions do the same. Together, these provisions are fueling exactly the kind of investment cycle that produces hiring and wage growth.
Guy Berkebile, chairman of Guy Chemical, a manufacturer south of Pittsburgh, explained the situation at an event hosted by Job Creators Network, Americans for Prosperity, Americans for Tax Reform, and the Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association, featuring U.S. Rep. Scott Perry this week: “Tax cuts leave us business owners with more money to invest in our employees and in expansion. Immediate expensing helps justify the costs of new projects by reducing the payback time.”
Small businesses like Guy Chemical can help Americans connect the dots between tax cuts and more jobs, higher wages, and a stronger economy.
The mainstream media will continue searching for ways to cloud any positive news. Our job is to look at the data clearly and call it what it is: a strong economy, a resilient labor market, and pro-growth policies that are working.
Alfredo Ortiz is a contributor to The Daily Caller News Foundation, CEO of Job Creators Network, author of “The Real Race Revolutionaries,” and co-host of the Main Street Matters podcast.
President Donald Trump will be coming to Phoenix later this month to attend an event by Turning Point USA (TPUSA).
Trump is scheduled to speak at the event, “Build The Red Wall,” to be hosted by Dream City Church.
TPUSA announced the president’s forthcoming appearance last week.
Also present to speak will be TPUSA CEO Erika Kirk, widow of the late former TPUSA founder and CEO Charlie Kirk, and Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05), a 2026 Republican candidate for Arizona governor. TPUSA noted that other speakers would be filling out the lineup “soon.”
“Build The Red Wall” appears to be a reference to ongoing rhetoric employed by Erika Kirk. In her speech last December at TPUSA’s annual AmericaFest, Kirk used the phrase in her endorsement of Vice President JD Vance for president in 2028.
“We are locked in, and mission-focused for both 2026 and 2028; we’re investing in states and not just in races. So what I mean by that is we are building the red wall, Arizona, Nevada, New Hampshire,” said Kirk. “We are going to get my husband’s friend JD Vance elected for 48 in the most resounding way possible.”
TPUSA rolled out its “Red Wall” plan during AmericaFest.
Brett Galazewski, National Enterprise Director of Turning Point Action, said the red wall represents a shift from the “blue wall,” or the key states historically guaranteed to deliver an election victory: Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
“2026 is going to be the make-or-break year to save our country,” said Galazewksi. “We believe our best path to the 270 electoral mark is a combination of Arizona, that’s always been important, Nevada, and then last, but certainly not least, New Hampshire.”
“Build The Red Wall” also appears to be affiliated to some degree with Turning Point Action’s Chase The Vote initiative.
The organization requires attendees to complete a check of their voter registration status in order to register for the event, using a form from Vote Online.
The Vote Online embedded form on TPUSA’s site asks individuals to submit their full name, email, phone number, date of birth, address, how they plan to vote, and whether it is their first time voting.
President Donald J. Trump is returning to ARIZONA! 🇺🇸🌵
Vote Online is a nonprofit organization based in Phoenix, sharing an address with Turning Point Action.
Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) records reflect the organization filed an application for authority with the ACC on March 17 of this year. That application is still pending as of this report.
Vote Online’s website does not disclose an affiliation with TPUSA or Turning Point Action. The nonprofit does have a webpage dedicated to donations, but it is not functional yet.
Vote Online’s privacy policy indicated the information used to fill out the voter registration form on the event registration page will be used by TPUSA or Turning Point Action for marketing and outreach efforts.
The “Build The Red Wall” event is scheduled to begin Friday, April 17, at 12 pm. Remarks are scheduled to begin at 2 pm. The event is first come, first serve.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
Protests against President Donald Trump over his mass deportation policies are scheduled to take over the streets across dozens of Arizona cities this weekend.
The protests were coordinated through the national “No Kings” organization. “No Kings” refers to the belief that Trump has overreached in his powers, much like a monarchy, based on the drastic increase in federal immigration enforcement actions. The organization coordinated protests last spring, summer, and fall.
Over 7 million activists attended over 2,700 protests across the nation during the latest designated No Kings protest day last October.
Last year’s No Kings protests presented problems as some devolved into looting and rioting.
Some who hit the streets under the pretense of protest committed crimes that targeted law enforcement and local businesses.
Activists on the lookout for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have targeted local law enforcement under suspicion of their affiliation with the federal agency. Officers conducting operations and arrests for crimes other than immigration have faced off against violent rioters attempting to disrupt what they believe to be deportation proceedings.
Such was the case in one incident last summer when anti-ICE activists assaulted a Peoria police officer participating in a narcotics raid.
Saturday’s No Kings protests are scheduled to occur in Ajo, Anthem, Apache Junction, Arivaca, Bisbee, Bullhead City, Casas Adobes, Casa Grande, Chandler, Cottonwood, Douglas, Flagstaff, Florence, Fountain Hills, Gilbert, Glendale, Globe, Goodyear, Green Valley, Kingman, Lake Havasu City, Marana, Maricopa, Mesa, Nogales, Oro Valley, Patagonia, Payson, Phoenix, Prescott, Quartzsite, Queen Creek, Safford, Sahuarita, Scottsdale, Sedona, Show Low, Sierra Vista, Sun City, Sun City West, Superior, Surprise, Tempe, Tubac, Tucson, Tucson Estates, Vail, Willcox, Winslow, and Yuma.
The No Kings coalition has over 200 partners backing it, including: Accountable.Us, American Federation of Teachers, American Federation of Government Employees, ACLU, Bernie Sanders campaign, College Democrats of America, Freedom From Religion Foundation, Greenpeace, Human Rights Campaign, Indivisible, NextGen America, Planned Parenthood, and Sierra Club.
The primary coordinators behind the initial formation of No Kings were the organizations Indivisible and 50501.
The 50501 movement has a chapter in Arizona, which has a private Facebook group containing over 6,500 members. This chapter’s online administrators include Tucson resident Scott Jackson; Erica Connell, a Phoenix drag performer who goes by the name “Weird Violet”; and Gilbert resident Kristin Clement.
Activists aligned with the 50501 movement attempted to breach the Arizona Capitol last February.
Other local activist organizations have played a role in organizing No Kings protests as well. Among these are the Party for Socialism and Liberation in Phoenix, East Valley Unite AZ, Gilbert Good Trouble, Mesa Valley Indivisible, Rural Arizona Action, Instituto Power, Progress Arizona, LUCHA Arizona, AZ Resistance Front, and United Campus Workers of Arizona.
Earlier this month, anti-ICE activists disrupted proceedings in the Arizona legislature to protest deportations.
In addition to educating illegal aliens on avoiding immigration enforcement, these organizations have encouraged the use of hotlines to report and track the whereabouts of federal agents. One hotline, “Migra Watch,” has dedicated caller hotlines for Phoenix, Flagstaff, Tucson, and rural areas, and a text hotline as well.
Financial data revealed tens of millions of federal dollars flowing into the organizations throwing their support behind No Kings protests.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
