On March 16, President Donald Trump unveiled the details of his budget confirming he would be cutting and the list speaks volumes.

Trump is increasing defense spending; that is not really necessary, so he has to cut other things that are necessary. Trump’s budget would cut off funding entirely for several agencies, including arts, public broadcasting and development groups, and also proposes steep cuts to agencies like the State Department and Environmental Protection Agency. This will have a direct negative impact on some of the most vulnerable parts of society. The arts and public broadcasting help a lot of kids, especially those lacking from under privileged backgrounds.

President Trump speaks during a rally on Wednesday in Nashville, Tenn., a day before his budget proposal was released. NPR

Most critically, public media reaches 68 percent of all kids age 2 to 8, providing educational media that’s proven to prepare kids for school, especially low-income and underserved children who do not attend pre-school.. That means kids who are not able to attend school might lose the little education they are obtaining through PBS. So who would be affected by this in the low income bracket? “…nearly half, or 47 percent, of working families headed by racial or ethnic minorities are poor or low income, compared to just 23 percent of white families. Breaking it down further, 55 percent of working Latino and nearly half of African-American and Native American families who work are low income, but less than a quarter of white families are.” Trump doesn’t stop there though.

The arts programs being cut will affect a similar group of people. Although all states would suffer under the proposed budget, poor and rural communities would be hardest hit. About 25 percent of NEA block-grant funds go to rural communities and 54 percent to low-income areas. Low income areas hit equals people of color are losing opportunities. And instead these kids could fall into more dangerous patterns when they could be staying after school learning valuable things. “The researchers analyzed education, crime, and census data from 39 Rhode Island cities for five years. Two of the three statistical models showed that participation in educational after-school activities was associated with lower juvenile crime rates in the same year. In one of the statistical models, a 10 percent increase in participation was associated with a 4 percent decrease in juvenile crime rates… Higher participation rates in lower-income towns—towns with median incomes less than the area’s median income—were slightly more effective: a 10 percent increase in participation meant a 5.4 percent decrease in juvenile crime.”

After school programs are vital to people in low income areas, and Trump has made his stately clear by this point; he does not care about anyone who is not in his bracket. And the only ones really in his bracket are white and privileged. Not only does it appear that Trump does not care about the least privileged in society, but he doesn’t care about wildlife and the environment.

The proposal would slash funding for enforcing regulations, fighting water pollution, cleaning up sites contaminated by toxic waste and promoting energy-efficient appliances. It would eliminate 3,200 EPA employees, or 19 percent of the agency’s workforce.. Pollution that hurts the earth and humans would increase, toxic waste that kills animals would increase and energy efficient appliances that help decrease oil use will be decreased.

What Trump is really saying with these budget cuts is that the priority isn’t making the life of the least privileged human better but pacifying his supporters and his political party.

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