Jeb Bladine: Americans tortuously trying to ‘follow the money’
Americans are stunned by the explosion of controversial statements, policies, executive orders and vengeful actions radiating from the White House. So much so — intentionally? — as to distract people from the prime directive of political analysis most famously associated with the 1976 film, “All the President’s Men”:
“Follow the money.”
The U.S. House and Senate have reached reconciliation on the 2025-26 federal budget, with a mind-boggling array of decisions and amendments on massive spending, major cuts and taxes. For brave souls wanting to review that congressional process, here’s a link: tinyurl.com/budgetreconciliation.
Next comes implementation of those decisions, coinciding with the chainsaw slashing of federal spending and first media reports on the Trump administration’s draft plans for 2026 budget actions. Here are snippets from a few of those reports:
Washington Post: “… seeking to deeply slash budgets for federal health programs, a roughly one-third cut in discretionary spending by the Department of Health and Human Services.”
Time: “Among the programs targeted for cuts is Head Start, which has for 60 years provided comprehensive early childhood education and care for low-income families … The plan to fully eliminate Head Start … would impact about 750,000 children, according to the nonprofit National Head Start Association.”
Associated Press: “AmeriCorps’ National Civilian Community Corps informed volunteers Tuesday (this week) that they would exit the program early ‘due to programmatic circumstances beyond your control,’ according an email obtained by The Associated Press.”
Forbes: “With federal cuts likely on the horizon and teacher shortages worsening, the future of special education hangs in the balance. Without immediate action, the laudable goals of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the promise of a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) may become unattainable.”
Politico: “Public health initiatives aimed at HIV/AIDS prevention would no longer exist. Major parts of the National Institutes of Health would be abolished. The Food and Drug Administration would cease routine inspections at food facilities. And funding for many of the administration’s priorities are on the chopping block, including federal programs focused on autism, chronic disease, drug abuse and mental health.”
People who agree on the need to reduce government overspending, waste and abuse can also agree on the need for more scalpels and fewer chainsaws in the process. History is replete with examples of major government spending cuts that produced onerous future results:
Closure of U.S. mental health facilities from the 1960s to 1980s; NASA cuts after Apollo; reductions in affordable housing investments from the 1980s forward; nationwide infrastructure investment cuts post-1980s, such as cost-cutting on the Flint, Michigan, water supply without adequate treatment protocols; cuts to FEMA in 2000s, before Hurricane Katrina; state reductions in education spending after the 2008 recession.
Today, all of America and much of the world is waiting and watching, and trying tortuously to follow the money through every imaginable cliché: with bated breath, on pins and needles, all agog, on tenterhooks, with heart in mouth, all of a dither, hot and bothered, and waiting for the ax to fall.
Jeb Bladine can be reached at jbladine@newsregister.com or 503-687-1223.
Comments