OPINION:
I was worried when President Trump hired Mick Mulvaney as not only his budget director, but also as his chief of staff. I’ve heard from several reliable sources that it is largely Mr. Mulvaney who is behind Mr. Trump’s current budget proposal, which would deeply cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Mr. Mulvaney is also behind Mr. Trump’s efforts to abolish Obamacare.
When he was a congressman, Mr. Mulvaney was widely known for saying that Social Security was a “Ponzi scheme” that should be abolished, and he was a favorite of the tea party.
Mr. Mulvaney is an example of the growing number of conservatives who are actually (but won’t publicly admit it) survival-of-the-fittest, social Darwinists whose ultimate goal is to see all federal government social programs abolished. They don’t believe that the federal government should spend one cent on helping anyone (except for corporations, of course). Other such individuals can be found in the House Freedom Caucus and among “The “Movement” conservatives, which include Paul Ryan and Ted Cruz, and Vice President Mike Pence.
This is why there are many “liberal/progressive” Democrats like myself who would actually prefer Mr. Trump over Mr. Pence — even though we have a very low personal and professional opinion of the current president.
STEWART B. EPSTEIN
Rochester, N.Y.
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