While he pretty much did nothing to actually try to get the black vote, Donald Trump was notorious for saying on the campaign trail that blacks had nothing to lose by voting for him. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. For all of Trump’s promises to bring back jobs and restore the inner city, it has always been doubtful that any of his policies would actually be helpful to black Americans. And now that his budget plans are out, we have concrete proof. According to civil rights leaders, human services administrators and labor experts, this plan will be disastrous for black America.
Marc Morial, CEO of the National Urban League, told the New York Daily News that the budget proposal points to the Trump administration's coming “assault on poor people in America.”
In New York, city housing officials have already begun to brace for draconian cuts to the housing programs that thousands of people rely on. The New York City Housing Authority will see at least $35 million in cuts this year, the biggest cut in funding for the NYCHA in five years. Administrators are anticipating cuts as high as $150 million.
Not only does the budget mean severe cuts to public housing, it calls for $6 billion in cuts to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, meaning blacks will also no longer be able to participate in HUD’s home ownership programs which are also up for elimination. Add that to cuts in federal employment and things don’t bode well for black folks—at all.
Not surprisingly, the moves to slash jobs will have a significant impact on African Americans, who hold about 18 percent of federal civilian jobs, while making up around 13 percent of the U.S. population. The unemployment rate for African-Americans remains twice that of the national average, and federal employment has historically been one of the few ways African Americans have been able to propel themselves into the middle class.
According to the University of California, Berkeley's Center for Labor Research and Education, blacks are 30 percent more likely than non-blacks to work in the public sector, and about 21 percent of black workers are public employees, compared to 16.3 percent of non-blacks.
Isn’t taking away housing, cutting jobs and decreasing home ownership the very opposite of how he promised to make life better for black people? Makes one wonder if Trump’s buddy Ben Carson understands that not only does Trump not intend to help any black people, he’s also trying to make life harder for Ben by gutting the very agency that Ben is in charge of. Good thing none of us had high hopes for what we would do for Black America.