Brian Cochran, president and CEO of John Moore Associates, said that despite criticism from both sides, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act provides meaningful tax savings for average working couples and retirees. He made these comments on a podcast.
"There's a lot of provisions in here that are meaningful for the average American that were lost because people on the left were so focused on, oh, this is all just a big handout for billionaires," said Cochran, President & CEO. "And people on the right were saying, this is just a deficit exploding bill. And in between there's actually what we have found to be some fairly meaningful tax savings for whether you're a couple with two working incomes, you know, two working spouses with average incomes or if you're a retiree."
Debate over the One Big Beautiful Bill Act has been dominated by headlines about trillions added to the national debt and claims that it is either a "handout for billionaires" or a fiscal disaster. According to coverage such as the New Mexico Sun’s profile of Cochran, the law also rewrites day-to-day tax realities for families—changing treatment of tips and overtime, boosting deductions for seniors, expanding charitable planning tools, and extending key 2017 tax cuts. Cochran's comments fit this context: he pushes past partisan talking points to focus on how middle-income couples and retirees actually see their after-tax cash flow change under the new rules.
Official scoring underscores why critics fixate on the deficit even as planners like Cochran talk about opportunity. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, will increase primary deficits by about $2.4 trillion on a dynamic basis over ten years, with total deficit effects rising toward $3–3.4 trillion once added interest is included. Independent analysts at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget similarly peg the overall cost near $3.4 trillion, or above $4 trillion when temporary provisions are extended. For Cochran, these large numbers matter, but his focus is on helping households navigate the law as it exists—capturing lawful tax savings instead of leaving them on the table.
Policy analysis from right-of-center tax experts highlights why Cochran sees "fairly meaningful tax savings" for ordinary Americans. The Tax Foundation estimates that the bill’s major tax provisions would increase long-run GDP by about 1.2% while reducing federal tax revenue by roughly $5 trillion over a decade, with growth offsetting about 19% of that cost. Key pieces include making the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act individual rates permanent, temporarily lifting the State and Local Tax (SALT) cap, increasing the Child Tax Credit from $2,000 to $2,200, boosting the standard deduction for seniors, and allowing deductions for auto-loan interest on U.S.-built vehicles. For two-income families and retirees, these changes can translate into hundreds or thousands of dollars a year in additional take-home pay.
Cochran is a Certified Financial Planner professional and Certified Kingdom Advisor who serves as President & CEO of John Moore Associates, an independent registered investment advisor founded in Albuquerque in 1997. Public profiles describe him as leading the firm’s succession from founder John Moore and "helping successful and generous families" integrate biblical wisdom with modern financial strategy. He writes and speaks frequently on taxes, generosity, and long-term planning, appearing on programs such as Suncast, ABQ Connect, and The Finish Line Podcast. In coverage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, outlets highlight Cochran’s ability to translate a thousand-page Washington bill into concrete guidance for families, retirees, and small-business owners.
