Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Robert Greenstein — Trump Budget Proposes Path to a New Gilded Age

President Trump’s new budget should lay to rest any belief that he’s looking out for the millions of people the economy has left behind. He proposes steep cuts in basic health, nutrition, and other important assistance for tens of millions of struggling, low- and modest-income Americans, even as he calls for extremely large tax cuts for the nation’s wealthiest people and profitable corporations.
This disturbing budget would turn the United States into a coarser nation, making life harder for most of those struggling to get by but more luxurious for those at the very top. Most Americans do not seek a new Gilded Age. And the budget is sharply at odds with what the President told voters he would do during his campaign. With this budget, the President betrays many voters who placed their trust in him.
In fact, this stands as the most radical, Robin-Hood-in-reverse budget that any modern President has ever proposed. Consider the combined effects of the health, tax, and spending policies that he’s outlined:
Ultimate supply side: drastic cuts in social welfare to fund enormous tax cuts for the wealthy on the assumption that this will stimulate domestic investment and create "millions of US jobs."

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Greenstein: Trump Budget Proposes Path to a New Gilded Age
Robert Greenstein | President CBPP

13 comments:

Kaivey said...

There's no democracy in the US. They all lie and then do the opposite of what they said. And what sort of jobs, ones with ultra low pay? With the technology we have it should be so much better.

Ryan Harris said...

Should come as no surprise given staff choices made by Trump. It won't be enacted, which is too bad because it would almost certainly lead to a populist revolt and few barn burning years in politics. With Kelton moving to upstate New York is she doing it to take on Gillibrand in 2018?

Matt Franko said...

Mike has been making that point about the personnel for a while.... Beowulf cites: "his Administration is a sad example of the political saying, “personnel is policy”. Trump is getting the policy of his personnel ...

lastgreek said...

Yes, Matt -- but who surrounded himself with these personnel?

Anyway -- I think Tom alluded to this in another thread if I'm not mistaken --it's all Ryan's (GOP's) doing. With Trump's big mouth that keeps getting him into legal troubles, they basically have his orange testicles in a tight vise. Ouch!

Peter Pan said...

Where is your savior now, Chump Nation?

Tom Hickey said...

With Kelton moving to upstate New York is she doing it to take on Gillibrand in 2018?

Love to see it.

MRW said...

With Kelton moving to upstate New York is she doing it to take on Gillibrand in 2018? What's that story, Ryan? She's leaving UMKC?

Ryan Harris said...

She announced on twitter a couple weeks ago.

Ryan Harris said...

Stonybrook, IIRC

Matt Franko said...

Maybe taking Smith's place....

Tom Hickey said...

Stephanie is moving from UMKC to SUNY Stony Brook in the fall. Stony Brook is in Suffolk County on the north shore of Long Island.

Randy is already at Bard College, also in NY, located on the Hudson River above NYC.

Pavlina Tcherneva has been at Bard College for some time.

Both locations are nice quiet areas relatively close to Manhattan, making Randy and Stephanie more accessible than at UMKC.

Scott Fullwiler moved from Wartburg College in Iowa to UMKC this year to maintain the MMT contingent there.

.

MRW said...

North Shore. They must have offered her a lot of dough. The North Shore ain't cheap. Good for her.

Ryan Harris said...

Oh wow. I just looked on map, stoneybrook is on long island! I was thinking it was in on the west part of the state.