Study: ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ will ‘exacerbate’ Connecticut’s income inequality

[Excerpt from news article by Alison Cross, The Day, December 29, 2025]

Income inequality in the state is expected to compound under the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” according to a new report that found that the legislation could cost the bottom 25% of Connecticut families more than $148 million next year.

According to the report, released this month by the nonprofit DataHaven, New London, Norwich, Putnam and Killingly are among 20 towns where low-income families are expected to be hit the hardest by reductions in Medicaid, SNAP and other benefits in the new legislation.

DataHaven projected that statewide, these cuts will cause families in the bottom 25% to lose an average of $417 per household per year. The projected losses were even higher in New London ($889), Norwich ($841), Putnam ($702), Killingly ($688) [….]

At the same time that families in the bottom quartile are expected to see their income diminish, the report estimated that the highest-earning households in the state’s top 25% will gain more than $3.38 billion in tax relief from the legislation. The middle 50% of households are expected to receive more than $1.28 billion annually.

DataHaven Executive Director Mark Abraham said the top 2% of earners will receive most of the tax benefits, with a disproportionate share flowing to the wealthiest households in lower Fairfield County.

For example, the report estimated that the top 25% of earners in Darien, Greenwich, New Canaan and Westport are expected to receive more than $30,000 next year from tax benefits. In comparison, the top 25% of households in New London and Windham Counties are projected to receive $6,400 and $5,200, respectively. The middle 50% of households in eastern Connecticut will receive just over $1,200, according to the report.

Abraham explained that the DataHaven report takes into account the provisions of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” also known as H.R. 1. It does not weigh the impact of other Trump-era policies, including tariffs. Abraham pointed out that other studies from the Yale Budget Lab estimate that price increases from tariffs have cost the average American household $1,700 in disposable income.

“Like DataHaven’s widely-used reports that have mapped the communities where over 150,000 Connecticut adults are projected to lose healthcare coverage and food assistance due to H.R. 1, this new report again reminds us that policy changes can have dramatic impacts at the local level,” Abraham said.

According to the report, “H.R. 1 will considerably exacerbate the problem of rising income inequality in Connecticut, … and even if H.R. 1 is eventually repealed, the impact on wealth inequality is likely to be permanent,” worsening existing resource gaps related to housing affordability, homelessness, public infrastructure and even life expectancy.