Trump Hands Down Budget Plan That Shreds Programs For Low-Income Americans

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Published

March 16, 2017

It’s not a shock, but it’s still the most brutal US federal budget in many, many decades. Donald Trump‘s budget, which he’ll hand over to Congress today, takes a chainsaw to the country’s social programs, with every federal department receiving some kind of deep cut, except for those related to national security – which are getting a big ol’ boost.

It is not expected that this first budget will make it past Congress. Democrats are obviously going to oppose it, but it’s expected that many Republicans will not allow it through without amendments, believing that many of Trump’s cuts are too indiscriminate and rushed. There is also the fact that many Republicans will likely defend spending on areas within their own jurisdiction – in what could be a pretty drawn-out negotiation process.

The New York Times gives a rundown on some of the areas which will feel the burn most:

The budget would cut the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by 31 per cent, the State Department by 28 per cent and Health and Human Services by 17.9 per cent. Funding to several smaller government agencies that have long been targets of conservatives – like the Legal Services Corporation, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts – would be axed entirely.

Despite the claims from many that Trump would be a non-interventionist president more interested in building infrastructure and border defence than waging war – including many PEDESTRIAN.TV commenters – Trump’s budget director Mike Mulvaney laid out the fact that money is being pumped into the Department of Defence, Homeland Security and Veterans’s Affairs, and that this was explicitly a ‘hard power’ budget:

OMB Director Mulvaney: Trump administration aims to “change course from a soft power budget to a hard power budget” https://t.co/DvgxHl92vR

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) March 16, 2017

Judging by the mere fact the US is still working with Saudi Arabia to pummel Yemen under Trump, I don’t think we’re gonna see a big reduction in America’s warring across the planet.

In a move that should surprise no one but should annoy anyone who isn’t a crotchety geriatric who’ll die before 2030, Trump is ripping all money out of climate change research and prevention. Mulvaney made it very clear that the administration considers such efforts a waste of money.

OMB Director Mulvaney: Trump administration aims to “change course from a soft power budget to a hard power budget” https://t.co/DvgxHl92vR

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) March 16, 2017

Also unsurprisingly, money is being pulled from the United Nations and UN-associated foreign aid programs. Trump always promised to do that.

Programs like the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Homeless, as well as federal funding for programs like Meals On Wheels – which provides food for low-income seniors – will be cut. The money saved from clearly useless things like poverty reduction and feeding the hungry will go to building a big fuckoff border wall.

Hey, the most materially deprived people in the United States of America, many of whom saw hope in Trump, are probably going to starve – but at least there’ll be a huge wall for them to look at. Must be nice.

Let’s see how Congress takes it.

Source: CNN.

Photo: Getty Images.