If you’re a working class American and/or someone who happens to value science or medicine, then you should be deeply alarmed by President Donald Trump’s budget proposal.
Released last week, the budget aims to redirect billions of dollars that are currently being used to help the poor, protect the environment, and fund scientific and medical research, toward boosting the military. On top of that, over a dozen popular federal programs would be eliminated–19 to be exact.
Despite the grotesque detriment of this proposal, there are actually some people who will benefit from it.
Veterans
For one, if you happen to be a veteran, you would benefit from the 6% increase to the Department of Veteran Affairs.
The Anti-Immigration Movement
Those who support Trump’s campaign promise to crack down on illegal immigration should be happy to know that the Department of Homeland Security will receive an increase of funding of about 6.8%. That equates to an additional $44.1 billion, which will be used to hire 500 border patrol agents and 1,000 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. The proposal also designates $2.6 billion to build Trump’s infamous wall on the U.S-Mexican border.
The Military
The biggest winner of the White House budget is the military, which would gain $54 billion, giving the department a total of $639 billion. “This increase alone exceeds the entire defense budget of most countries, and would be one of the largest one-year [Defense Department] increases in American history,†reads the budget report.
Everyday People
On the other hand, everyday people would suffer dramatically under Trump’s budget, which would either cut or eliminate government programs designed to help low-income Americans. For instance, finding affordable housing would become even harder since the proposed budget would dramatically cut the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The budget would also slash federal funding geared toward community banking, job training, and subsidizing home heating and cooling bills for the working class.
Approximately $403 million would be slashed from training programs for aspiring health professionals and nurses, in addition to cuts to several Labor Department programs.
Ironically, Trump supporters who live in rural and small town communities where 1 in 3 people live paycheck to paycheck would be hurt the most by the budget.
The Scientific Community
The effort to curb climate change and provide Americans with clean water would also be hurt since the budget seeks to reduce funding for the Environmental Protection Agency by 31.5%. In addition, it would eliminate the NASA satellite program and cut the Department of Energy’s Office of Science by $900 million.
Other federal agencies that would be abolished include:
- Corporation for Public Broadcasting -Â the agency that provides funding to public broadcasters like NPR and PBS and educational programs across the country.
- Institute of Museum and Library Services - the agency that funds local libraries and museums.
- Legal Services Corporation – the agency that helps provide the poor with access to free legal counsel.
- Interagency Council on Homelessness – the agency tasked with fighting homelessness through federal strategies.
- Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation – also known as NeighborWorks America, this agency issues grants to support community development in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
- The Community Services Block Grant – which partly funds the popular Meals on Wheels program
Selena Hill is the Associate Digital Editor at Black Enterprise and the founder of Let Your Voice Be Heard! Radio. You can hear Hill and her team talk millennial politics and social issues every Sunday at 11 a.m. ET.
Follow her on Instagram and Twitter at @MsSelenaHill.
