Your Voice Matters! Let Your Voice Be Heard!
Dear Friends & Neighbors,
(Please click on red links & note magenta)
I wonder if you’ve heard about President Trump’s preliminary budget proposal for 2018 that was released on last Thursday, March 16, 2017. It details many of the changes that President Trump is planning on making for the federal government’s discretionary (not mandatory) spending. Click on the chart below for higher resolution (larger print)
President Trump’s Budget Proposal For 2018 Discretionary Spending
President Trump’s Budget Proposal for 2018 Discretionary Spending (compiled by Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker)
For a more complete picture of the situation, I spent some time calculating for the data values (% change) in the right-most or 4th column in the chart above: the Defense Department has the greatest % increase (8.859%), followed by Homeland Security (6.780%), then Veterans Affairs (5.906%). Rest of the 15 departments have all received budget cuts: NASA had the least % decrease (-0.800%), followed by Justice (-3.819), Treasury (-4.113%), Small Business Administration (-4.967%), Energy (-5.724% ), Interior (-11.450% ), Housing and Urban Development (-13.220% ), Transportation ( -12.900%), Education (-13.240% ), Commerce (-16.130% ), Health and Human Services ( -17.950%), Labor (-20.660 %), Agriculture (-20.800 %), State and Other Development Programs (-28.290% ), Environmental Protection Agency ( -31.330%)
Overall, the Defense Department has the greatest budget increase in terms of amount of +$52 Billion and in terms of % change at +8.859%. The Small Business Administration has the greatest budget decrease in terms of amount of -$43.2 Billion. The EPA has the greatest budget decrease in terms of % change at -31.330%.
Yes, some of the programs such as Meals on Wheels for the elderly and National School Lunch Program for disadvantaged school children may be in jeopardy. Given that USA already has a military budget that is more than the next 7 nations’ military budgets combined, one is likely to question the wisdom behind the $52 Billion increase in Defense. In light of our global warming and scientific proofs of man’s impact on planet earth, the dramatic cut in EPA budget of -31.33% is not welcomed. Finally, small businesses are the backbone of U.S. economy. The dramatic decrease of $43.2 billion for the Small Business Administration will negatively impact U.S. economy in the long run.
Discretionary spending limits (addressed by this proposal), are set by congressional budget resolutions. Congress typically makes changes to the president’s proposal. For example, lawmakers disregarded Obama’s budget proposal altogether last year. Mandatory spending is set by other laws and is often determined by the size of the benefit and the eligible population.
So, if you have any strong feeling or opinion toward this budget proposal, it would be a good idea to write to your Congress person.If you want to confirm the name(s) of your representatives, please feel free to go to this site (<–click) and obtain the name(s) of your representatives by entering your zip code.
Your Voice Matters! Let Your Voice Be Heard!
More about the community at www.WindermereSun.com
We Need Fair Value of Solar
~Let’s Help One Another~
Please also get into the habit of checking at these sites below for more on solar energy topics:
www.kiva.org/team/sunisthefuture
www.facebook.com/sunisthefuture
www.pinterest.com/sunisthefuture
www.youtube.com/user/sunisthefuture
www.cafepress.com/sunisthefuture
