Grill the Bill: A Dads for All Challenge
This Memorial Day weekend, we’re issuing a challenge:
While you’re grilling with friends or tossing bags in a backyard cornhole game, talk to three people about what’s really in the new tax bill.
Because while we’re grilling outside, Congress is grilling our kids’ future.
Here’s the truth: budgets aren’t just numbers — they’re expressions of values. And this one makes it crystal clear what matters to the people writing it, and who doesn’t.
Here are your talking points:
👶 They’re shrinking the Child Tax Credit while prices rise.
The Child Tax Credit has not been adjusted for inflation — meaning it becomes less valuable every year, even as rent, groceries, and childcare costs continue to climb. That shrinking support comes at the same time the bill adds new eligibility restrictions that cut off families where one parent doesn’t have a Social Security number.
That’s a double hit for many mixed-status households. A child who is a U.S. citizen could lose out on thousands per year — simply because of their parents’ paperwork. When families are facing rising costs, reducing support for children is a step in the wrong direction.
📉 They’re burying our kids in debt.
The bill adds $5 trillion to the national debt over the next decade. And here’s the twist: it doesn’t even attempt to balance the budget.
Instead of investing in the future — schools, healthcare, infrastructure — this bill shifts funding from public services into private tax breaks. Our kids lose out now and will be stuck with the bill later, paying for today’s giveaways with tomorrow’s opportunities.
🥫 They’re cutting 8 billion meals.
The bill includes a $300 billion reduction in funding for SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. This is the primary federal program helping families with low incomes afford groceries, including 14 million children. That kind of cut is equivalent to approximately 8 billion meals lost over the next decade.
While some argue these changes are about controlling costs or weeding out foul play, the real-world impact will be felt most by children — the group that makes up nearly half of all SNAP recipients. SNAP is designed to respond to need. Capping its growth doesn't eliminate hunger; it just limits the government's ability to respond when families are struggling.
🏥 They’re setting kids up to lose healthcare.
The bill introduces new Medicaid work requirements that will hit parents with unstable or informal jobs the hardest — think gig drivers, temp workers, and parents between jobs. If they can’t verify a set number of hours worked (or looking for work) each month, they could lose coverage — and so could their kids. And often they’re asked to verify this info on antiquated websites that barely work, or aren’t optimized for mobile devices when folks don’t have actual computers.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates up to 6 million children could be dropped from Medicaid as a result. This isn’t about eliminating fraud — it’s about adding red tape that makes it harder for working-class families to stay enrolled in care they already qualify for. The consequences are real: delayed treatments, skipped checkups, and more health emergencies for kids.
📊 And who gets the biggest handouts?
Not parents. Not kids. Not schools or healthcare workers.
25% of the total tax cuts go to the top 1% — people making over $1 million a year. Meanwhile, the poorest 20% of Americans see a fraction of that benefit. The bill doesn’t just shift wealth upward — it institutionalizes inequality. This isn’t fiscal policy. It’s a redistribution plan: from the working class to the ultra-wealthy.
As dads, we show up with the hard truths.
So this weekend, find those three friends and tell them what this bill really does. Do they agree? Can you encourage them to connect with their senators and ask them to fight its passage?
Because grilling burgers is easy. Grilling this bill is essential.
Then pass it on — challenge three other dads to do the same. And come back here in the comments and let us know how it went.