In recent news, Donald Trump has proposed a federal budget of $4.4 trillion, which creates an over $1 trillion deficit in overall government spending. The budget deficit mostly results from the new tax overhaul that was introduced at the end of 2017 and creates significant problems in the issue of balancing for the next ten years in overall financing for the nation. With Republicans in power, there is an overall trend to see the deficit rise higher and higher, which is ironic considering the overall ideology of the Republican base.
Within the overall budget increase, Trump is calling for a discriminatory $1.5 trillion infrastructure spending program that would target rural areas as opposed to urban and more populous areas. Trump is also asking for $13 billion to go to opioid prevention and roughly $18 billion for the proposed border wall. The entire budget also proposes significant cuts to most non-defense agencies and cuts into the funds allocated for critical programs related to education, food and protection as well as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The entire budget itself seems to run contrary to what most Republicans in Congress adhere to when it comes to the specifics of the ideologies of conservatism. Most conservative Republicans abhor deficit spending and increased government spending. Their ideology guides the notion of private investment and the strength of the private sector rather than the public sector. Conservatives argue against the role of the government following this logic and view government spending as an increase in the government's influence in American life. However, almost paradoxically, many Republicans, especially tea party republicans are voicing praise and satisfaction over Trump's proposed deficit spending plan. These members of the Republican party vehemently opposed deficit spending under the Obama administration under smaller margins for augmenting welfare programs and other non-defense programs.
Despite these proposals, most experts and former aides to Presidential administrations have expressed their skepticism about the approval of Trump's budget. Usually, COngress rejects parts of many initial budget proposals by presidents, but many of these experts believe that Congress may reject the entire budget proposal with what is defined and appropriated. Considering that many of the selling points of the deficit-spending may not apply. Proponents of the proposed budget have argued that there would be a slight surplus after a period of ten years, but that relied on a specific accounting mechanism that no longer exists since the passage of the tax overhaul. All in all, Trump's proposed deficit spending seems to be, like the American Healthcare Act, dead on arrival.
