TrumpCuts and the American Family
Every day families across the nation face difficult challenges providing for themselves and their loved ones.
There are few areas of President Trump’s FY18 budget proposal that won’t make these challenges worse. From cutting opportunities for kids to develop into the workers and innovators of the future to stripping seniors of their ability to retire with dignity, Trump’s budget would impact people young and old, low-income and middle class, and across all 50 states.
Big budget numbers and accounting tricks can distract from the real-life effects that such policies create. To paint a clearer picture of how Trump’s budget would impact working families, we consider how one hypothetical family would be affected by such radical changes.
Alex and Casey are married raising three children; Jordan, Joey, and Quinn while caring for Alex’s grandmother Frances, who lives by herself 45 minutes away.
Alex is a public high school teacher
who takes great pride in educating adolescents and preparing them for further study and life beyond. Under Trump’s budget, Alex’s public school will no longer receive resources through the Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants used to reduce class size and provide professional development. This not only affects Alex’s students, but deprives more than 50 million students across the country the opportunity to learn in smaller classroom environments with more intensive attention to student needs. Also, as a result of Planned Parenthood being defunded in Trump’s budget, Alex will no longer be able to go to her local Planned Parenthood health center to receive a cancer screening or yearly check-up.
Casey, who was discharged as a disabled veteran, is currently trying to get his small business off the ground.
Unfortunately, he doesn’t have access to the funds necessary to turn this dream into a reality. By cutting $441 million from the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund and the Economic Development Administration, which provide capital to community banks and local organizations to incentivize small business lending, Trump’s budget pulls the rug out from under people like Casey who aspire to become entrepreneurs but lack the resources and mentoring to really take off. To make matters worse, Casey’s veteran disability compensation benefit check could be smaller than anticipated in the future. Trump’s budget pledges to curtail future cost of living adjustments that Casey and millions of others disabled veterans rely on to make ends meet as the cost of living becomes more expensive over time.
Jordan, a 17 year old public high school senior,
has been accepted to several universities and a local community college. Unfortunately, limited finances may prevent her from attending college. It has been her dream to continue her education and become an environmental protection lawyer. However, Trump’s proposed elimination of federal subsidized loans and $490 million cut to the federal work study program could leave young students like Jordan with few affordable options to pursue higher education. Currently, the average federal subsidized loan covers about $3,800 of college expenses, amounting to 16 percent of the total cost for public four-year in state college. Even if Jordan could scrimp to cover these additional expenses, she remains concerned about accumulating a mountain of student debt. Under Trump’s budget, Jordan would no longer be able reduce this burden with the public service loan forgiveness program, to which over 552,000 graduates have applied. This program will start to forgive graduates’ balances later this year to reward their work in public service careers less lucrative than the private sector.
Joey, a 12 year old public middle school student,
currently attends an after-school program. Trump’s budget eliminates 21st Century Learning Centers, which deliver educational enrichment opportunities outside typical school hours. This means that Joey, and 1.7 million children like him, will no longer have a place to go after school — leaving parents in a scramble to find affordable quality care.
Quinn, a 4 year old attending pre-kindergarten, is enrolled in the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) program
that provides affordable children’s health coverage. Trump’s budget would cut this program by at least 20 percent, leaving the parents of nearly 9 million children like Quinn with more expensive health care. Alex and Casey would lose much sleep as they weigh what other bills not to pay in order to ensure Quinn gets the healthcare he needs.
Frances, the family’s 72 year old grandmother, is a Medicaid enrollee and a Meals on Wheels recipient
who has a hard time getting by on her own given her chronic health conditions. She would inevitably face more expensive healthcare as a result of Trump’s budget, which cuts at least $834 billion over ten years from the program. Given the recent attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act coupled with the potential loss of Medicaid expansion, Frances may no longer be eligible for Medicaid. Even if she maintains her eligibility at 82, she could see an average benefit cut of more than $2,610 once cuts are fully phased-in. Frances also worries that it will be more difficult to receive her Meals on Wheels since the budget eliminates several of its funding sources. This program provides Frances and 2.4 million seniors like her with a decent meal and allows them to remain in their home and lead more independent lives.
