Letter to the Editor: Trump’s budget only fattens Pentagon

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Donald Trump just released his budget plan and it is as bad as I feared — $54 billion more for war, while slashing life-saving programs here and around the world. With Trump’s disastrous plan making headlines, now is the time to stand up for what we know is right.

We are living in turbulent times. Under the Trump administration, we are seeing a rise in fear and anger because of the terrifying push to undermine women’s rights, human rights and now humanitarian aid globally.

His budget proposal will leave millions of people vulnerable to famine and without access to basic healthcare, food, and shelter, all under the guise of increasing America’s security. It’s dangerous, counterproductive, and downright wrong.

My grandmother once shared a story with me of her childhood when her family was in Europe, being murdered by Hitler. She was one of the youngest children in her family and every day, they had to scavenge for food to try to survive. If they were lucky, they might have found something to eat, or were they escaped being found by the Nazis.

She told me how she would search by the side of the road for something to eat because there was simply no money for food, and no way to buy it for the oppressed Jewish people living in Poland. She and her family lived in constant fear of the war and the atrocities they witnessed.

My family was lucky: they survived, but many died. If Trump’s budget becomes law, countless others won’t. Millions of people around the world are now threatened by famine, with children under five most of those starving to death. Conflicts and drought, often fueled by climate change, have devastated regions across the world.

We cannot stand by while our government tries to justify increasing the Pentagon’s bloated budget by cutting humanitarian programs that give life-saving support to those in need. Trump’s budget proposal flies in the face of everything we stand for.

Pouring money into the overstuffed pockets of the Pentagon is not the answer, especially when we sacrifice the environment, public health and our commitment to helping those in need to do so.

Now is the time to let people know that the lives of our brothers and sisters, at home and around the world, take priority over an unneeded and dangerous spending binge at the Pentagon. It is time for us to get our priorities straight.

Mindy Schwartz

Radnor

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