Col & Suw Counties Are Trump Land. Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill Budget-Busting Legacy Will Affect the Counties' Children Well Into the Future
July 4, 2025 9:45 am | 3 min read
Ciolumbia County Observer graphic
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Columbia and Suwannee Counties are connected at the hip in more ways than one. President Trump's Big, Beautiful, budget-busting legacy will affect those least able to defend themselves – the country's children.
Both Columbia and Suwannee have 17% of their populations in poverty compared to 11% nationwide.
Per capita income leaves both counties in the dust both nationally and statewide.
Quick Facts: Columbia & Suwannee Counties
Both Columbia County and Suwannee County are North Florida rural counties. They are run by legendary good ole' boy systems, which pride themselves on often hiring the underqualified based on 'who you know' or who you "$3@!" (expletive deleted) where the pedigree, rather than the degree, is often what counts.
Both Columbia and Suwannee have 17% of their populations in poverty compared to 11% nationwide.
Per capita income leaves both counties in the dust both nationally and statewide.
Columbia County’s per capita income is $28,030, while Suwannee’s is $26,484 ($27,257 average). Both Counties lag the state and nation by 34% and 37% respectively.
President Trump's and the Republican Independence Day Gift for Billionaires puts North Florida Children Last
Here are just a few ways that H.R. 1 will hurt the counties and the nation's children:
Cuts $1 trillion from Medicaid and CHIP: Medicaid and CHIP provide health insurance to over 37 million children in the United States, and Medicaid covers nearly 40% of births. H.R. 1 includes the largest funding cuts to these programs in their history and creates administrative burdens, such as lock-out periods and work requirements.
Defunds the largest child anti-hunger program: One in five children experiences food insecurity. This bill reduces food assistance by cutting more than $200 billion from SNAP and places a larger cost-sharing burden on states. This cost shift could cause states to end their programs or limit enrollment. Losing SNAP benefits could also impact free school meals, further increasing the risk of child hunger.
51.9% of Columbia County students are economically disadvantaged. In Suwannee County, the number is 53.5%.
Leaves children behind in tax policy: This legislation offers an inadequate Child Tax Credit. While some will see an increased credit amount, the increase still fails to keep pace with inflation. The new structure denies more than 20 million children the full credit and blocks 2.6 million kids from receiving any credit at all.
Undermines public schools: H.R. 1 creates a new tax benefit for wealthy donors that jeopardizes the future of our public schools. The education voucher tax credit will offer 2-3x the benefit of other non-profit donations, incentivizing donations over other organizations. Research shows vouchers do not improve academic outcomes and disproportionately benefit families who already send their children to private schools.
Threatens the childcare workforce: There is already a childcare shortage in the country. H.R. 1 will make it harder to recruit and train new childcare professionals by prohibiting the use of federal student loans for sectors that do not earn over the median high school graduate salary. Rather than investing in childcare and work to increase pay for providers, H.R. 1 creates additional barriers to building a strong childcare workforce.
Increases funding for family separation: H.R. 1 dramatically raises funding for immigration enforcement. This funding will lead to increased family separation and detention. These immigration practices disrupt entire communities and are known to create childhood trauma, adversely affecting child health and development.
Cancels efforts to address the climate crisis: H.R. 1 eliminates or reduces investments in solar and renewable energy, leaving today's children to deal with the increasing effects of climate change in the future.
Forces kids to shoulder our ballooned national debt: H.R. 1 drives up the national debt by $3 trillion in order to give tax breaks to billionaires and industries like coal. This bill expects the children to shoulder the cost of these tax breaks when they become adults while stripping them of essential services today.
Epilogue
The children of Columbia and Suwannee Counties are in jeopardy thanks to President Trump's Big Beautiful Bill.