Jim Freedman is a leadership consultant and the author of Becoming a Leader: Identity, Influence, and the Power of Reflection.
BRATTLEBORO-In Washington, D.C., politicians often put on a show to make themselves look good.
A perfect example is when Congress passes, and the president signs into law, tax cuts that mostly help the wealthy but delays cuts to Medicare and Medicaid until after the 2026 elections. This strategy tricks the public into thinking lawmakers care about everyone when they really care more about donors and wealthy supporters.
At first, tax cuts sound like good news. Leaders promise more money in your paycheck and a stronger economy. But if you look closer, you'll see that most benefits go to large corporations and the richest Americans.
For example, the corporate tax rate was slashed permanently, from 35% to 21%. People making over $1 million a year got an average tax cut of over $40,000.
Big businesses gained new loopholes, like special deductions for "pass-through" income, which allow business owners to pay less tax on their profits. Meanwhile, regular working families got much-smaller tax cuts - often just a few hundred dollars - and those expire after a few years.
How does Congress pay for these tax cuts? They pair them with spending cuts - mainly to Medicare and Medicaid.
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This approach depends on the fact that you don't fully understand how the federal budget works.
To everyday Americans, the connection between tax cuts and program cuts isn't obvious. They don't see how a drop in government revenue today will lead to calls for spending reductions tomorrow.
Politicians are counting on this delay. They hope that by the time the cuts arrive, you will be too distracted or confused to remember why it happened or who is responsible.
But here's the trick: They schedule those cuts years later, so that voters won't notice right away. For example, one plan would cap Medicaid funding and slow the growth of Medicare payments to hospitals and doctors starting in 2027.
This delay is no accident. By waiting until after the next big election for the consequences to affect you, lawmakers hope you will forget who caused the problem. They also don't want you to see them as cruel or uncaring during the president's term.
When the budget shortfall grows, politicians will claim that Medicare and Medicaid are "too expensive," even though their own tax cuts created the deficit.
In so doing, they damage trust in government. When people eventually realize that their small tax breaks were paid for by cuts to health care, they will feel cheated.
These tactics work a lot like a magician's act. When a magician wants to make something disappear, he waves one hand in the air to grab your attention.
While you watch the flashy gesture, the real move happens in the other hand. In the same way, the White House waves around promises of tax relief, hoping you'll be too distracted to notice the hidden cuts waiting behind the curtain.
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Supporters of these tax cuts and budget cuts - passed in the One Big Beautiful Bill, which President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4 - say it is necessary to control the deficit. They argue that without cuts to programs like Medicare, the budget will be unsustainable.
But if leaders were truly responsible, they would have an open discussion about the tradeoffs. They would explain honestly that big tax cuts mean there will be less money to fund health care and other needs. Instead, they pretend everyone can have lower taxes and strong programs.
That simply isn't true.
In our democracy, we deserve clear and honest information. We need to understand how policies affect us - not just this year, but long into the future.
We should have the chance to decide whether a small tax cut is worth risking our health care and retirement security. Sadly, by hiding the real costs and delaying the pain, Congress makes it almost impossible for us to make informed choices.
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One reason this strategy keeps working is because many people don't read beyond the headlines. Politicians count on that. But if we take time to study what's actually in the laws, we can see through these tactics.
They can push for policies that balance growth with fairness instead of putting all the rewards in the hands of those who already have the most.
Sooner or later, the truth comes out. When the delayed cuts hit, they will be felt in hospitals, nursing homes, and family budgets across America. Seniors will struggle with higher costs. Low-income families will have fewer options for care. And all those promises of prosperity will look hollow.
When that day comes, we should remember how Congress created this crisis. Like any magician's trick, the illusion falls apart when we finally see what's happening behind the curtain.
By understanding these diversions, we can hold all our representatives accountable and demand better. Only then can we stop this cycle of hidden cuts and broken promises.
This Voices Viewpoint was submitted to The Commons.
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