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“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.” Dwight D. Eisenhower, U.S. President and World War II Commanding General of the Allied Forces
President Donald Trump’s 2018-19 Budget proposals are now on the table; priorities below:.
$716 billion – for defense. Trump declares that “We’re going to have the strongest military we’ve ever had by far. We’re increasing our arsenals of every weapon. We’re modernizing and creating a brand new nuclear force.”
In addition, budget proposes::
- $23 billion -- for a border wall, $2.7 billion to detain up to $52,000 undocumented immigrants, and $782 to hire 2,750 more customs and immigration agents.
- $21 billion -- for infrastructure spending; money also to be drawn from state and private funds.
- $10,000 billion -- for opioid treatment to fund Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, which would require $5 billion be cut from current programs. Spending would be subject to year-to-year approval of congress.
TO HELP PAY for these programs, the Trump plan would cut Medicare by $554 billion over the next 10 years, a 6 percent reduction from projected spending, including cuts in Medicare payments going to hospitals and rehabilitation centers.
It would also completely eliminate 66 federal programs, for a savings of $26.7 billion, (more than enough to pay for the border wall of $23 billion) including:
- Education Department Programs — $4.976 billion;
- Health & Human Services -- $4,834 billion;
- State Department US AID -- $4,256 billion;
- Housing and Urban Development -- $4,123 billion
- Other Independent Agencies Programs- $2,683 billion
- Agriculture Department Programs-- $855 million
- Commerce Department Programs-- $633 million
- Labor Department Programs-- $527 million
- Environmental Protection Programs -$493 million
- Interior Department - $122 million
- Energy Department Programs -- $398 million Low Income Home Energy Assistance -- $235 million
Since this is currently a PROPOSED budget, now is the time for concerned citizens to contact their congressmen. For those of us who do not want to see cuts to Medicare, Education, US Aid, Affordable Housing, Home Investment Programs, Scientific Research (Energy, Climate), Five Earth Science Missions, National Wild Life Refuge, Aid to Developing Nations, Global Agriculture and Food Security Programs, Environmental Protection, Migrant Worker Training, Public Broadcasting etc., our course is clear. We need to speak with our conscience, affirming how we want our tax dollars spent. On the other hand, such a “mighty military” would make a fine parade. B. Gregg