Photo/Homeless family.
As the threat of recession looms, the Trump administration has submitted a $4.7 trillion budget to Congress for the year 2020 that would drastically cut programs that America’s poorest people depend on for survival.
Medicare will be cut $845 billion over the next 10 years. Medicaid will be cut $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years with work requirements in order to receive benefits. Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act will be eliminated. Social Security, including disability, will be cut $25 billion over 10 years. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will be cut $220 billion over the next ten years with mandatory work requirements in order to receive benefits. Of the 45 million Americans currently getting SNAP, as many as 3.1 million could be thrown out of the program and 500,000 children could lose free school lunch and breakfast. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families will be cut $21 billion.
Further cuts will include the Student Loan Program, HUD, Section 8 and other public housing programs, Head Start, Women Infants and Children Nutrition Program (WIC), the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Education and others.
Even though the title of the budget is, “A Budget for a Better America, Promises Kept, Tax Payers First,” if passed, this budget is a broken promise that will bring the worst of times for millions of Americans. And the only taxpayers who are “first” are the corporations who just got a huge tax cut which is the reason why there are such deep cuts in this budget in the first place. Scapegoating immigrants won’t change the fact that revenue this year compared to last year is down four to nine percent as a result.
Another recession is sure to bring massive layoffs and economic hardship. Trump’s budget is a message from corporate America to all of us at the bottom, as well as those who will be joining us, that they have no intention of doing anything for workers they no longer need.
Every candidate for federal office and every member of Congress must be asked what they are going to do to make sure government serve the needs of the people.
