The art of politics is that of the daily lives of people, citizens and not. The arrival of President #Donald Trump has caused and will cause major changes in the daily lives of millions but have the effects of these changes on the general population been considered before drafting the orders and budget?
Orders
In the first week of his Presidency Donald Trump signed two orders which would drastically affect millions of lives. The first of these orders was the first step towards the repeal and replacement of Obamacare.
This order had the almost immediate effect of heating up town hall meetings, even amongst some who criticized Obamacare, as citizens realized that they were shortly to be left without health insurance or facing the real possibility of big increases in their premiums.
The most affected would be those with pre-existing conditions.
The protests were such that at first some Republican politicians refused to attend the public meetings and now as the Houses are discussing Paul Ryan’s Bill for its replacement many are now openly stating that they fear that the Bill will affect their political future.
The second order did not affect citizens but had effects on millions with the orders to ICE to crack down on illegal immigrants, even those who had led previous peaceful and law abiding lives, in many cases even for decades.
Budget
The release of the proposed #budget on Wednesday added to the disruption in daily lives with the announced massive cuts in areas such as the EPA., HDU, National Health, public broadcasting and scientific research to name but a few.
All are departments and activities that in one form or another directly affect the daily lives of citizens.
On the other hand the budget increases funding for the Dhs, the military and Border security which already have high levels of funding, especially the military which has budget in the world and greater than the next six countries combined.
Looking at these changes in the direction of the country’s life by the new Administration it would be fair to wonder of the oval office considers the effects of the decisions on the general population and especially on those who do not have the financial means to accommodate these changes.
Meals on wheels
One specific example of this attitude is the cut to funding for programmes providing meals for aged people in their homes which now risk being drastically reduced, if not abolished, in areas of the country.
As reported in buisinessinsider.com White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney stated that "We can't spend money on programs just because they sound good. We're not going to spend money on programs that cannot show that they actually deliver the promises that we've made to people."
Considering that the Administration has been in Office less than two months and the election was only two months before the Inauguration, how much real work was done to study the effects of the programmes that are being cut and to consider the effects of the cuts on citizens?
The answer would be little or none.
Midterms
At the same time the increases in military spending may lead to more work for some and give the impression that the Oval Office is being tough on terrorism and foreign opponents but will do little to improve the lives of those affected by the cuts.
More than any other document released by the Oval Office so far since January 20th the budget may well be the one that forces Republicans to make a stand because the GOP Senators and Congressmen will be the ones paying the price for these decisions.
This too should have been part of the Oval Offices considerations in drafting laws and which was obviously lacking.
