Behold the Chopping Block
By Albert B. Kelly
If you’ve been even a casual consumer of news these last
weeks, you no doubt have heard about the President’s proposed budget, a wish
list really, of what he wants to cut and what he wants to fund. For more than
half of America, there’s quite a lot on the chopping block.
A good portion of what he wants to cut or completely
eliminate will cause a lot of difficulty, heartache, and struggle for a fair
number of people in Cumberland County and throughout South Jersey. Poking
around the budget document (not an easy thing) tells some of the story as does
the analyses done by a variety of news outlets.
There’s a lot at stake here, but my initial focus is on
nutrition, access to food, and the broader health implications- especially for
children. The administration wants to slash the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program) aka “food stamps” by 25% over a 10 year period.
These are not just numbers on a piece of paper; we’re
talking about upwards 40 million people, the vast majority of them senior
citizens and children. Over all, cuts to nutrition and hunger-related programs
would come to about $200 billion.
Consider that 84% of children in the Bridgeton Public
Schools receive free lunch during the school year. In surveys, half the parents
of these children worry about being able to put food on the table to feed their
children on a daily basis. 25% of these families got food from a soup kitchen.
And we can’t forget the seniors in our community that depend
on SNAP. My point is that far too many families would be in crisis mode over
something as basic and fundamental as having enough nutritious food because of
these budget cuts.
This budget wants to completely eliminate LIHEAP (Low Income
Home Energy Assistance Program). This would devastate a lot of families that
count on this program to ensure that they have heat during the cold weather
months.
The administration wants to eliminate the HOME Investment Partnership
Program and Community Development Block Grant Program both of which provide essential
resources for lower income residents to get critical repairs done on their
homes or install handicap tamps. Housing and Urban Development cuts are roughly
$4.8 billion
And woe unto the children and students among us- this budget
wants to eliminate 21st Century Community Learning Centers, Student Support and
Academic Enrichment Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants,
and Comprehensive Literacy Development Grants to name a few. Education
Department cuts come to slightly under $5 billion.
In the area of labor, the administration wants cut $500
million which would include the Senior Community Service Employment Program and
OSHA Training Grants.
Other programs to be eliminated include Single Family
Housing Direct Loans, the Rural Business-Cooperative Service, and the Rural
Water and Waste Disposal Program Account (Agriculture Department), and Minority
Business Development Agency, NOAA grants, and EDA (Economic Development
Administration).
To make sure that the pain doesn’t belong just to the poor,
the elderly, students, and minorities; other programs on the chopping block
include Transportation Security Administration Law Enforcement Grants, Health
Professions and Nursing Training Programs, National Wildlife Refuge Fund, National
Infrastructure Investments, Energy Star programs, and Legal Services.
In all, there are over 60 programs set to be completely
eliminated. Think about the contributions to our national life from the National
Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities- these
also will be no more in this budget.
When I think about roughly $26 billion dollars that would be
“saved” through these cuts and then consider these in terms of the hardships
that will be inflicted on those who are sustained by the programs, it’s just
cruel. By comparison, we shoveled $800 billion at Wall Street not that long
ago- go figure.
At the same time the administration is sharpening their
budget ax for the poor, the elderly, students, minorities, science and the
arts; they want to cut taxes on the wealthy, build a wall for $1.2 billion and
increase military spending. Yet, in terms of military, we already spend more
than China, Britain, France, Japan, Russia, and India combined.
What can we do? Make your voice heard- communicate with your
family, friends, and neighbors so that they are clear as to what is at stake.
Also, communicate your thoughts and concerns with our leaders, by letter,
phone, email, or social media to ensure that they know we’re paying
attention.