Like many Americans I am shocked by how quickly this second Trump Presidency is dismantling the Federal Government.
I’m especially mourning the seeming loss of any compassion. Yes, the Federal Government could be clunky and bureaucratic, but at least it was trying to make people’s lives better.
Several months ago I started working on a blog post with the working title, “I prayed to God for help, the help came from the government.” This was supposed to be a response to the rhetoric of “Letting God Prevail” in our lives. I had realized that many of the times I felt God prevailing in my life I was actually receiving the benefits of social programs.
For example, the first time my husband and I filed taxes after our twins were born we received a large tax refund mostly due to the Earned Income Tax Credit. That refund allowed us to pay off a car loan, buy some much needed items, and still put money into savings. We had been scrimping and saving to get by. That refund felt like a gift from God. Looking back it still feels like a gift from God, but I am also able to see that it was the result of progressive policies put in place by people who cared about low income families.
I never finished writing that blog post, but in light of the way the current administration aiming to cut social programs I feel it is important to chronicle the many ways the federal government helped my young family.
Before I had children I assumed that my husband and I would never need to rely on social programs. Our income would be high and/or our budgeting skills would be disciplined enough to keep us from needing any sort of “handouts.” That illusion was shattered rather quickly. My husband graduated from college into the economy of the Great Recession. This was at the same time my body decided to figure out fertility – without consulting me. We had four children in less than three years. (Twins, a baby 17 months later, and then another baby 17 months after that.)
My husband’s first choice for a career did not work out. He joined the military to support our family and to try to do the military version of his career choice. His time in the military was cut short due to some medical concerns. He went back to school for a second degree in a related field. Soon after graduating with that degree the pandemic started and sent him in yet another career direction. When he did make it into a decent paying job, inflation made it so that a higher income didn’t go as far as it had a few years earlier.
Through all the changes I was grateful for the social programs that helped us keep our family afloat. WIC, Medicaid/CHIP, the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Additional Child Tax Credit, Free School Lunch and Breakfast, these programs helped our young family over and over again.
There were other ways the government helped my family. Here are a few of them:
- I have children with learning disabilities who have benefited from 504 plans and IEPs at school. My children currently attend Title 1 schools that have additional para-professionals to help with things like reading intervention.
- When my husband left the military he was able to go back to school thanks to the Post 9/11 GI Bill. His tuition was paid for and we received a housing allowance each month. He was able to pick the school in whatever state he wanted and only pay resident tuition because of the Yellow Ribbon program. He has had health care available through the VA.
- When my husband was back in school and I was working nearly full time we needed to send our children to daycare when they were not in school. A government program paid for the majority of the daycare bill.
- A couple years ago my family qualified for a grant that covered education related expenses. We were able to purchase musical instruments for my two oldest children with that grant.
- When my husband was terminated from a job he was able to collect unemployment benefits until he found a new job.
Occasionally we had help from our extended families or the church. But when I look back over the years since I became a parent I see that the bulk of the help our family received was from social programs administered by the state and federal government.
I used to think that God was providing all these “blessings” as a reward for my husband and I being faithful in raising our children despite numerus obstacles. I would like to still believe that God was helping us financially. But now I see that we were being helped by social programs that had been put in place by caring individuals who lobbied, advocated, and worked to get these programs established.
I am saddened to see the programs that I relied on be threatened. My children are older so I am able to work more now. I expected our family to no longer qualify for certain programs soon. But I worry about the parents with children younger than mine. They are going to be raising children in a world that is less kind. Will Medicaid exist to cover the cost of filling a cavity? Will the Department of Education exist and protect things like IEP’s for children who need extra support at school? Will children from low income families have food at lunch time?
These are just the programs that have affected me. I know that there are other programs that have been threatened or already shuttered. Things like USAID, Social Security, Medicare, the list seems to grow every day.
I am mourning the loss of the compassion our government used to have. And in some ways I’m mourning the loss of a God I once believed in. Who will answer prayers for help? Will God find another way to help families if the government isn’t doing the job? I’d like to hope so, but I’m not sure.
15 Responses
What a beautiful, vulnerable post! I too have benefitted from government programs. Last year my husband was laid off unexpectedly and it took 9 months to find a comparable job. We had savings but didn’t want to drain it paying cobra so we called to see if we could buy private insurance and were told we qualified for medicaid. I was so grateful for those benefits last year. We had several unexpected medical emergencies (we went to the ER more last year than in 20 years of marriage combined) and medicaid covered it all. I’m grateful it was there for us and heartbroken to see the government dismantling programs like this.
Social programs benefit ALL of us. I remember reading somewhere that most Americans are one job loss/medical emergency away from desperate financial need. It’s just the reality of the country we live in, the systems put in place.
I’m with you. I have felt – for a long time – the need to support policies that err on the side of compassion, not fear. Thank you for this lovely, vulnerable post! Sharing stories and sparking empathy is the way we change hearts.
Beautiful post. Thank you. I too have significantly benefited from government compassion funds. Most of the food I ate growing up was provided by food stamps and free/reduced lunches. Most of my higher education was paid for by federal grants. Now, my husband’s entire paycheck from the Boys and Girls Club is funded by DEI federal grants. I deliver Meals on Wheels to seniors, paid for by federal grants. My daughter thrives in high school because of her 504. These funds are allocated to underserved, often invisible, people because of compassionate leaders and elected officials who politically fought for and listened to people too often ignored by everyone else. I mourn the loss of compassionate government, too.
You never know when you’re going to need help in the form of social programs. I thought I was a reliable, responsible, hard-working career woman, but when I unexpectedly lost my job – as many do, though no fault of their own – I drew unemployment until I found another job. I would have survived without the unemployment, but my savings would have been significantly drawn down. Grateful for the resource, and grateful that it was as readily accessible as it was.
