Rick Jackson brags that tariffs and tax cuts are boosting his wealth

Rick Jackson, a Republican candidate for Georgia governor, celebrated how tariffs and tax cuts are growing his wealth, even as those same policies push working people into poverty.

Jackson is the billionaire founder and CEO of Jackson Healthcare, a medical staffing company based in Alpharetta. He launched his campaign last month.

He made the remarks during a March 6 meet-and-greet in Thomasville when a voter asked for his opinion of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB), a GOP-backed law that will cut $1 trillion from Medicaid, primarily to fund tax breaks for wealthy people and big corporations.

“We extended the tax deductions, which are good,” Jackson said. “If [Trump] hadn’t passed it—I’ll be honest with you—I’d be paying 40% more in taxes right now. I’d rather that money go to nonprofits than the federal government, so I like that part.”

Jackson’s reference to nonprofits appears to suggest that decreasing taxes for the ultra-wealthy will increase their rates of charitable giving. A 2008 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that no such correlation exists. A 2024 analysis by the Tax Policy Center found that similar tax breaks in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act actually led to less charitable giving, partly because working people facing higher costs stopped donating to charity entirely.

An estimated 150,000 Georgians on Medicaid are expected to lose health insurance because of OBBB. Hospitals and health care providers that depend on Medicaid reimbursements will likely be jeopardized as well. Last year, a rural hospital in Lavonia was forced to cease its labor and delivery services because of the law.

“Over a period of the last five to 10 years, we’ve closed somewhere in the vicinity of 14 baby delivery systems,” HomeTown Health CEO Jimmy Lewis told the Georgia Recorder when the unit closed. “It puts the community in an extremely adverse situation, both from a health care standpoint and from an economic development standpoint.”

Jackson boasted at the same March 6 event about the positive effect President Donald Trump’s tariff policy had on his stock portfolio.

“The stock market went down last April when Trump announced [tariffs],” Jackson said. “I went and bought options on the day that happened because I knew that was crazy and made an 80% return in four weeks.”

Trump’s tariffs, which are essentially a tax on imported goods, have driven up the cost of food, clothes, cars, and other essentials. These rising costs have been exacerbated by inflation. A recent analysis by the Joint Economic Committee found that the cost of living in Georgia has increased by nearly $1,200 a year.

Jackson is running to replace retiring Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. He will face Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in a May 19 primary.