In the article below this post, David Brooks argues that Trump will not make good on the promises that he made to his populist base. Brooks blames it on incompetence. The better explanation is that Trump's promises were made to win the election. President Trump's budget and tax proposals serve a very different purpose. Trump's proposals will increase income and wealth inequality instead of reducing them. Moreover, Trump's budget cuts federal spending by $3.6 trillion over the next 10 years. Safety net programs that help the poor will be reduced by $1 trillion. Trump's budget for 2018 shows large cuts in Medicaid and other anti-poverty programs. It also makes huge cuts in medical research and disease prevention. The Environmental Protection Agency budget will be cut by 31%. Much of the EPA spending is on programs which promote clean air and clean water. Cuts in those programs will be most harmful to low income American's who are stuck in areas that suffer most from air and water pollution. Trump's cuts in the Medicaid budget will also create problems for our public schools. Many of the special education programs are paid for through Medicaid. Cuts in Medicaid will force states and local school districts to make hard choices. They will either have to cut spending on regular educational programs or reduce spending of special education unless they raise state and local taxes.
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