We already know that President Trump has proposed slashing Medicare spending in his budget proposals. Now, Bess Levin reports for Vanity Fair that President Trump has told friends that he would like to gut Medicare if he is reelected. Will this be his undoing, at least among older adults who supported him in 2016?
To repeat, Trump’s plan for reducing the federal deficit is likely to be eliminating Medicare and the economic and financial security that it offers older adults, people with disabilities and their families. But, he knows better than to say so publicly right now. Trump will not campaign for reelection on gutting Medicare.
On Medicare, Trump’s views are aligned with the Republican party. So, if the Republicans hold the Senate in 2020, gutting Medicare is likely to be a major priority. The Republican Party sees gutting Medicare as an easy way to reduce the deficit while still keeping taxes low for the wealthy and the big corporations.
More likely than not, Trump will tell Americans that he has no plans to cut Medicare and Social Security. That’s what he did in 2016. Still, once elected, he put forward proposals to slash Medicare. In his 2020 budget, Trump proposed $845 billion in cuts to Medicare. And, he abandoned his plan to lower drug prices for people with Medicare.
Now, Trump wants to make good on his 2016 campaign promise to eliminate the deficit, which is projected to reach $960 billion by the end of September. He sees slashing Medicare as the way to do so. He wouldn’t think of raising taxes. He wants to keep taxes for the wealthy and corporations low. In fact, he wants to cut taxes further, by lowering the capital gains tax and reducing payroll taxes, both of which will only increase the deficit.
Social Security is also on President Trump’s chopping block. Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) reports that President Trump is open to cutting Social Security as a “second-term” project.
Here’s more from Just Care:
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