Anderson Medina Guerrero

HIST 12 Class # 30680 - Section 02

Date posted on Twitter: March 16, 2017
If youre a poor person in America, Trumps budget is not for you
Tracy Jan and Steven Mufson, writers at the Washington Post, evaluate the

consequences of the federal budget cuts proposed by President Trump. The writers conclude

that the cuts will disadvantage even more already hindered minorities. Besides, if the budget

is approved, states will decide how to distribute federal funds.

Currently, there are several programs designed to assist the poorest sectors of society.

With the expected cuts, The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), one of

the most outstanding social divisions, would experience a drastic reduction in federal

funding. The HUD programs, in combination with other programs, considerably support

minorities through community banks, job training, and energy, food, and legal assistance. All

these reliefs would be eliminated by the new federal budget. However, some people argue

that cuts are negligible when compared to the total amount allocated for welfare programs,

adding that financial responsibility on the part of welfare recipients would be promoted. The

problem is that the coordination between public agencies, private agencies, and assistance

programs to help the poor will be negatively affected by the budget cuts. Since there is not

any contingency plan to continue supporting minorities, more than 4.5 million households

would face a challenging situation.

Contrary to the Roosevelts New Deal that introduced many social programs, Trumps

presidency is reducing the support for the most vulnerable parts of the population. Following

the Republican ideology, Mr. Trump implicitly advocates for hard work to overcome poverty

by cutting social programs. What he fails to consider is that historically disadvantaged groups

still face barriers. Even though social programs should not make people dependent, they are

important for the nation to provide all Americans with the same opportunities, especially

when inequality levels are alarmingly high.