Trump budget slashes safety net programs, boosts military and defense

President Trump’s first budget proposal, titled A New Foundation for American Greatness, reveals plans to slash spending on social and entitlement programs for lower-income Americans by over $1.7 trillion over the next decade.

Programs on the chopping block include an $800 billion cut to Medicaid for fiscal year 2018, a $200 billion cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the largest program in the domestic hunger safety net, and a 31 percent cut to the Environmental Protection Agency.

What’s getting cut in Trump’s budget https://t.co/fwCogXDiQp pic.twitter.com/Y20WZDNjpT

— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) March 16, 2017

“What Trumponomics is and what this budget is a part of, is trying to get to sustained three percent economic growth in this country again,” White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said. “We do not believe that is something fanciful.”

“It probably is the most conservative budget that we’ve had under Republican or Democrat administrations in decades,” said Representative Mark Meadows.

Not surprisingly, the new budget proposes an increase military spending by 9 percent, and $2.6 billion for a down payment on Trump’s border wall.

As dismal as this budget looks, it is, at this point, a presidential “wish list.” The Senate and House of Representatives will pass their own versions, which will then go to congressional committees to cement the final spending plan.

Let’s hope those versions are humane.