Action 107 Follow the money
to Trump and the Republicans’ war on information and education.
In February of 2016, Trump casually remarked “I love the poorly educated”. That statement raised more than a few eyebrows at the time. It certainly does now, in his second term. A few weeks ago, economist and author Dr. Julianne Malveaux wrote: “The 47th President loves the poorly educated because he knows how to manipulate them and because the less you know, the more you can be persuaded by false rhetoric... This president loves the poorly educated because they are most easily exploited... This is the era of the MisEducation of the Marginalized. Scrubbing our history books of reference to Black, Brown, and other patriots is just a first step to dismantling any notion of critical thinking. This current President and his minions are dedicated to ignorance, and indeed, they love the ‘poorly educated’. What does this mean for our nation’s future?” (1).
Indeed, that is the question, but the attack on our educational system is just the tip of the iceberg. Trump and his Republican henchmen are attempting to dismantle and intimidate broad categories of public intelligence and creative, critical, and empathetic thought upon which the greatness of America has always rested. They are attempting to silence and weaken (2): public non-sectarian schools (3), universities and libraries (4), scientific research (5), public broadcasting (6), Wikipedia (the nation’s encyclopedia) (7), factual history and museums (8), and the higher forms of artistic expression (9). This is all reflected in the Republican budget as well as in targeted, unwarranted investigations and replacement of esteemed experts with Trump loyalists (10). In addition, businesses and consumers need reliable health, environmental, and economic information collected by independent government agencies: such information is already becoming unreliable and under the budget plan, it will be even worse.
In addition to these direct attacks on our cultural infrastructure through his budget, Trump et al are fostering degradation of the public discourse through lies, distortions, attempts at direct censorship, and retribution against those who dare to contradict him (11). Distortions include extreme truth inversion (aka Orwellian “doublethink”) such as the denial of verified election results, and the denial of man-made climate change in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Additionally, strategic security intelligence is likely no longer shared with trusted allies and trading partners around the world, leaving us defenseless against predatory adversaries. In the absence of a robust marketplace of ideas built on truth and mutual respect, our democratic political system ceases to function, which appears to be Trump’s aim (12).
What can we do as individuals to save the contributions to civilization that have been made by this nation, which was once the undisputed leader of the free world in both economic and intellectual prowess? How can we regain our footing, or is it even going to be possible? Answer: It will not be easy, as destruction is far easier to achieve than rebuilding.
One answer may lie in our immediate, strident and uncompromising rejection of the Trump budget priorities. The Budget Reconciliation Bill is “the GOP’s vehicle for providing more tax breaks for billionaires, paid for by everyone else.” In addition to slashing programs for the poor and marginalized, it is drastically cutting essential federal support for everything that boosts our intellectual development as a society.
The budget is not an easy or enjoyable subject, but it is super important. Fortunately, we have an analysis by Nobel Prize economist Paul Krugman (13) who writes “...like all budgets, Friday’s document was a statement of values and priorities, and federal spending will surely move in the direction it points...I found this budget horrifying.” He goes on to explain that the bulk of the budget - about 75% - is not really up to the discretion of the administration, because it is obligated to promised payments for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and interest on the national debt. Cutting Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid would be politically suicidal, and of course defaulting on the national debt would be economically catastrophic. Another 11% is set aside for defense. If cuts to defense are off the table (why?), we are left with only 14% of the total budget for the administration to “play with” in order to give its tax cuts to billionaires. This 14% amounts to around $960 billion, around 3% of GDP. Trump’s budget proposes to cut it 22%, to less than 2% of GDP, the lowest amount by far since 1986. Where will the cuts come from? (14) Krugman explains:
“...the budget removes almost anything that hints at empathy toward people in difficulty, be they citizens of poor countries or U.S. citizens living in poverty. Bear in mind that Elon Musk has said that empathy is the fundamental weakness of Western civilization.” So, of interest to Mainers, LIHEAP is in the crosshairs, along with USAID. “Second, the budget proposal takes aim at science. It’s especially harsh on research that might affirm climate change or the usefulness of vaccines, but there’s a clear hostility to science in general...And we’re talking about really massive cuts... we’re arguably looking at the destruction of the whole edifice of US science, not some time in the future, but right away.” Krugman then asks rhetorical questions: “Is this in the national interest? Is this responsible fiscal policy?” which he then answers:
“This is, in fact, an incredibly irresponsible budget proposal. It might save some money in the very short run, but not much, because discretionary spending is where the money isn’t.” [Remember, excluding the military, it only represents 14% of total spending.] “Beyond that, the cuts would reduce US economic growth and ultimately even increase the budget deficit, because lower growth means lower revenue.”
