The New York Times printed this opinion piece yesterday by Thomas Edsall yesterday: “When The President is Ignorant of His Own Ignorance.” To read article: Click here
The article catalogs a list of concerns about both Trump and his Cabinet appointees. Not the least of these a concern about Trump’s ability to tell the truth. He notes: “During his first 63 days in office, Trump made 317 “false or misleading claims,” according to The Washington Post. It would be worth learning how they came to that figure.
Edsall provides this summary of the proposed cuts to Discretionary spending:
Discretionary spending, in billions
| Agency | 2017 baseline | 2018 proposal | Change | Pct. change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Environmental Protection Agency | $8.2 | $5.7 | –$2.6 | –31% |
| State and other development programs | 38.0 | 27.1 | –10.9 | –29% |
| Agriculture | 22.6 | 17.9 | –4.7 | –21% |
| Labor | 12.2 | 9.6 | –2.5 | –21% |
| Justice | 20.3 | 16.2 | –4.0 | –20% |
| Health and Human Services | 77.7 | 65.1 | –12.6 | –16% |
| Commerce | 9.2 | 7.8 | –1.5 | –16% |
| Education | 68.2 | 59.0 | –9.2 | –14% |
| Transportation | 18.6 | 16.2 | –2.4 | –13% |
| Housing and Urban Development | 36.0 | 31.7 | –4.3 | –12% |
| Interior | 13.2 | 11.6 | –1.5 | –12% |
| Energy | 29.7 | 28.0 | –1.7 | –6% |
| Treasury | 11.7 | 11.2 | –0.5 | –4% |
| NASA | 19.2 | 19.1 | –0.2 | –1% |
| Veterans Affairs | 74.5 | 78.9 | +4.4 | +6% |
| Homeland Security | 41.3 | 44.1 | +2.8 | +7% |
| Defense | 521.7 | 574.0 | +52.3 | +10% |
Some of these are pretty substantial cuts. The federal government provides very few direct services. Much of the federal budget goes to state, local, and non-profit organizations as grants and contracts to provide services. The key challenge for Congressional members is to figure out how much money their states and local governments will lose and what impacts that will have on their constituents. Talking about cutting the federal budget can be abstract until you realize that your state may not receive enough money from the federal government to clean up a toxic waste site or to provide support for low income people to pay their heating bills in the winter.