#NNPA BlackPress

COMMENTARY: Trump’s 2021 Budget Reflects His Values

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Forty-five’s hostility to poor people is reflected in reductions in Medicaid, food stamps, and the CHIP program, which provides health care for poor children. And while he is starving poor people, he insists on preserving the 2017 tax cuts that mostly benefitted the wealthy. I’m not surprised that “forty-five” maintains his hostility to the poor. We’ve seen this in the previous budgets that he’s presented to Congress.

Published

5 years ago

March 9, 2020

Oakland Post

Julianne Malveaux is an author and economist. Her latest project MALVEAUX! On UDCTV is available on youtube.com. For booking, wholesale inquiries or for more info visit www.juliannemalveaux.com

By Dr. Julianne Malveaux, NNPA Newswire Contributor

If you tell me how you spend your money, I can tell you what your values are. You say you are a Christian but neither tithe nor have a church home. You say support civil rights but have no connection to a civil rights organization. You love your Alma mater never contributes to the place. Put your money where your mouth is. Budgets are reflections of values.

Thus, I was unsurprised with the budget our forty-fifth President (also known as “Forty-five”) proposed to Congress on February 10. His budget – cuts domestic programs, maintains defense spending and targets poor people. It cuts education, housing, and environmental protection. It would eliminate our art and cultural agencies, including the National Institute for the Arts, the National Institutes for Humanities, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Forty-five’s hostility to poor people is reflected in reductions in Medicaid, food stamps, and the CHIP program, which provides health care for poor children. And while he is starving poor people, he insists on preserving the 2017 tax cuts that mostly benefitted the wealthy. I’m not surprised that “forty-five” maintains his hostility to the poor. We’ve seen this in the previous budgets that he’s presented to Congress.

He favors cuts in domestic spending, increases in military spending, a wall (which he has directed the Pentagon to fund), and indifference to the environment.

The budget shows contempt for the planet and its survival. 45 would cut the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget by more than a quarter, through the EPA budget, and even more with environmental initiatives that are embedded in other budgets. For example, with our crumbling infrastructure, the 45 budget cuts the Transportation Department by 13 percent, cutting highway infrastructure programs and transit grants. The Department of Interior is proposed to shoulder a 13 percent cut, reducing land acquisition, conservation, and assistance for Native American tribes.

This administration’s hostility toward environmental protection is evidenced by the fact that Mandy Gunasekara, who spearheaded the rollback on President Obama’s Clean Power Plan, is returning to the EPA as chief of staff this spring.

She has advocated scaling back rules on greenhouse emissions and is credited with urging the President to leave the Paris accord. Until 2017, the world has looked toward the United States for global leadership, but this most recent budget would reduce our involvement in world affairs. The State Department and USAID would be cut by $12 billion, more than a fifth less than last year. Virtually everything in the USAID and State budgets is reduced, including humanitarian aid, contributions to international organizations, and cultural exchanges; only Ivanka Trump’s Women’s Global Development fund seems to have been protected, with its allocation doubling!

The Department of Veterans Affairs is the only Cabinet agency that will experience a double-digit budget increase of 12 percent. After a series of scandals involving the delivery of health service to the nation’s veterans, few would dispute the need for a stronger agency. But wonders if the $12 billion increase in this agency’s budget will improve efficiency, or if it is merely pandering to veterans, a core part of the President’s base. NASA is another agency that gets a double-digit budget increase, partly to fund space exploration. The Defense Department budget remains relatively flat, with an increase at just one-tenth of one percent.

The budget is generous enough, however, to purchase new nuclear warheads and new missiles. It also will fund an arms race with China and Russia. What if just a tenth of the “defense” (I consider it an offense) budgets were devoted to human needs? That would be $70 billion to, perhaps, restore the $9.5 billion Health and Human Services cut, restore the $5.6 billion Department of Education cuts, to restore the $1.3 billion cut to the Labor Department (“savings” will be realized by cutting unemployment insurance, and payment to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, among other programs/ That $70 billion could also restore the $1.9 billion cut from the Agriculture Department.

I’m fantasizing, of course. Few in our warmongering nation would have the nerve to cut the defense budget. Predatory capitalism and the war-industrial complex will keep our “defense” department in the business, with companies that manufacture nuclear warheads, missiles, and more, raking in record profits. This budget illustrates what this administration is all about. It is hostile to poor folks, to culture, to education, and to farmers. It is unwilling to spend money on international relations. It is willing to continue to reward the wealthy for just being wealthy. It reflects forty-five’s values.

But there’s good news. Congress has failed to pass forty-five’s budget in the past, and they probably won’t pass it this time either. With a Democratic majority in the House, human needs will likely have a higher priority. It won’t cut State and USAID budgets. It’s a good thing Congress has more of a conscience than the President does. But this budget is a wake-up call for those who want health care and also a second Trump term. The two are incompatible.

Julianne Malveaux is an author and economist. Her latest project MALVEAUX! On UDCTV is available on youtube.com. For booking, wholesale inquiries or for more info visit www.juliannemalveaux.com

Posts by

Up Next

Vanessa T. Reed named External Affairs Manager

Don't Miss

Mike Drop: After Joe Biden’s Big Super Tuesday Wins, What’s Next for Bloomberg?

Oakland Post

1 Comment

Pingback: COMMENTARY: Trump’s 2021 Budget Reflects His Values – The Digital Informer

#NNPA BlackPress

Trump Set to Sign Largest Cut to Medicaid After a Marathon Protest Speech by Leader Jeffries

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S.

