Last November, a Politico article titled "Revenge of the rural voter" quoted a Democratic operative acknowledging that Hillary Clinton lost rural voters 3 to 1. If she had only lost them 2 to 1, the source added, the election "would have broken differently."
Now rural voters stand to lose big in the budget proposed by the guy they placed their faith in, writes Jose DelReal of the Washington Post:
Rural Americans stand to lose billions of dollars in federal assistance to support infrastructure and economic development in their communities, according to an analysis of the Trump administration’s 2018 federal budget. Many of the programs for elimination provide direct services to rural areas where Trump is most popular.
The White House would slash rural housing subsidies, mortgage loan guarantees, programs that maintain clean water and other utilities and independent agencies that support job training programs. In many cases, states would be expected to offset spending cuts to critical infrastructure, like sewer repairs; but in other cases, including development grants that revitalize neighborhoods or seed new local businesses, communities would likely have to turn to private organizations for funding or assistance.
Rural internet users, homeowners, first-time homebuyers, business owners, people with low incomes, renters, and farmers are just some of the people who could be directly impacted by Trump’s proposed cuts to federal programs like the Rural Housing Insurance Fund, Rural Utilities Service, USDA’s Rural Housing Service, Agricultural Research Service, housing repair grants, and subsidies to renters in rural areas, among other federal assistance.
And in some cases, people in rural areas wouldn't even know what's hit 'em because the programs aren't widely understood.
For instance, the proposed elimination of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and the Delta Regional Commission would take away services and projects that often float under the radar.
Because many infrastructure projects, such as sewer system overhauls and highway repairs, are not high-profile, many Americans who benefit from such federal funding are unaware. In Kentucky, one program funded by the ARC is helping retrain workers who have lost their jobs in computer training, including coal miners; other funding has gone toward creating seniors centers, community kitchens, drug rehabilitation spaces and educational programs.
Trump’s budget really kicks rural voters in the teeth. And although Congress isn’t likely to adopt the budget as is, it will still serve as a blueprint for the budget that GOP lawmakers will ultimately advance this fall.