Trump’s proposed budget to Congress is a $4.8 trillion spending plan in which he addresses the fiscal deficit that resulted from his tax cuts to the wealthiest. It includes a list of deep cuts to student loan assistance, affordable housing efforts, food stamps, and Medicaid. Meanwhile, he is boosting defense expenses.
Budgets reflect government values. And balanced budgets cannot come at the expense of the basic social safety nets we need to alleviate poverty, assist the middle and working classes, or expand opportunities. It is particularly immoral when the economy is growing, and the benefits are accumulating at the top partly because the tax cuts introduced not only increased the deficit but also concentrated more wealth at the top. The reality is that this administration received a growing economy with a fiscal deficit of 2.8% of GDP and the foundation for a new possibility of bridging inequalities with the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Nonetheless, Trump decided to dismantle the ACA administratively and is now taking shots at safety net programs after cutting taxes for the wealthiest creating a fiscal deficit of 4.6% of GDP.
But there is another alarming fact: the trillionaire tax handout for the wealthiest provided by the tax cuts has probably lots to do with boosting the DOW index above 29 thousand points. However, new employment creation in the past three years is down, compared to the last three years of Obama’s presidency. In other words, the concentration of resources is not—and will not, because we tried that in the past—“trickle-down.” Moreover, it is not boosting growth at a pace that will compensate for the fiscal revenue loss.
Given the set of values this administration displays, what could we expect next? Perhaps they will cut social security and other entitlements that provide retirement and care for the majority of Americans. The problem in their eyes is not their immoral tax cuts or defense spending (which continues to be the most significant item in our budget). No. They will create the deficit and then blame the social components of the budget, driving the economy to the paradox of growing inequality amid economic growth.
As I watched the debate last night among the Democratic presidential primary candidates, I asked my self every minute: Why aren’t they talking about this?