Will any Democrat currently asking us to help them rid us of Donald J. Trump use his proposed “budget” as a searing indictment against him — and the Republican Party? Will they hold it up as proof of the cynical disdain that Trump and the Republicans have for everyone in the 99 percent — including their base? Will they hold this abominable thing up and excoriate it item by insulting item? Will they use this as evidence to drive home the facts of how Trump is destroying everything he touches? Inflicting damage on everything that helps most ordinary Americans get through a day with some measure of relative security?

Here are some of the salient points of this draconian excuse for a “budget.” It will:

— Eliminate Student Loan Assistance.

— Cut Medicaid and spending on The Affordable Care Act by one trillion dollars combined! And eliminate “waste” in Medicare. (And, unless we want to buy the Brooklyn Bridge, we should know what that “newspeak” really means.)

— It would cut funding for the Centers For Disease Control and prevention by 9 percent. And how’s that for timing?

— It would make extensive cuts to environmental projects. The Environmental Protection Agency would face a 26 percent cut in funding and eliminate some 50 programs that Trump deems “wasteful.” This includes eliminating clean air and water regulations!

— It would reduce SNAP funding by $180 billion over the next ten years as it toughens eligibility requirements. A White House official said the changes were necessary because too many Americans remain on public assistance. (Do we wonder why this is? also; See the next item.)

— It will cut funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development — including programs that help pay for rental assistance for low-income people. (This, from the bigoted pandering ignoramus who said; “You also had some very fine people on both sides,” is to be expected)

— It pares money for the trade adjustment assistance program which offers training and support to workers who have lost their jobs as a result of outsourcing and cuts economic development programs.

— It asks for $2 billion to build a wall — and more money to develop state-of-the-art weapons! While eliminating funds for a food aid program to specific countries in Europe and Asia, and for the Asia Foundation, a non-profit that boosts good governance and empowers women.

— The overview of this appalling document is this: our taxes will go to pay for far less public services i.e. education, medical, jobs, funds to improve our environment and infrastructure — but we will get more and better weapons and a wall!

The Democrats must hold this execrable document up and use it again and again to label the monster Trump and the Republican Party as the enemies of the people that they are. This is the most glaring evidence of the threat to the poor and working middle class, and the destruction of the social compact, that Trump and the Republican Party poses to us all.

Here, from the February 11th New York Times, is Trump’s proposed “budget” so you may read it and weep for yourself — or, get angry enough to act to cleanse Trump and his ilk from our system.

© tony powers and Barking in the Dark, 2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to tony powers and Barking in the Dark with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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Tony Powers

is Barking in the Dark. He enjoys walking on the beach at sunset and glue. His full bio may be seen by clicking on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Powers