The Big Beautiful Lie: Jessica Fulton on What the 2025 Budget Bill Really Means for Black Households
In this episode of The Electorette, host Jen Taylor-Skinner speaks with Jessica Fulton, senior fellow with the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, about the 2025 budget bill—rebranded by conservatives as the "Big Beautiful Bill"—and the devastating consequences it could have for Black households.
Rooted in the Joint Center’s policy brief, Centering Black Households in the 2025 Tax Debate, the conversation exposes how proposals like extending the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would continue to funnel wealth to high-income, disproportionately white households—while offering temporary, shallow benefits to working-class families. Jessica explains how policies that sound equitable on the surface—like tax deductions for tipped workers, child tax credits, and overtime exemptions—actually reinforce economic exclusion.
Together, they explore how tax policy has long been used as a tool of racialized wealth-building and why understanding these “wonky” details is essential to building a more equitable economy. They also touch on the dangers of cutting Pell Grants, dismantling agencies that support Black-owned businesses, and using budget reconciliation to pass policies that will have generational consequences.
This episode is a powerful call for greater transparency, stronger advocacy, and inclusive policymaking that truly supports all families—not just the wealthiest.
Episode Chapters:
(00:00) Tax Code, Wealth, and Racial Inequality
The Federal Tax Code perpetuates racial inequality, with implications for Black households, through policies like the 2025 Budget Bill.
(12:23) Tax Policy and Racial Disparities
Changes to child tax credit privilege higher-income households, exclude poorest families, and perpetuate systemic inequities.
(23:56) Tax Policy and Worker Income
Nature's financial burdens on low-income workers, tax treatment of tips and overtime pay, and erosion of worker protections.
(27:28) Tax Policies and Working Class Disadvantages
Tax policies can privilege certain workers, have political motivations, and create disparities between demographic groups.
(39:47) Tax Code and Racial Disparities
Examining how race affects taxation and economic disparities, and the importance of understanding and challenging these systems.
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Sarah Kate Ellis on the Slingshot Effect: Fighting Back with Joy and Power
GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis joins The Electorette to talk about how we push forward in a moment of backlash. From corporate rollbacks on DEI to the rise of hate-fueled content online, we explore the forces working to dismantle progress—and how collective power, storytelling, and unapologetic joy can be our sharpest tools for resistance. Sarah Kate shares her “slingshot theory” of progress, and offers a rallying cry to prepare for the next election—and the long game ahead.
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Before the 14th: Black Activists and the Battle for Citizenship
In light of this week's Supreme Court hearing that could redefine birthright citizenship in the United States, we’re revisiting one of our most insightful episodes from 2019.
Historian and legal scholar Martha S. Jones joins The Electorette to discuss her groundbreaking book, Birthright Citizens: A History of Race and Rights in Antebellum America. In this conversation, Professor Jones traces the legal and political battles waged by free Black Americans in the decades before the Civil War—activists who challenged the idea that citizenship was the exclusive domain of white Americans. Their efforts laid the groundwork for the 14th Amendment and reshaped the meaning of belonging in a multiracial democracy.
This episode explores the deep historical roots of birthright citizenship, its radical origins in Black freedom struggles, and the enduring threats it faces today. Whether you’re new to the topic or returning to it with fresh urgency, this conversation offers critical context for understanding the legal, moral, and democratic stakes.
(00:00) The History of Birthright Citizenship
Professor Jones and I revisit the critical history of birthright citizenship in America, exploring the struggles of formerly enslaved Black Americans.
(06:57) Interpreting the Constitution for Citizenship
Free African Americans used military service and economic contributions to advocate for citizenship and equality, utilizing their legal literacy and the omission of race in early constitutional texts.
(16:43) Debating Citizenship and Colonization
William Yates, a white abolitionist, authored "The Rights of Colored Men" to align abolitionism with the founding ideals of the US.
(28:44) Threats to Citizenship and Forced Removal
Former slaves pursued citizenship in the US to avoid colonization, but faced fears and pressures, leading to self-deportation and parallels with modern immigration policies.
(43:41) Global Implications of Citizenship Debate
Political and humanitarian debates have global implications and contribute to ongoing crises, emphasizing the need for vigilance and awareness.
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The ACLU vs. Trump’s Executive Order: A Legal Fight to Protect the Vote
In this episode of The Electorette, host Jen Taylor-Skinner is joined by Sophia Lin Lakin, Director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, to discuss the organization’s leading legal challenge against a dangerous new executive order from Donald Trump. While the SAVE Act has stalled in the Senate, this executive order picks up where it left off—imposing a proof-of-citizenship requirement for voter registration and threatening to disenfranchise millions of eligible voters. Lakin breaks down the overlapping threats, including mass voter roll purges and the decertification of voting machines that could throw election systems into chaos. This conversation is a critical look at how the ACLU is working to defend voting rights and prevent the erosion of our democratic institutions.
Episode Chapters
(00:00) Disenfranchisement Through Voting Restrictions
Discussion of ACLU lawsuit against Trump's executive order on voter registration, potential disenfranchisement, and impact on voting machines.
(12:36) Challenging Voter Registration Provisions
A court has issued an injunction against an executive order changing voter registration, impacting organizations and upcoming elections.
(25:49) Protecting Voter Rights and Elections
Establishing safeguards and rules to protect voters and democracy in the face of polarization and erosion of norms.
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Who Gets to Choose Your Doctor? The Supreme Court Case That Could Reshape Medicaid
What happens when states gain the power to decide which healthcare providers Medicaid recipients can access? In this episode, host Jen Taylor-Skinner is joined by Elizabeth Taylor, Executive Director of the National Health Law Program, to break down the high-stakes Supreme Court case Medina v. South Atlantic. At its core, the case challenges whether individuals have the right to choose their own healthcare provider under Medicaid—a right that could be stripped away, with profound implications for reproductive health, gender-affirming care, and essential services for low-income, disabled, and LGBTQIA+ communities.
Together, they explore how this case—and others like Health and Hospital Corp. v. Talevski—could reshape the legal tools individuals have to protect their healthcare rights, especially as conservative state leaders target clinics like Planned Parenthood. Elizabeth Taylor offers critical insight into the legal landscape, the political motivations behind these efforts, and why protecting Medicaid access is more urgent than ever.
This episode is a must-listen for anyone concerned about reproductive justice, healthcare equity, and the future of Medicaid.
Episode Chapters
(00:00) Medicaid Recipients' Right to Choose Providers
Medicaid recipients' right to choose health care providers, implications for access to care, and private enforcement of Medicaid rights.
(10:56) Enforcing Medicaid Rights and Protections
Supreme Court case impacts Medicaid rights enforcement, Section 1983 crucial for individual enforcement, potential threats to access to healthcare.
(21:03) The Future of Medicaid and Healthcare
Medicaid's critical role in providing sexual and reproductive health services, potential consequences of cutting funding, and the importance of treating healthcare as a public good.
(27:53) Potential Impact of State Prevailing
State's victory in legal case could lead to loss of healthcare rights for low-income individuals. Stay informed on timeline and thank Elizabeth Taylor for coverage.
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The Electorette is one of the longest running feminist podcasts, and offers analyses and solutions to the world's biggest political and social challenges, all through the lens of women. Hosted by Jennifer Taylor-Skinner, The Electorette regularly features award-winning authors, politicians, academics, activists, and organizers like the founder of Mom's Demand Action, Shannon Watts, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, and author and MacArthur 'Genius Grant' Fellow, Nicole Fleetwood. The Electorette is independently owned and operated—please support us by subscribing to the podcast on your favorite platform!
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