In an editorial, Knitty Gritty JC member Gerald Miller gives his take on why President Donald Trump’s (R) budget “well deprive millions of Americans of crucial government support.”
The House of Representatives recently passed a Budget Bill that will deprive millions of Americans of crucial government support. If passed by the Senate, it will enact the biggest transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich in a single bill in US history.
The Republican Party-backed Budget would usher in the largest Medicaid cut on record: at least 715 billion. It would result in over 13.7 million people losing their health insurance. In Hudson County more than 170,000 people are covered by Medicaid.
The bill also calls for $300 billion in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps: a federal program that helps low-income individuals and families pay for food.
This nearly 30% reduction is the largest cut in the program’s history of critical food assistance. In September 2022, approximately 100,000 people in Hudson County received SNAP benefits.
The proposed budget will also increase the deficit and potentially trigger cuts to Medicare, the health insurance program primarily serving individuals aged 65 and older.
These mandatory cuts would total an estimated 500 billion to Medicare over the period 2026-2034. In Hudson County, more than 58,000 people are covered by Medicare.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, this legislation will deprive 10 million Americans of health insurance. These budget cuts are designed to partially offset a 5.3 trillion dollar tax cut which will primarily benefits millionaires and corporations.
The impact will be disastrous. A significant number of people will die prematurely due to lack of adequate medical care and nutrition.
The poorest Americans would lose the equivalent of two percent of their income because of the reduced benefits, while the tax cuts would provide the richest top ten percent with a four percent increase in income.
This shameful budget robs the poor to give to the rich. House Republicans in moderate or blue districts who voted for the bill should be held accountable for their votes. We must ensure that when it comes back from the Senate for a final vote, they vote against it.
Gerald Miller is a retired attorney living in Jersey City. He is a member of Knitty Gritty JC, a local pro-democracy group.
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Oh please. Biden expanded Medicaid by tens of millions of people. Even millionaires could get it, no questions asked. Now the program is just reverting to previous rules. Democrats are ALWAYS whining about this and that program. They are like beggars, always embarrassing themselves and not even realizing it.
Tens of millions of people got access to affordable healthcare? What a shame it wasn’t more!
One question asked – where did you get that ludicrous claim that millionaires are getting Medicaid? First, eligibility is based on verified income, so no, they wouldn’t qualify. Second, why would a millionaire want the same level of reduced health care that the poor and working poor get? Third, why shouldn’t everyone get health care?
Ok, 3 questions asked. Answers: #1-some BS that Newsmax spewed. #2-they wouldn’t. #3-GOP cruelty is the goal.
As for whining, your orange god emperor Taco has cornered the market on that.