Published

2 weeks ago

July 3, 2025

Oakland Post

By Lauren Burke

By a vote of 218 to 214, the GOP-controlled U.S. House passed President Trump’s massive budget and spending bill that will add $3.5 trillion to the national debt, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S. With $175 billion allocated in spending for immigration enforcement, the money for more police officers eclipsed the 2026 budget for the U.S. Marines, which is $57 billion. Almost all of the policy focus from the Trump Administration has focused on deporting immigrants of color from Mexico and Haiti.

The vote occurred as members were pressed to complete their work before the arbitrary deadline of the July 4 holiday set by President Trump. It also occurred after Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries took the House floor for over 8 hours in protest. Leader Jeffries broke the record in the U.S. House for the longest floor speech in history on the House floor. The Senate passed the bill days before and was tied at 50-50, with Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski saying that, “my hope is that the House is gonna look at this and recognize that we’re not there yet.” There were no changes made to the Senate bill by the House. A series of overnight phone calls to Republicans voting against, not changes, was what won over enough Republicans to pass the legislation, even though it adds trillions to the debt. The Trump spending bill also cuts money to Pell grants.

“The Big Ugly Bill steals food out of the hands of starving children, steals medicine from the cabinets of cancer patients, and equips ICE with more funding and more weapons of war than the United States Marine Corps. Is there any question of who those agents will be going to war for, or who they will be going to war against? Beyond these sadistic provisions, Republicans just voted nearly unanimously to close urban and rural hospitals, cripple the child tax credit, and to top it all off, add $3.3 trillion to the ticking time bomb that is the federal deficit – all from a party that embarrassingly pretends to stand for fiscal responsibility and lowering costs,” wrote Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY) in a statement on July 3.

“The Congressional Budget Office predicts that 17 million people will lose their health insurance, including over 322,000 Virginians. It will make college less affordable. Three million people will lose access to food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). And up to 16 million students could lose access to free school meals. The Republican bill does all of this to fund tax breaks for millionaires, billionaires, and corporations,” wrote Education and Workforce Committee ranking member Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) in a statement. The bill’s passage has prompted Democrats to start thinking about 2026 and the next election cycle. With the margins of victory in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate being so narrow, many are convinced that the balance of power and the question of millions being able to enjoy health care come down to only several thousand votes in congressional elections. But currently, Republicans controlled by the MAGA movement control all three branches of government. That reality was never made more stark and more clear than the last seven days of activity in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

#NNPA BlackPress

WATCH: NNPA Publishers Pivot To Survive

7.2.25 via NBC 4 Washington

Published

2 weeks ago

July 3, 2025

Oakland Post

7.2.25 via NBC 4 Washington

https://youtube.com/watch?v=9oZc5Sz0jQQ&feature=oembed

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

#NNPA BlackPress

Congressional Black Caucus Challenges Target on Diversity

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — we found that the explanations offered by the leadership of the Target Corporation fell woefully short of what our communities deserve and of the values of inclusion that Target once touted

Published

2 weeks ago

July 3, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

Target is grappling with worsening financial and reputational fallout as the national selective buying and public education program launched by the Black Press of America and other national and local leaders continues to erode the retailer’s sales and foot traffic. But a recent meeting that the retailer intended to keep quiet between CEO Brian Cornell and members of the Congressional Black Caucus Diversity Task Force was publicly reported after the Black Press discovered the session, and the CBC later put Target on blast.

“The Congressional Black Caucus met with the leadership of the Target Corporation on Capitol Hill to directly address deep concerns about the impact of the company’s unconscionable decision to end a number of its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts,” CBC Chair Yvette Clarke stated. “Like many of the coalition leaders and partner organizations that have chosen to boycott their stores across the country, we found that the explanations offered by the leadership of the Target Corporation fell woefully short of what our communities deserve and of the values of inclusion that Target once touted,” Congresswoman emphasized. “Black consumers contribute overwhelmingly to our economy and the Target Corporation’s bottom line. Our communities deserve to shop at businesses that publicly share our values without sacrificing our dignity. It is no longer acceptable to deliver promises to our communities in private without also demonstrating those values publicly.”

Lauren Burke, Capitol Hill correspondent for Black Press of America, was present when Target CEO Cornell and a contingent of Target officials arrived at the U.S. Capitol last month. “It’s always helpful to have meetings like this and get some candid feedback and continue to evolve our thinking,” Cornell told Burke as he exited the meeting. And walked down a long hallway in the Cannon House Office Building. “We look forward to follow-up conversations,” he stated. When asked if the issue of the ongoing boycott was discussed, Cornell’s response was, “That was not a big area of focus — we’re focused on running a great business each and every day. Take care of our teams. Take care of the guests who shop with us and do the right things in our communities.”

A national public education campaign on Target, spearheaded by Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the NNPA’s board of directors, and with other national African American leaders, has combined consumer education efforts with a call for selective buying. The NNPA is a trade association that represents the more than 220 African American-owned newspapers and media companies known as the Black Press of America, the voice of 50 million African Americans across the nation. The coalition has requested that Target restore and expand its stated commitment to do business with local community-owned businesses inclusive of the Black Press of America, and to significantly increase investment in Black-owned businesses and media, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU, Black-owned Banks, national Black Church denominations, and grassroots and local organizations committed to improving the quality of life of all Americans, and especially those from underserved communities. According to Target’s latest earnings report, net sales for the first quarter of 2025 fell 2.8 percent to $23.85 billion compared to the same period last year. Comparable store sales dropped 3.8 percent, and in-store foot traffic slid 5.7 percent.

Shares of Target have also struggled under the pressure. The company’s stock traded around $103.85 early Wednesday afternoon, down significantly from roughly $145 before the controversy escalated. Analysts note that Target has lost more than $12 billion in market value since the beginning of the year. “We will continue to inform and to mobilize Black consumers in every state in the United States,” Chavis said. “Target today has a profound opportunity to respond with respect and restorative commitment.”