Progressive Breakfast: Trump's Budget Builds a Wall Between the Wealthy and All of Us

Clinton/Gore left budget surpluses into the future that Republicans squandered. 
Whose fault is it?

MORNING MESSAGE

Liz Murray

Trump’s Budget Builds a Wall Between the Wealthy and All of Us

With its 2018 federal budget proposal, the Trump administration made public, and made plain, its priorities for our nation. Its vision for America is one where the sick, children, families and the disabled are sacrificed for tax breaks for the very wealthiest and giveaways to trillion-dollar corporations. That’s the wall that this budget constructs and yes, Trump wants the poor and middle class to pay for it.

When in Rome

Trump and Pope have little in common but a date at the Vatican. Bloomberg: “Pope Francis believes climate change is one of the greatest threats to humanity. Donald Trump thinks it might be a Chinese hoax. Francis wants the world’s doors swung open to refugees. Trump wants fewer of them in America. Income inequality is a serious concern for the pope. The billionaire president would rewrite the U.S. tax code to make the wealthy even richer. No two world leaders would seem to have less in common. They’ll meet face to face at the Vatican for the first time on Wednesday, at Trump’s request.”

Compassion Wanes

The unworkable math of Trump’s budget. The Atlantic:  “Regardless of the details, the budget released Tuesday by the Trump administration was likely to be met with opposition from the Democrats for the scope of the cuts it proposed to programs that help low-income Americans. But, big-picture disagreements aside, people assumed that those details would at least add up. Not the case: There appears to be a major problem with the details of Trump’s budget—namely, that it fails to account for the loss of trillions of dollars of revenue that will result from the tax cuts it proposes.”

Mulvaney says  “compassion” for taxpayers more important than helping the needy. Axios: “The Trump administration wants to redefine what ‘compassion’ means. Mulvaney says it should no longer be measured based on how many programs are in effect or how many people are receiving the benefit. He wants ‘compassion” to be broadened to include whether the government is ripping off taxpayers by using their money for ineffective programs. The budget balances in 10 years, but relies on some very sketchy assumptions: It assumes passage of the American Health Care Act — the Affordable Care Act repeal and replacement bill that passed the House but will soon face strong moderating forces in the Senate. It (also) assumes Trump can sign into law tax reform that is revenue neutral. That’s quite an assumption given that most people have already written the obituary for the main policy House Republicans plan to use to pay for big tax cuts — the ‘border adjustment tax.’

With healthcare in turmoil, Senate Republicans are under pressure to buck Trump. LA Times: “Senate Republicans face increasing pressure to rescue health insurance markets and protect coverage for millions of Americans amid growing fears the Trump administration is going let the markets collapse. In recent days, leading hospitals, physician groups, health insurers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have pleaded with the Senate to step in, effectively going around the White House.”

Justice Department asks that cities be forced to detain illegal immigrants. WaPo: “The Justice Department is pushing as a part of its budget proposal to change federal law so that local jurisdictions can be forced to detain suspected illegal immigrants upon request. The move would give the administration far more leeway to make good on its promise to crack down on “sanctuary cities” — although it would surely meet resistance from some local law enforcement agencies that do not want their officers used to enforce immigration law.”

Tax Clash Looms

Ryan bucks White House, setting up clash on taxes. Politico:  “Paul Ryan and the White House are barreling toward a tax reform show-down — a faceoff that’s becoming all but inevitable as the speaker continues selling a tax plan rejected by Trump officials. At issue is a controversial pillar of the House GOP tax plan that effectively hikes taxes on imports.”

House committee hears clashing views on the impact of a border adjustment tax. WaPo: “Much of corporate America is in agreement that it would like to see a sweeping overhaul of the tax system — but there is a deep divide about how best to achieve that. That rift was on display Tuesday as executives testified before the House Ways and Means Committee about a border adjustment tax, a tenet of a Republican tax overhaul blueprint that effectively creates a new levy on imports. The retail industry has forcefully urged Congress to drop the proposal, which they say will cause their tax bills to soar and, in turn, force them to hike the prices that shoppers see on store shelves. Meanwhile, exporters such as GE, Caterpillar and Boeing have thrown their support behind the idea, which they expect will make it easier for them to invest in their businesses and to compete with foreign rivals.”

More from OurFuture.org:

Fed Up with a Budget Crisis, Illinois Citizens Take to the Streets. Jeff Bryant:  “Joe Padilla and Egle Malinauskaite are part of a small group marching 200 miles from Chicago to the Illinois State Legislature in Springfield bringing a “People & Planet First Budget” to theirl awmakers. Marchers want to break up a logjam between Democrats in the Illinois General Assembly and Republican Governor Bruce Rauner that has prevented passage of a state budget for nearly two years.

Progressive Breakfast is a daily morning email highlighting news stories of interest to activists. Progressive Breakfast and OurFuture.org are projects of People's Action.more »