“This is obviously true for the cuts to science funding. American leadership in science is one of the pillars of our economic success. Tearing that pillar down is willfully sacrificing one of our key strengths. Some of the costs will come quickly, as foreign students stop coming to America and global businesses invest in places that aren’t hostile to knowledge.”
“Even humanitarian spending serves American interests. Foreign aid is a key tool promoting U.S. influence. Helping poor families within our country isn’t just the decent thing to do, it’s an investment in our future, because children who have adequate nutrition and medical care grow up to become more productive adults.”
Action: Let our Congressional Delegation know that you oppose Trump’s budget and you are insisting they do not approve it. You want a full explanation in terms you can easily understand, for example, pie charts (15) with lists of programs in each sector, with current and proposed budgets. It is especially important to speak with Susan Collins’ representative, as she is the kingpin on the Appropriations Committee. Two possible legislative aides in her DC office are: Allison Feikes (allison_feikes@collins.senate.gov) and Michael Mets (michael_mets@collins.senate.gov)
Since budgets are supposed to be a function of the House, contact Jared Golden also, and good luck with that.
Contact:
Senator Susan Collins: Email: www.collins.senate.gov/contact/email-senator-collins/form
Phone: (202) 224-2523 (DC office), (207) 945-0417 (Bangor office)
Senator Angus King: Email www.king.senate.gov/contact
Phone: (202) 224-5344 (DC office), (207) 945-8000 (Bangor office)
Representative Jared Golden: Email: golden.house.gov/contact
Phone: (202) 224-3121 (DC office), (207) 249-7400 (Bangor office)
Representative Chellie Pingree: Email: https://pingree.house.gov/contact/
Phone: (202) 225-6116 (DC office), (207) 774-5019 (Portland office)
Urgency: Make a simple phone call this week, expressing your “concern” with the inappropriate budget cuts and asking to be kept in the loop on budget negotiations. If you want to dig deeper, develop a relationship with a staffer with whom you can discuss ongoing negotiations. Resist the cuts to any program you care about, because they are all on the chopping block. Reference (14) has the best summary so far.
Extra Credit:
Ø (1)https://chicagocrusader.com/trump-loves-the-poorly-educated/ Also, speaking of performative stupidity, there’s this: https://www.borowitzreport.com/p/is-this-the-most-annoying-politician
Ø (2) The articles on these subjects are too numerous to list. While you are “doing your own research”, just type in your search bar “Trump’s War on _______” and fill in the blank. You are bound to get a bunch of hits.
The following (items 3-11) are just some easily found samples.
Ø (3) https://www.aclu.org/news/racial-justice/trumps-attack-on-the-department-of-education-explained
Ø (4) https://pen.org/by-the-numbers-the-trump-administrations-assault-on-universities/
Ø (5) https://theqsjournal.substack.com/p/bio-lab-seeks-support-for-medical?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=314693&post_id=162825945&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=dvsxz&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email If this is behind a paywall, here is Dr. Haller’s direct testimony (MDI Biological Lab):
https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/hermann_haller_testimony_43025.pdf
Ø (6) https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/trump-npr-pbs-threat/
Ø (7) https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-d-c-prosecutor-going-185144861.html
Ø (9) https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2025/feb/22/trump-administration-arts
Ø (10) Or even Trump himself. Who can forget the inappropriateness of Trump declaring himself the head of the Kennedy Center? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=er5iFqVxKmw.
Ø (11) https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/former-aide-refuted-trumps-false-2020-election-claims-federal-investig-rcna204394 Many other examples.
Ø (12) https://www.pressherald.com/2025/05/03/educated-citizens-are-magas-greatest-enemy-opinion/
Ø (13) “Understanding Trump’s Budget Proposal”, Paul Krugman on Substack, May 4 2025
Ø (15) https://www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/spending/ Examples from Fiscal Year 2021shown.
Total spending:
A breakdown of discretionary spending (yellow pie piece in the above chart, which includes the military). Trump and Vought are going after everything in the colored wedges below, except for the military, which they intend to expand.
