Opinion: Trump budget cuts are detrimental to Massachusetts

The Trump Administration has imposed massive cuts directly impacting the Massachusetts education and medicine sectors. The cut of $106 million of funding for K-12 schools and an expected $500 million per year in funding for the National Health Organization is leaving citizens fearful of the repercussions that are destined to follow. These changes will be detrimental to Massachusetts and the rest of the country, proving for the umpteenth time that the president and his administration are actively working against the best interests of the American people.

Massachusetts is one of the biggest centers of education and medicine in the country, earning the most NIH funding per capita for medical research and education. Those areas drive our economy, arguably making our state one of the strongest. Earning the #1 spot for best school systems in the country from CBS and home to some of the most esteemed hospitals in the world, Massachusetts is the blueprint of excellence in the education and medicine sphere.  With monumental cuts like this, what does it mean for the people of Massachusetts? What does it mean for our jobs? Our healthcare? Quality of our schools? Our economy? 

Making up 28% of the Massachusetts labor market, education and medicine drive our economy. With cuts like these, layoffs are naturally destined to ensue. Brigham and Women's Hospital has already begun such layoffs, drowning in the debt caused by COVID-19. Eliminating 1,500 jobs, managers and administration workers of the Brigham began to leave their positions starting in February. Although they may not have been clinical workers, they still play a fundamental role in the strength of the level of care provided by these prestigious hospitals. After being laid off, the director of the Domestic Violence Program is no longer able to use their specialty to provide counseling to victims of survivors of human trafficking and other abuse. 

From an economic perspective, this budget cut for healthcare is only going to have negative impacts. According to the United for Medical research organization, each dollar that is invested in the NIH generates $2.46 in economic activity. When people are being laid off in mass amounts, consumer spending will decrease, which will only be a domino effect to end up dampening the economy. If you support Trump because of the belief he is going to “boost our economy” to benefit you and your wallet, I encourage you to challenge that thought. 

The NIH provides significant funding for the numerous research universities and other medical research done in Massachusetts.  It's where advancement in medicine takes place. Additionally, being the largest benefactor of cancer research, the recent cuts have left patients and doctors fearful of the security of cancer research and treatment. Congress is also pushing to cut $880 billion from funding from medicaid programs, which would in turn affect Massachusetts programs such as MassHealth that provide healthcare for the low-income residents of Massachusetts. 

I’m not the only one who thinks that these cuts are downright outrageous. 22 Massachusetts attorneys general, led by Judge Andrea Campbell, sued the Trump administration, hoping to halt the budget cuts. 

The cuts do not stop in the medical field. Massachusetts education is receiving a consequential cut of $106 million to Massachusetts schools and $2 billion across 41 states. Detesting the recent changes in funding for schools, the Maura Healey administration called the termination of grants “illegal,” stating they will “only take us backwards.” With these funds being cut, districts are at risk of losing support for mental health, tutoring, school security,  building improvements, and pandemic-related learning loss, which remains a prevalent issue even five years after the start of the epidemic. Following the cuts, districts like Revere have to halt plans to build a new elementary school after the $4.5 million blow to their funding. This is only a small example of the impacts that will ensue in districts across the state. Springfield schools will by far take the hardest hit, losing $47,357,654 in funding. And on top of all that, President Trump utilized his executive power to dismantle the Department of Education, taking away the federal protections it guaranteed for students across the country. 

I wish I could say I believed this administration was working in our best interest, but it is becoming abundantly clear that is far from the truth. The institutions that Massachusetts prides itself on for outstanding healthcare and education are the target of the Trump administration's agenda. These budget cuts will only weaken us as a state and a nation. Trump is not working for the people. Not the people of this country, and most definitely not the people of Massachusetts.