The Trump administration has decided that providing Americans who have suffered debilitating illnesses or disabilities with just enough resources to stay fed is much too generous. As far as Trump budget director Mick Mulvaney is concerned, people relying on Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) are scamming the government, writes Jacqueline Alemany.
When Budget Director Mick Mulvaney assumed the podium in the White House briefing room last week and previewed the administration's 2018 budget, Heather Block's fears quickly turned to outrage.
Block, a 54-year-old former international aid worker from Lewes, Delaware, listened with growing anger as Mulvaney promised to slice $72 billion from Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) over the next ten years. The cuts are among $1.74 trillion in social welfare cuts proposed by the Trump administration, a sweeping plan that could kick people like Block off a program, known as SSDI, that keeps her financially afloat.
"Where are the morals of the people going after people dealing with Stage 4 cancer?" recalled Block, who has been on disability for five years after her cancer spread to her liver and lungs. "The people I know, like me, with advanced cancer — we've wanted to be in the workplace, but we don't have that ability now, so this is our income."
Block is among the people Mulvaney passed off as scammers when he justified cutting off supplementary income for people who literally aren't well enough to work. Never mind compassion, Mulvaney is enthused about saving the government billions—so what if people starve?
"Shouldn't it be up to the government to make sure we can look folks who are paying the taxes in the eye and say, you know what, we did everything we could to make sure that everybody on SSDI is really disabled," Mr. Mulvaney said.
When he first introduced the budget, Mulvaney notably told reporters, “We’re no longer going to measure compassion by the number of programs or the number of people on those programs, but by the number of people we help get off of those programs.” He forgot to add, “… by any means possible.”
Every day is another nightmare with this administration. The lack of basic human compassion and empathy—forget about grounding in fact or truth—is simply beyond words. How are these ghouls running our government?