181 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 60 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing Summarizing
OpEdNews Op Eds    H3'ed 3/16/17

An Orgy of Unnecessary Cruelty

By       (Page 1 of 1 pages)   3 comments

Robert Reich
Follow Me on Twitter     Message Robert Reich
Become a Fan
  (130 fans)

From Robert Reich Blog

The theme that unites all of Trump's initiatives so far is their unnecessary cruelty.

1. His new budget comes down especially hard on the poor -- imposing unprecedented cuts in low-income housing, job training, food assistance, legal services, help to distressed rural communities, nutrition for new mothers and their infants, funds to keep poor families warm, even "meals on wheels."

These cuts come at a time when more American families are in poverty than ever before, including one in five children.

Why is Trump doing this? To pay for the biggest hike in military spending since the 1980s. Yet the U.S. already spends more on its military than the next seven biggest military budgets put together.

2. Trump and his enablers in the GOP plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and replace it in a way that will cause 14 million Americans to lose their health insurance next year, and 24 million by 2026.

Why is Trump doing this? To bestow $600 billion in tax cuts over the decade to wealthy Americans. This comes at a time in our nation's history when the rich have accumulated more wealth than at any time in the nation's history.

The plan reduces the federal budget deficit by only $337 billion over the next 10 years -- a small fraction of the national debt, in exchange for an enormous amount of human hardship.

3. Trump is now banning Syrian refugees and reducing the total number of refugees this year by more than half.

The closing of America comes just when the world is experiencing the worst refugee crisis since World War II.

Why is Trump doing this? You have higher odds of being struck by lightening than dying in an immigrant terrorist attack.

4. Trump is rounding up undocumented immigrants helter-skelter -- including people who have been productive members of our society for decades, and young people who have been here since they were toddlers.

Why is Trump doing this? This cruel initiative come when unemployment is down, crime is down, and we have fewer undocumented workers in the U.S. today than we did five years ago.

Trump is embarking on an orgy of cruelty for absolutely no reason. This is profoundly immoral. It is morally incumbent on all of us to stop it.

Valuable 2   Must Read 1   Well Said 1  
Rate It | View Ratings

Robert Reich Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor and Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley, has a new film, "Inequality for All," to be released September 27. He blogs at www.robertreich.org.

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Trump Cornered

The Republican's Big Lies About Jobs (And Why Obama Must Repudiate Them)

Paul Ryan Still Doesn't Get It

What Mitt Romney Really Represents

What to Do About Disloyal Corporations

The Gas Wars

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend