Only logged in members can reply and interact with the post.
Join SimilarWorlds for FREE »

What do you think about Trump's proposed budget cuts or the American First Policy choices?

There is a lot of news at the moment about the proposed budget cuts, which haven't yet been approved by congress. A lot of the world is freaking out because they see it as a first step of the US withdrawing from its global role.

There is a lot of crying about the cutting of funding to the UN and the World Bank. Though the US is still the biggest single funder of both even after the proposed budget cuts.

There is the reduction of military fundings to countries like Egypt, Pakistan, and many others. Shouldn't they be responsible for their own funding? The US has a huge national debt that isn't going away. Is it not irresponsible for someone to give away money that they don't have?

Should the government of the US not always have a American's first policy seeing as it is a government for the people by the people?

There is a lot of crying about the cut climate change funding from the US too. Here I am torn. Our understanding of climate change is very limited and there is a lot of speculation about what the long reaching effects will be. The reality is that the US is already pretty active with regulations preventing pollution and reducing carbon emissions. The pressure should be put on the new polluters, China, Thailand, India... Where it is now going to make the most difference for the cost.
This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »
Xuan12 · 36-40, M
Less spent on domestic programs, more spent on military. Doesn't sound like withdrawing exactly, and it sure isn't AMERICANS first.
Some domestic programs that might not work. I hope that Trump does increase spending for veteran affairs. I also want to see increased development and integration to ease the racial divides in the US. Sadly, I am fair from positive about that.

Less spending on other people's militaries though...
Xuan12 · 36-40, M
@MarsSword: Yeah...proposed cuts are looking to be hard on my community. The saddest part to me is that this community voted for Trump, but many of his proposals mostly benefit the higher tax base cities. I'm not surprised, that's where Trump came from, so that's what he knows. He captivated the spirit of people's discontent, but I don't think he actually understands it.
@Xuan12: I totally agree with you on this one. Trump really doesn't know much about or honestly care too much about the plight of the average american. What he does care about are trends throughout the whole economy and the ongoing interest problems.

What are the proposed cuts for your area? I honestly don't know because the article I got most of my information for for this post was mostly talking about international ramifications.
Xuan12 · 36-40, M
@MarsSword: If things go through as proposed, our firefighters will suffer by losing some resources, as well as our emergency medical service, and our schools. We have a lot of elderly people living here as well, and though he's said he has no plans to mess with social security, I'm not sure he'd hold fast on that.

It's an isolated, rural community you see. The economy isn't top dollar, and unless he magically makes hay and beef more profitable, the cuts on domestic programs are definitely going to cut into us.
@Xuan12: I see, that is unfortunate. Are those services not mostly managed by the local government?

Social security is a tough issues, because while we all want the benefit when we are stuck and down, and certainly for the elderly, it is very expensive and we all have this fear of people freeloading on it and costing us unnecessarily.
Xuan12 · 36-40, M
@MarsSword: Managed by the local government, sure, but county of less than 10,000 cattle ranchers can't pay enough taxes to buy everything we need. An ambulance costs about $150,000 BEFORE it's equipped, and need to be replaced about every 5 years or so, IF nothing happens to it. Figure out the non-working elderly, which we have a lot of, the children, the disabled, and the seasonal farmhands who make maybe $10 and hour, and where would the tax burden fall? That's over $30K a year we need for one necessary item, falling onto a tax base of about 3000 people. So figure that we need two ambulances, 4 paramedics, about 10 EMTs, all the medical supplies and equipment of course, a repair and maintenance, a garage to keep it in, a radio system to dispatch and communicate, oh, dispatchers of course, a hospital to bring the sick and injured back to, a police force that also needs equipment, a fire department too, and our roads, our sewer system, etc....how can such a small community working mostly in agriculture tax itself enough to pay for all this on it's own? About 60% of the budget we use for these neccessitites come in as grants or aid from other sources.
@Xuan12: Yes, the federal government has to support the smaller communities. I agree.