News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Mar. 24, 2017: Growing up in the Caribbean, it was not uncommon to hear elders’ say: “If you can’t hear you will feel” or “Hard ears you won’t hear; hard ears you must feel.”
This is exactly what the elders would say to those who voted for Donald Trump; especially amidst the new White House budget revelation, that screws the poor in all available spaces.
For those too dumb to listen or too blinded by race and too ‘hard ears’ to believe that Trump was nothing but a con-in-chief, they will surely feel it now.
The Trump budget targets his own base as it darkly and meanly slices away help on virtually all fronts for the many poor across this country, including in rural America.
The Donald has thought nothing of cutting the food for the poor programs aiding the senior shut ins’; of cutting all those affordable housing programs and those that help many weatherize their homes.
He has thought nothing of cutting those job training programs along with those that help pay home heating oil bills for the poor.
And that legal aid lawyer? Well get ready to kiss that option goodbye if Trump gets his way.
But never mind that, one border wall to keep the immigrants out is coming right up!
Oh yes sir-ee!
A $3 billion Community Development Block Grant program, that’s been in existence since 1974 and provides cities with money to fund Meals on Wheels, the national nonprofit that delivers food to homebound seniors, is being cut.
But some $1.5 billion has been boldly set aside to build Trump’s signature border wall on the US’ southern border. Work on that monstrosity could start this year. Trump has even set aside a further $2.6 billion in fiscal 2018 for his wall and his enforcement attempts to round up and keep out the immigrants, never mind the Coast Guard that needs money to keep out drug smugglers from entering our waters.
The full cost of this Trump Wall will of course be many, many times more meaning even more cuts from necessary worthwhile programs for poor Americans.
Make America Great Again? I think not!
No longer is Trump and company singing that ole’ rag time rhyme about getting Mexico to fund the wall. Now it looks like the Great Big Wall will be funded literally on the backs of American tax payers, especially the poor and ignorant, whose ears were too hard to listen and who gave their vote to the con-in-chief instead.
Now they will have to literally pay for it by giving up much needed social services.
And so far, many US companies – more than 600 – are lining up to submit ideas on how to build the Great Wall to the US Customs and Border Patrol and cash in on your tax dollars.
But don’t worry Trump voters! Those immigrants you wanted to keep out will be kept out while you starve and struggle; suffer with no health care; watch that dream of owning a home slip further and further into oblivion and have no legal resource if you can’t pay for your own lawyer.
‘Screw you all poor Americans,’ is what Donald Trump is saying. ‘One border wall is coming right up!’
The writer is CMO at Hard Beat Communications, Inc. which owns the brands: NewsAmericasNow, CaribPRWire and InvestCaribbeanNow.