Read

User menu

Search form

Robert Reich: TRUMP’S BONKERS BUDGET

Robert Reich: TRUMP’S BONKERS BUDGET
Sat, 3/18/2017 - by Robert Reich
This article originally appeared on robertreich.org

Donald Trump ran for president as a man of the people, who was going to fight for those who were left behind – but everything we’re hearing about his forthcoming federal budget says exactly the opposite: Spending that’s a great deal for big corporations that have hired armies of lobbyists, and great for the wealthiest few like himself. But leaving everyone else a lot worse off.

Here are four important early warning flares:

1. Trump’s budget will increase military spending by 10 percent (even though U.S. military expenditures already exceed the next seven largest military budgets around the world, combined). And that’s frankly scary for a lot of reasons from what it signals about his foreign policy priorities to the impact of that whopping spending hike like this on other parts of the budget.

2. Trump actually plans to cut corporate taxes (even though U.S corporate profits after are higher as a percentage of the economy than they’ve been since 1947).

3. He’s going to pay for this – in part – by cutting billions of dollars from the Environmental Protection Agency (which would strip the EPA of almost all its capacity to enforce environmental laws and regulations, at a time when climate change threatens the future of the planet). This is precisely the opposite of what the United States ought to be doing.

4. Last – but by no means least – huge leaps in military spending plus tax cuts will also mean big cuts to programs like food stamps and Medicaid (at a time when the U.S. has the highest poverty rate among all advanced nations, including more than 1 in 5 American children).

This is only the first step in the budget process, but with Republicans in control of both the House and the Senate these priorities have a good chance of being enacted, which is why we have to raise our voices – and push back – now.

Republicans in Congress are likely still recovering from the last recess – dubbed appropriately “Resistance Recess.” We need to take that winning spirit of resistance into the budget fight – and the time to start is right now.

So, let your members of Congress know that Trump’s budget is not your budget. Trump’s spending and tax priorities are not in the best interest of most Americans. And then let’s get to work to make sure we get a Congress in 2018 that reflects YOUR priorities.

 
Originally posted on http://robertreich.org

3 WAYS TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT

ONE-TIME DONATION

Just use the simple form below to make a single direct donation.

DONATE NOW

MONTHLY DONATION

Be a sustaining sponsor. Give a reacurring monthly donation at any level.

GET SOME MERCH!

Now you can wear your support too! From T-Shirts to tote bags.

SHOP TODAY

Sign Up

Article Tabs

Their tactics to force construction of data centers even against significant opposition from local communities have become increasingly forceful and hostile.

Whether Republicans want to be the party of Christianity or the party of worshipping false idols is a question they’ll have to seriously reckon with very soon, unless they want the American electorate to speak for them.

“Storytelling teaches not through instruction, but through imagination and example,” says the Sami artist Máret Ánne Sara. “These stories don’t provide direct answers, but rather the ethical tools to navigate and sustain the world.”

Republicans’ fate in the 2026 midterms is likely sealed. But they could be out of power for multiple subsequent election cycles if Democrats are smart.

In November, Indigenous protests in London included the launch of “Bringing It All Back Home,” confronting corporate power head-on.

Their tactics to force construction of data centers even against significant opposition from local communities have become increasingly forceful and hostile.

Whether Republicans want to be the party of Christianity or the party of worshipping false idols is a question they’ll have to seriously reckon with very soon, unless they want the American electorate to speak for them.

“Storytelling teaches not through instruction, but through imagination and example,” says the Sami artist Máret Ánne Sara. “These stories don’t provide direct answers, but rather the ethical tools to navigate and sustain the world.”

Republicans’ fate in the 2026 midterms is likely sealed. But they could be out of power for multiple subsequent election cycles if Democrats are smart.

In November, Indigenous protests in London included the launch of “Bringing It All Back Home,” confronting corporate power head-on.

Republicans’ fate in the 2026 midterms is likely sealed. But they could be out of power for multiple subsequent election cycles if Democrats are smart.

Posted 1 month 1 week ago

Whether Republicans want to be the party of Christianity or the party of worshipping false idols is a question they’ll have to seriously reckon with very soon, unless they want the American electorate to speak for them.

Posted 1 month 1 week ago

Their tactics to force construction of data centers even against significant opposition from local communities have become increasingly forceful and hostile.

Posted 1 week 1 day ago

“Storytelling teaches not through instruction, but through imagination and example,” says the Sami artist Máret Ánne Sara. “These stories don’t provide direct answers, but rather the ethical tools to navigate and sustain the world.”

Posted 1 month 1 week ago