Echoes of Appalachia

The “Big Beautiful Bill” is being celebrated by some in Washington as a win, while for people in Appalachia, it feels like a quiet attack. Hidden in the details are changes that could take food off tables, cut off internet access, and make life even harder for families already living on the edge. Most people aren’t looking close enough.

In states like West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina, food stamps mean survival. Nearly 17 percent of West Virginians depend on SNAP benefits. In Kentucky and North Carolina, it’s about 13 percent. In Tennessee and Virginia, close to 10 percent. These are not numbers; these are real families. Veterans, the elderly, parents working long hours for low wages. People doing what they can to get by in areas where the economy has left them behind.

I know what that’s like. If it had been for food stamps, my siblings and I would have starved. There was no backup plan. SNAP gave us the only way to eat.

Starting in 2028, the federal government plans to shift the cost of SNAP to the states. That means each state will have to cover more of the program’s cost, whether or not they can afford it. States already stretched thin will have to cut benefits, make eligibility harder, or create more red tape. People will lose access. Kids will go hungry. Elderly people will have less food on the table. Or the state can choose to do away with the program all together.

Another part of the bill blocks people on food stamps from receiving discounted internet. That means families in rural towns and cities alike may have to choose between groceries and staying connected. In today’s world, losing internet access means losing the ability to apply for jobs, attend classes, fill prescriptions, and stay informed. It means cutting people off completely. I honestly think this is what they want,

None of this hit right away. Most of it starts in 2028, after Trump would leave office. That is not an accident. It lets those pushing the bill dodge the fallout and pass the blame. By the time the cuts hit, they will be out of office and the damage will fall on governors and state lawmakers.

Meanwhile, food banks are already strained. Nonprofits have lost funding. Churches and small communities are doing their best to step up and feed their neighbors, though it is not enough. You can’t feed tens of thousands of people on goodwill alone.

Almost two million SNAP recipients are veterans and their families. That fact alone should stop people from assuming anything about who gets help. These are people who served, who worked, who gave what they could, and now they need help. Many SNAP recipients work. Some have more than one job. They are not asking for favors. They are trying to survive.

This bill is not about helping people or balancing a budget. It is about cutting people out, cutting them off from food, from opportunity, and from connection. If no one speaks up, the people who already have the least will lose even more.

The tax package in this bill shows a clear bias toward wealthy Americans. According to a Tax Policy Center analysis of the Senate bill, wealthy Americans would benefit far more than those lower on the income scale. While all households would see their taxes reduced, around 60 percent of the benefits would go to those making $217,000 or more, the top 20 percent. These individuals would receive an average tax cut of $12,500, or 3.4 percent of their after-tax income, in 2026.

In contrast, the lowest-income households, earning about $35,000 or less, would receive an average tax cut of only $150, less than 1 percent of their after-tax income. Middle-income households would see their taxes reduced by about $1,800, or 2.3 percent of their after-tax income, on average.

This analysis does not include the historic cuts to the nation’s safety-net programs, which would hurt lower-income Americans the most. Once changes to Medicaid and food stamps are factored in, those at the bottom of the income scale will see their overall income reduced.

Before anyone says, “get a job,” they should ask themselves: do they know what these families are facing? Do they know the price of groceries, gas, rent, or medicine in rural towns where there are few jobs to begin with? Do they know what it is like to work full-time and still fall short?

Because this is not just a policy change. It is a decision to walk away from millions of Americans. Once those safety nets are gone, getting them back will not be easy.

-Tim Carmichael