Keep the Trump Tax Cuts So American Families Can Thrive

Hide your wallets, taxes could be going up after Christmas! One of President Donald Trump’s greatest economic accomplishments of his first term, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, expires at the end of this year. Only 6% of Americans are aware that these tax cuts could be stripped away, and if they disappear, that’s a major problem for families and the Republican Party.

With historically high inflation rates and the sharp increase in energy and food costs gifted to us by the Biden administration, Americans have been struggling to get by these last few years. Since the end of Trump’s first term, the average price of milk has risen 36%, ground beef has gone up 42%, gas is up 45%—and that’s not even half an average grocery list.

Trump understood that in order for our economy to thrive once again, he had to cut taxes. He got to work by wrangling the GOP to introduce the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and miraculously, got it through both chambers of Congress in 2017.

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While it’s common knowledge that tax cuts bring a boon to the economy as consumers with more money in their pockets reinvest it into the marketplace, the remarkable growth in business investments and in the labor market (including increased jobs and increased mobility within existing jobs) from the act surprised everyone. Wages alone were $1,400 above trend in 2018—and that was just the first year of implementation.

It didn’t just stop there. The act cut taxes in every income group, so every individual tax rate got a break. The average cut received in 2018 was $1,400, which meant you could get a  PlayStation 5 Pro, take your girlfriend out to a nice dinner, and still have something left over—everyone wins!

The most significant benefit families received from the tax cuts was the doubling of the Child Tax Credit from $1,000 to $2,000 per child. Trump understood a fundamental truth—that our country cannot succeed without American families thriving economically. He ensured that families with children would receive this much-needed economic relief under his administration. 

Some critics have claimed that $2,000 isn’t a lot of money or pointed out that it’s “just $1,000 more, what good will it do anybody?” Let’s ignore these naysayers and put this historic achievement into perspective.

In 2023, 44% of American parents reported not being able to cover an emergency expense of $400, and nearly 30% of all American households were reported to be living paycheck-to-paycheck (requiring over 90% of their income to cover basic necessities). When money is that tight, $2,000 can be the difference between a family breaking even on their bills or breaking the bank.

In day-to-day terms, that $2,000 is the equivalent of roughly 6,700 diapers or about 622 gallons of gas (about 32 full tanks in a minivan and 48 for a smaller vehicle). Any growing family can certainly appreciate that.

But that’s not all this legislation has done. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “The Child Tax Credit lifted 4.3 million people?including 2.3 million children?above the poverty line in 2018.”

If you want to talk about life-changing policy, this certainly qualifies.

With new majorities in the House and Senate in 2025, Republicans should seize the moment and make this tax break on our families a permanent fixture in our tax code. 

This shouldn’t be a tough lift since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is a key part of Trump’s pro-family agenda.

Vice President JD Vance recently spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference about the importance of making life more affordable for families and called for Congress to include the renewal of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in the budget reconciliation package currently under discussion in both the House and the Senate.

With the support of an executive branch that has already put so much energy into reducing wasteful spending, there is little excuse for not supporting a measure that reinvests some of that wealth back into the American people. If Make America Great Again is the message to rally behind, renewing the act should be an easy task to fulfill.

Most Americans certainly agree. According to polling, 79% of voters believe that failing to extend the act will hurt middle-class families. And, importantly, the strongest element of the Republican base is the American family.

According to an American Enterprise Institute report, it’s married families who consistently vote red. In fact, the biggest determining factor of whether a congressional district will swing red is the presence of families.

Republicans must do their duty to their constituents and fight for the extension of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Both the well-being of American families and the GOP’s political future depend on it.

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