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The “Oligarch’s Budget” Wages War on Poor Americans
Early on Thursday, Republicans passed Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” in the House of Representatives, with just two GOP defectors. The budget codifies trillions of dollars of tax cuts for the wealthy, alongside hugely increased spending on immigration enforcement and the military, both by adding to the national debt and through slashing programs that aid tens of millions of low-income Americans. The Center for American Progress noted last week that, with somewhere in the region of $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and SNAP (food stamps) over the next decade, “this would be the largest transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich in a single law in U.S. history.”
The budget, which seems likely to pass the Senate, contains the biggest ever cuts to Medicaid and to the SNAP program. As a result of these cuts, tens of millions of people will be impacted — as will states that depend on Medicaid dollars flowing in order to cover their poorer residents, and as will hospitals that need Medicaid funds in order to make ends meet. Ironically, some of the worst-hit areas will be in poor parts of red states, where rural hospitals often survive only because of their Medicaid dollars.
In poorer neighborhoods, the erosion of SNAP will mean much less money flowing through the local economy, as residents tighten their belts and spend less on food at neighborhood stores. For the first time in the program’s history, the federal government will no longer ensure that children in all 50 states have access to food stamps.
The bill imposes strict time limits on food stamp access for working-age adults through the age of 65, as well as work requirements, and makes it harder for states or localities to secure waivers from that requirement during economic downturns. At the same time, it requires working-age adults to have jobs or do community service in order to access Medicaid — and it ramps up the frequency of eligibility checks, which health advocates believe will create a red tape burden that has the effect of deterring large numbers of people from accessing or retaining health care.
If these changes do indeed kick in, estimates are that a staggering 14 million Americans could lose their health coverage, returning the numbers of uninsured back up almost to pre-Affordable Care Act levels. The Urban Institute and other groups have estimated that somewhere in the region of 3 million families could be cut off from food stamps.
https://truthout.org/articles/the-oligarchs-budget-wages-war-on-poor-americans/
Early on Thursday, Republicans passed Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” in the House of Representatives, with just two GOP defectors. The budget codifies trillions of dollars of tax cuts for the wealthy, alongside hugely increased spending on immigration enforcement and the military, both by adding to the national debt and through slashing programs that aid tens of millions of low-income Americans. The Center for American Progress noted last week that, with somewhere in the region of $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and SNAP (food stamps) over the next decade, “this would be the largest transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich in a single law in U.S. history.”
The budget, which seems likely to pass the Senate, contains the biggest ever cuts to Medicaid and to the SNAP program. As a result of these cuts, tens of millions of people will be impacted — as will states that depend on Medicaid dollars flowing in order to cover their poorer residents, and as will hospitals that need Medicaid funds in order to make ends meet. Ironically, some of the worst-hit areas will be in poor parts of red states, where rural hospitals often survive only because of their Medicaid dollars.
In poorer neighborhoods, the erosion of SNAP will mean much less money flowing through the local economy, as residents tighten their belts and spend less on food at neighborhood stores. For the first time in the program’s history, the federal government will no longer ensure that children in all 50 states have access to food stamps.
The bill imposes strict time limits on food stamp access for working-age adults through the age of 65, as well as work requirements, and makes it harder for states or localities to secure waivers from that requirement during economic downturns. At the same time, it requires working-age adults to have jobs or do community service in order to access Medicaid — and it ramps up the frequency of eligibility checks, which health advocates believe will create a red tape burden that has the effect of deterring large numbers of people from accessing or retaining health care.
If these changes do indeed kick in, estimates are that a staggering 14 million Americans could lose their health coverage, returning the numbers of uninsured back up almost to pre-Affordable Care Act levels. The Urban Institute and other groups have estimated that somewhere in the region of 3 million families could be cut off from food stamps.
https://truthout.org/articles/the-oligarchs-budget-wages-war-on-poor-americans/
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