What to Watch for in Trump’s FY19 Budget

Feb 9, 2018

President Trump will release his FY19 budget this upcoming Monday, February 12. Expectations are that the Administration will “suddenly” rediscover its aversion to the ballooning deficit it ignored while pushing for the GOP tax scam, and pursue cuts that would seriously harm hardworking families, real investments in economic growth, and programs that provide Americans with a basic standard of living. 

Here’s what to watch for in Trump’s budget:

 

  1. Massive increase in deficits driven largely by the GOP Tax Scam…

The budget arrives in the face of a nearly $1 trillion deficit—the largest deficit in six years—due in large part to the giveaways to millionaires and corporations under the GOP scam. Facing a hole of their own making, not even OMB Director Mick Mulvaney can ignore the effects of Republicans’ fiscal irresponsibility. As House Budget Committee member David Brat said after getting a preview of the budget, “Pretty depressing on the overall budget outlook, and trillion-dollar deficits as far as the eye can see."

 

  1. …Paid for on the backs of hardworking families.

The Republican 3-step plan of giving to the rich, exploding the deficit, and asking everyone else to pay for it will reach its conclusion in the Trump budget with massive cuts to programs that middle class families and Americans struggling to make ends meet rely on. Recentactions by the Administration on Medicaid and nutrition assistance and reported plans for crucial housing assistance represent severe cuts to programs that help families access a basic standard of living. Despite the fact that these programs are working as designedthese expected cuts demonstrate how the President will continue to abandon the families he promised to serve in favor of millionaire donors.   

 

  1. Reckless cuts to non-defense programs that leave families less safe and secure.

While levels for both defense and non-defense discretionary (NDD) spending are settled for 2019, NDD levels are at risk after that. The budget will likely call for deep cuts to these programs that safeguard our communities, grow the economy, produce energy innovation, and prepare our country for the future, all in further attempts to pay for the Administration’s giveaway to millionaires and corporations.

 

  1. Fantasy economic projections, budget gimmicks, and more.

Even with potential deep cuts to programs families depend on, the Administration’s refusal to have the wealthy and corporations pay their fair share means they will need to rely on a full bag of gimmicks, tricks, and fake math to reduce long-term deficits. In particular, they can be expected to project that their tax plan will produce an unrealistic amount of economic growth, despite a wide-array of experts finding the law will NOT have any significant impact on growth in the long run.

 

  1. A woefully lacking infrastructure plan.

It’s always Infrastructure Week at the White House, but even if they finally produce a semblance of a plan to shore up our country’s crumbling infrastructure systems, it’s expected to call for a significant share of its costs to come from cash-strapped states and localities, while supporting projects based on the needs of rich developers—not communities.

     

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