Budget Cuts

The recent budget proposal by the Trump administration contains an emphasis on defunding many organizations and agencies that have ties to liberal activism. The money from agencies which are receiving budget cuts - the Environmental Protection Agency (31% decrease in funding), NASA (.8% decrease in funding), the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (elimination in funding), the National Endowment for the Arts (elimination in funding), among others - are then being allocated to agencies that promote and boost defense spending in order to rebuild the military to fulfill campaign promises such as eliminating ISIS by increasing the amount of ships in the US Navy and expanding the Air Force by building more F-35 fighter jets and tactical missiles. The administration’s reasoning for this 54 billion dollar increase is that they believe it is reasonable to ask citizens to pay for things that the administration believes will be beneficial to them as Budget Director Mick Mulvaney claims. Yet, I believe these cuts will hurt the American people more than the Trump administration expects them to do so.

The proposed cuts are expected to hurt America’s more vulnerable folks. The targeted agencies specifically help low-income Americans but sucking the air out of what makes them benefit these people will result in the people’s contempt and hatred for their government. These cuts also guarantees an increased gap between the rich and the poor. Considering many of these agencies are what enable poor people to survive, it is not beneficial for Mulvaney and the Trump administration to request the needy be the ones to suffer by paying for agencies that do not help them. For example, claiming after-school programs don’t help kids in school when there is research suggesting otherwise does not bode well to those who depend on these programs. Also, curtailing the Department of Housing and Urban Development will result in an increase to the housing shortage which is already at a low for the poor. Additionally, eliminating a majority of the budget for programs intended to benefit the progression of Earth and science is not about to help Americans now or in the future. If the Trump administration wishes to excel, they must be willing to look at what all of the people want and what will benefit them all in the future.

With the upcoming deadline for a spending bill, Congress must be able to find a way to prevent a possible shutdown by incorporating some Democratic ideals in the proposal or by mildly redefining their budget in order to please at least eight democrats. I believe the Trump administration should retract their dramatic proposal of defunding many of these agencies which will be satisfying to Democratic senators as well as to the American people. Yet, this would be a difficult task to undertake in one day. Nonetheless, perhaps a government shutdown is what the Trump administration needs in order to understand the people and what they require.