Apparently the Trump administration wants to balance the federal budget in part on the backs of the poor, the sick and the marginalized.
Taking major hits would be Medicaid, food stamps and other public aid for low-income children and families. The budget also calls for an end to subsidized federal student loans and the public-service loan-forgiveness program.
Much of what’s in it probably will get stripped out by Congress. Still, the budget speaks volumes about what the administration thinks of struggling low- and middle-income people.
It’s an affront to Americans who seek a better life but have fallen.
Many people think their fellow citizens find themselves in need because they haven’t tried hard enough to pull themselves up. Or because they are lazy or financially irresponsible.
It is not without truth that many people experiencing money troubles have made bad decisions. But that does not mean that we don’t put in place safety nets to help people recover and rise above their circumstances.
This plan is cruel.
I often preach that families should borrow as little as possible for college. But the Trump budget would eliminate subsidized loans, which make borrowing less expensive for needy students.
Also gone would be the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program available to borrowers who take jobs with the government or nonprofit organizations. Many of these people chose to work for us — the public — making less than they might in the private sector and under the assumption that they could get some debt relief.
Trump’s budget essentially says: How dare people be born to addicted, alcoholic or financially challenged parents who can’t take care of them.
How dare people not be able to find a job that pays enough to allow them to eat every day.
The budget calls for more than $193 billion in cuts from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, otherwise known as food stamps. And the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program would be scythed by almost $22 billion.
How dare you get sick and not have a job with health care.
The budget proposal calls for a piercing cut of more than $800 billion over the next 10 years in Medicaid, which provides health coverage to low-income Americans. The Children’s Health Insurance Program would see $3.2 billion in cuts compared to the previous year’s budget.
The White House estimates it can reduce funding to federal disability programs by reducing program participation.
And how dare the country’s most vulnerable believe the president when he said that Mexico will pay for a wall to seal off the border.
Under the Trump’s budget, American citizens would have to make do with weakened safety-net programs so that he can spend $1.6 billion of our money to start construction of a wall.
There is some hope. This brutal budget has several steep obstacles to overcome.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said in a statement: “In our system of government, the president proposes and Congress disposes. Congress has the power of the purse strings. I’ve never seen a president’s budget proposal not revised substantially.”
In a briefing, White House budget director Mick Mulvaney tried to summarize the rationale behind the proposal.
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“What’s the heart of this?” he said. “I’m trying to figure out a way to articulate this the best.”
Let me help you, Mr. Mulvaney.
The federal budget should be tighter, and we do need to reduce the deficit. But not like this.
This is a budget that needs the Wizard of Oz, because it doesn’t have a heart.
Michelle Singletary welcomes comments and column ideas. Reach her in care of The Washington Post, 1150 15th St. N.W., Washington, DC 20071; or singletarym@washpost.com.
