February 28, 2017

Today Brings Us the Most Trumpian Budget Cut Ever

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A big target for President Trump’s budget cutting turns out to be foreign aid:

The Trump administration is proposing to cut spending by 37% for the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development budget, according to a person familiar with the budget deliberations….One U.S. official said that the State Department is looking at development assistance to other countries as a significant source for the cuts.

….“That is definitely dead on arrival,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) told reporters Tuesday, saying the proposed State Department budget “puts our diplomats at risk.”

This is the perfect Trump budget cut. Congress will turn down these cuts almost instantly, and anyway, there’s not even much money there (foreign aid accounts for about 1 percent of federal spending). However, the American public has long been convinced that foreign aid is a huge part of the budget, so Trump’s base will view this as a bold action to rein in our spiraling federal debt. It’s cynical, ignorant, futile, and makes for brilliant PR. What could possibly be more Trumpian?

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From the desk of Mother Jones CEO, Monika Bauerlein...

Newsrooms can be funded in many ways. One of the most controversial (and volatile) ways is by a for-profit corporation or a billionaire owner. We see it across the headlines on a weekly basis: the claw backs in public media, the gutting of The Washington Post, the bending over backwards to appeal to Trump and his allies.

But not here.

When Mother Jones first started publishing 50 years ago, our founders made a critical decision: to be a reader-supported nonprofit. They knew that no corporate owner would be interested in a muckraking newsroom; they also knew that no muckraking newsroom would be interested in following the agenda of a corporate owner.

And so, we’ve been reader-funded for half a century. We rely on contributions from our readers—readers like you—whether it’s $50, or $15 a month, or whatever fits your budget. People give what they can, and every donation makes a difference for our newsroom, which has grown tremendously—in size and reach and renown—since its inception in 1976.

You may be wondering: What does it take to publish an investigation? And what does my donation actually fund? The answers are one and the same: It takes people, resources, and time. And that’s what your donation funds directly.

Every donation Mother Jones receives from readers fortifies our newsroom, whether we’re covering underreported scandals out of Washington, DC, or the most important news of the day. And right now, each donation will be doubled because of our $50,000 match. So when you make a donation—$5, $50, any amount—it’ll go twice as far.

Your support keeps us going. If you’re able, donate today.

Thanks for reading.

—Monika

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