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Hickenlooper calls Trump administration’s proposed budget ‘Robin Hood in reverse’

By Ernest Luning 05/24/2017 | updated 8 years ago

Gov. John Hickenlooper on Tuesday called President Donald Trump’s $4.1 trillion budget plan “devastating” and charged the proposed massive cuts in domestic and safety-net spending amount to “Robin Hood in reverse – stealing from the poor (and the middle class) to give to the rich.”

Calling it “A New Foundation for American Greatness,” the Trump administration had earlier in the day unveiled its first proposed budget, for the fiscal year beginning in October,  including cuts totaling roughly $3.6 trillion over the next decade.

While defense spending and border security would see initial jumps in spending – the military would get a 10-percent boost and the budget sets aside $1.6 billion to start construction of a wall long the Mexican border – the proposal would cut $600 billion from Medicaid spending over 10 years, as well as slash federal funding for food stamps by $193 billion over the same period, as well as imposing steep cuts to the Social Security Disability Insurance program.

The budget would eliminate 66 programs entirely, The Hill’s Niv Elis reports, including the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the National Endowment for the Arts and the U.S. Institute of Peace, saving $26.7 billion.

“President Trump’s budget proposal is devastating,” Hickenlooper, a Democrat, said in a statement. “We have worked hard to create an environment that supports what is now the top economy in the country and makes Colorado a great place to live. The impact of cuts to Medicaid, Social Security and other programs – for the purpose of funding massive tax breaks for the wealthy – is out of step with Colorado’s values. It threatens our hard-earned progress, pushes costs back to the state, and transfers additional burden to those who can least afford it. It really is Robin Hood in reverse – stealing from the poor (and the middle class) to give to the rich.”

– ernest@coloradostatesman.com

Ernest Luning

Reporter

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