Patrice Onwuka, vice president for economic policy at Independent Women, is a Post Opinions contributor.
The Republican National Committee convenes its first-ever midterm election convention on Wednesday in Dallas. I have been asked to speak about the impact of Working Families Tax Cuts legislation since it was enacted last year. Here’s why I will be happy to address the convention.
As a wife and working mother of three boys, I juggle many responsibilities. Between multiple grocery store runs and shuttling kids to bus stops and sports practices, I research legislation and provide economic analysis on television and radio and in opinion articles. I live the data that I analyze. My observations about consumer behavior aren’t drawn just from datasets but also from grocery store aisles and conversations with cashiers.
Many factors today should inspire Americans’ confidence in a U.S. economy powered by innovation and a resilient consumer base. Recession fears in 2025 never materialized. Unemployment is relatively low, real wages are outpacing inflation, corporate earnings are robust, federal taxes for families and businesses are falling even as the government takes in record revenue, and massive investments in technology are driving the stock markets to new highs.
This is not by accident. America’s free enterprise system, grounded in property rights and not strangled by government control, allows profit-motivated individuals to make financial gains and build wealth — all of which ultimately contributes to the general welfare. But public policy choices in Washington matter.
Policies enacted since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025 have propelled the U.S. economy by supporting entrepreneurs, investing in families and leaving more earnings in the hands of working men and women.
The key legislative win: the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. This tax package had something for everyone: from unborn babies to retiring seniors; from firefighters to farmers; from single-business owners to multigenerational households.
According to the Treasury Department, 34 million families like mine have benefited from the child tax credit’s per-child increase from $2,000 to $2,200. For families whose child tax credit amount exceeds the taxes they owe, they don’t get it back, but they may be eligible for the additional child tax credit, which gives them money back up to $1,700 per qualifying child. These credits have helped to defray the costs of raising children.
The tax bill also rewards hard work by eliminating taxes on overtime and tipped income (for the latter, a maximum deduction of $12,500, or $25,000 for joint filers). This year, the Treasury Department notes, 25 million taxpayers — think of police officers, firefighters and nurses — took the new overtime deduction, saving an average of $3,100 from taxes. Working families suddenly had money that could be used for down payments, emergency funds or even a splurge on a summer vacation for the first time in years.
A host of other tax benefits have aided American families. Taxpayers were pleasantly surprised by bigger tax refunds. The average tax refund increased 11 percent this year, according to the Internal Revenue Service, which issued about 1.4 million more tax refunds this year than in 2025.
Newborns and older children like my sons now have access to “Trump accounts,” a new tax-deferred investment tool. For babies born over the next few years, the federal government will provide a $1,000 seed that will grow over time; depending on parents’ contributions and stock market performance, the accounts could grow to a five-, six- and even seven-figure fund in adulthood. The Trump Accounts for millions of children stand to be boosted by major corporations matching employee contributions. An important benefit of the accounts: American children will gain a stake in great U.S. companies and learn firsthand about the economic system that makes American prosperity possible.
Today’s economy does have some warning signs. The war with Iran has stoked high gas prices and inflation remains stubbornly elevated, even if it has never approached the stratospheric highs of the Biden administration. Progress was made on real wages last year, but the improvement has stalled. A resolution of the Iran war, and perhaps a softening of the White House’s tariff regime, would undoubtedly have a beneficial effect on inflation and wages.
Republicans have much to be proud of concerning the U.S. economy. But they know the work is not done. Considering that not one Democratic member of Congress voted for the Working Families Tax Cuts legislation, Americans should think twice about turning over control of Congress to a party with little interest in the deregulation and tax-cutting over the past year that have helped the U.S. economy display its amazing resilience.
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