Dear John,
We’re about to see the biggest federal budget fights of our lifetimes. And we’re ready.
The incoming Trump administration is taking shape with promises by billionaire Elon Musk to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget through the non-governmental “Department of Government Efficiency,” or DOGE. It’s a serious misnomer. There’s no way to make that level of cuts without laying waste to trusted programs like Social Security and Medicare, Medicaid, and veterans’ benefits. That’s cruelty, not efficiency.
But we do know where budget cuts are desperately needed. The average taxpayer last year gave $3,719 for the Pentagon and war, including $1,748 for Pentagon contractors. In recent years, more than half of the Pentagon budget has gone to corporate contractors. Meanwhile, news broke this month that the Pentagon failed its seventh audit in a row (having never passed one). Despite all this, if the second Trump administration follows the path of the first, planned cuts to social programs will be paired with massive Pentagon budget boosts.
Likewise, in the 20 years after 9/11, the U.S. spent $1.4 trillion on the failed Department of Homeland Security - a disaster that’s likely to multiply if Congress supports the Trump administration's ghastly plans to conduct mass deportations.
Believe it or not, we can expect some wins against these plans. State and local governments are shoring up defenses against possible abuses. Movements are strategizing about legal challenges, mass protests, and good old-fashioned public information sharing. There will be plenty of misinformation out there, and we’re here and more than ready to counter it.
The 2024 election is over, but the fight is just beginning.
In solidarity,
Lindsay, Hanna, Alliyah, and Aspen
