Crossroads

            President Trump’s budget is going nowhere; it will not survive the slings and arrows of Congress. It is instructive, however, in spelling out the President’s view of the role of the executive branch of the federal government. First and foremost is the protection of the citizens of this country. Hence, his proposed increases for defense, homeland security, and veterans’ affairs.

            Conversely, he sees a diminished role for federal agencies in areas best managed at the state and local levels. The budget's prime target is the EPA, which has issued thousands of regulations in the last eight years governing everything from smokestacks to puddles. 

             In short, President Trump’s budget is a rejection of the socialist ideology that prefers all decision-making to be in the hands of the government rather than with the citizens directly affected by those decisions. It reflects the conservative principle that, except for national defense, the government should not be doing for people what they could be doing for themselves.

            There is not much point in discussing individual line items in the budget, because Republican legislators will gut proposals that defund their pet projects, while the Democrats will instinctively reject outright any ideas put forth by a president they despise. What will remain at the end of this fruitless exercise is the question American voters will have to answer: Is the President taking us in the right direction?

            A parallel proposal is about to be placed before Congress: Repeal and Replace ObamaCare.  After all the haggling between moderate and conservative Republicans, a bill will be voted on by the full House. Most Republicans will vote for it, if only to deliver on their campaign promise. But if enough mavericks in the Senate vote No, it will die, and Americans will blame everybody for subjecting them to another year of the ObamaCare monstrosity.

            If Repeal and Replace fails, tax reform most likely will fail also. Maybe the only survivor will be a trillion-dollar infrastructure spending bill, because legislators love to spend money. To hell with the debt. And if you think this will put President Trump and Congress in a mood to begin a necessary reform of entitlements, guess again.

            We are at a crossroad. What happens in the next few months will decide the fundamental direction of this country. Nothing less.