Trump Budget Poses Grave Threat to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid

Interview with Alex Lawson, executive director of Social Security Works, conducted by Scott Harris

During his presidential election campaign, Donald Trump repeatedly stated that if elected, he would not make cuts to Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid programs. The real estate billionaire differentiated himself from his Republican opponents during the primary campaign, pointing out that he alone was the candidate who would not touch social safety net programs, declaring, it’s not fair to the people who have been paying into the system for years.

But now that he’s in office, it appears that Trump’s campaign pledge to protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, was worth about as much as a degree from Trump University. The president’s first federal budget includes massive reductions in funding for Medicaid, Social Security and other social programs. Proposed cuts include $800 billion less for Medicaid over the next 10 years, which the Congressional Budget Office has estimated would slash benefits for 10 million low-income people. The budget also calls for giving states more power to stiffen work requirements for people living below the poverty line who receive federal assistance, which could tighten the limits on who can access benefits and for how long.

In addition, Trump’s budget asks for a $72.5 billion cut in spending over the next decade on the disabled, by decreasing spending on the Social Security Disability Insurance, which has been administered by the Social Security Administration since 1956. Between The Lines’ Scott Harris spoke with Alex Lawson, executive director of Social Security Works, who examines President Trump’s proposed federal budget and how it will impact Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. [Rush transcript.]

ALEX LAWSON:During the campaign, he vociferously stated that he was not going to cut any of those three programs. And, in fact, in his plans, he cuts all three of them. So starting with Medicaid, his plan there is just to destroy Medicaid. You have $880 billion that are coming out with Trumpcare and on top of that, hundreds of billions of dollars more in his budget. He’s not aiming at rolling back the expansion of Medicaid and the corporate media has been very sloppy about this. They make it seem like maybe that’s what they’re talking about. No, no. This is ENDING Medicaid. Medicaid, which is the largest provider of long-term care in America – and for the vast majority of people, the only provider of long-term care that’s both in-home care and nursing home care, the average cost of which is $93,000 per year. And this would just get rid of that. And you know what everyone would be left with? Nothing. That’s the plan. They don’t replace it with anything. They just get rid of Medicaid.

Medicare, he has billions, tens of billions of dollars of cuts in Medicaid, plus remove dedicated financing that came in with Obamacare, which leaves him to tee it up – and Paul Ryan’s been very clear about this – so that they can come after they caused the problem and say, “Woe is me, I didn’t want to do it, but we’re just going to have to turn over Medicare to my criminal friends in the insurance industry.” That’s the tried–and-true tactic of the Republicans. Kneecap the mailman and then complain that the mail is late – which they do against the post office.

And then, finally, very brazenly, the budget also just cuts $72 billion out of Social Security. And the brazenness with it is in their press release. They just say, “We don’t cut Social Security” and then right there in the budget, you can circle the lines where they do cut Social Security. So this is a guy who lies about everything big and small, and the people need to understand, they have to do their homework to see what they’re actually planning. And what they’re planning is to steal our money, to steal our health, to give it to their criminal friends on Wall Street and to make off in a big payday in the largest tax handout to billionaires that’s ever been envisioned.

BETWEEN THE LINES:Alex, all this is quite alarming, given the fact that Republicans control the executive branch and Donald Trump in the White House, and both branches of the U.S. Congress. So, it is certainly within the realm of possibility that the Republicans could carry out these dramatic and deep cuts and decimate the nation’s already weak social safety net. What can you tell us about the opposition that’s out there to what we’re seeing unfold? And I would ask you first to talk about opposition among Republicans who are already more than a little concerned about their prospects for re-election, given all that’s happened in the Trump White House, with scandal after scandal and his rising unpopularity.

ALEX LAWSON:Yeah, it’s a great point. Because you have to clearly state the danger. And I think that that’s just critical. That people understand this is their aspiration. If they had all the power, this is what they’d do. So that’s their goal. Now can they get to their goal is a different question because that’s where you get into political power. You only need to flip three Republican senators because of a process called reconciliation that they’re going to use to try to get Trumpcare through. They only need a majority. So if we can find three Republican senators who will vote “no” on any reconciliation bill that includes Medicare or Medicaid, we can block it. If you are represented by a Republican senator, just make phone calls. Show up at town halls. They’re cowards. So they’re not having town halls. So host a town hall with a Democrat from nearby. Go onto social media. Basically, make a ruckus and the time to make that ruckus is now.

For more information, visit Social Security Works at socialsecurityworks.org.

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