I think a lot about public education and what it has meant for my life. I went to college almost debt-free because I got scholarships funded by the taxpayers of Texas and then Arizona and private donors. (And much lower tuition costs, but that’s a back-in-my-day story.) Sure, I worked hard–but so did a lot of people who didn’t get scholarships because their lives were different and they didn’t have the same opportunities. I used to feel really good about how my choices really helped me succeed, but the older I’ve gotten the more I’ve seen how good government and a sense of community helped me to be successful.
Good government is also the best way to achieve so many of society’s goals. Are you against abortion? The single best way to reduce abortion in this country is to ensure that all women and girls have ready access to safe and effective birth control. (And good sex ed, but really, birth control.) Data shows that the abortion rate in the U.S. dropped considerably after the passage of the Affordable Care Act and it’s been climbing in recent years because birth control is now harder to access. Education and access to health care for ALL children makes all of society better, not just those children or families. The U.S. government is a huge (possibly the largest?) funder of research into cancer, dementia, chronic illnesses, stroke and so much more, from which we all benefit because we all love someone who has had one of these illnesses.
So beautifully written! And so very true. Having a financial floor under us, paid for by our own taxes or our own service to the country in many, if not most, cases is a godsend and not something to be ashamed of needing. The church has such a snobbish approach to “public welfare” and could use a good wallop of compassion itself. We’re wonderful at providing humanitarian assistance during disasters but members are pretty much on our own when it comes to needing help individually. Food and housing assistance from the church is trickled out, if granted at all. The old idea of pulling oneself up by the bootstraps only works for certain classes and castes of us white people who’ve never been slammed by life.
And yes, my husband and I reaped benefit from his military service, though he was only in for 4 years due to medical issues. The VA was there for him several times after he left the service. I even qualified for a loan during university years as an older student and eventually paid it back.. (This was before college became obscenely expensive. ) The church was not helpful during those 4 years, even though my husband ended up on disability. They thought I should “get a job,” and forget about my senior year. and my BA. And during those dreary months later when we were both out of work at the same time, we were so grateful for unemployment insurance benefits. Of course, we had earned them, just like social security and medicare, etc.
What the current regime is doing to this country is traitorous. The person doing the dirty work under illegal direction has no legal or political authority to meddle in and destroy our private lives. They’re bratty children doing things just to see what will happen. They won’t understand cause and effect when God’s retribution kicks in.
Thank you for this fantastic post. I moved to QC from the US 7 years ago, and I can see how its numerous social programs to protect women, children, and families make life more livable and decrease income disparity. I live near downtown in the international neighborhood, with lots of lower income families from all over the world. Provincial and federal safety nets keep families have more stability and back ups. We don’t have violence here, it’s a very safe city and a peaceful community. Socialist approaches to caring for a country are incredibly beneficial.
The current regime bolsters the very wealthy and grinds on the face of the middle-class and the poor. That is why it is allowing people like Musk to trample on the lives and well-being of ordinary people and run amok. It is tragic that ordinary middle and lower class conservatives often don’t seem to detect this– to detect that Trump actually isn’t in their corner and won’t make their lives and the social problems that bother them better. The only people Trump really wants to support are the super rich like himself, he thinks they should control the world even more than they already do– at the cost of our peace, health, safety and our pocketbooks.
Amen, Candice! So very true!
I am sorry but I don’t agree with this article. The present administration has not lost its compassion and is not taking away the types of programs you have mentioned. Social security, medicare, medicaid, federal grants for education, and other social programs are not being taken away. They help so many people through difficult situations. Instead, this administration is saving billions of taxpayer dollars as they discover fraudulent organizations and wasted money spent for frivolous studies and corrupt institutions.
USAID is an example of millions/billions of money that has been spent in this way. This is taxpayer money. and it should be used more wisely.. That is what President Trump’s administration is doing.
I do not intend to come across as if I know everything about government spending but I definitely feel we are headed in the right direction. Taxpayer money should not be used to support unnecessary and fraudulent programs/organizations.
Sorry, not sorry, for what I have to add. Obviously, there is fraud and coverup in ALL organizations. But USAID is being unfairly targeted. Its budget is somewhere around ~$40 billion, less than 1% of the Federal budget. Some mainstream websites indicate even less was spent last year but looking into it by Qualified auditors is Always a positive. And yes, we need those audits in all departments but not by an ignorant, unauthorized madman with a chainsaw. USAID is given to stabilize the world, relieve human suffering, and build bridges that the USA will need down the road. If we stop, our enemies fill in the gaps, and good luck with that.
Since you may not have heard about or are afraid to watch truthful independent news sources on YouTube like MeidasTouch Network or Brian Tyler Cohen or Glenn Kirschner or Michael Popok – highly respected lawyers and/or political analysts who will make you think – you could start with mainstream media’s own pages. Take them with a grain of salt, please, although you can almost always trust Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O’Donnell (but rarely FOX. entertainment).
And yes, the chainsaw guy IS going after Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the VA, and who knows how many more programs that heavily impact poor WHITE people who were born here, as well as immigrants of all hues who pay their taxes! It’s possible but highly unlikely they’re sending SS checks to 159-year-old people. Ignoramus -1 and Ignoramus-2 will never have heard of the Social Security Death Index, used by genealogists, but where do other people think that index comes from? Drastic cuts of benefits that we the people EARNED are beginning to destroy lives, along with mass firings. The psychological warfare alone of threatened cuts is sheer cruelty from coldhearted narcissists. If you search, especially on YouTube, you’ll find psychiatric evaluations of One and Two’s minds from highly qualified doctors who have been ignored. But slashing Social Security and trashing Medicare/Medicaid/VA will be the death knell of the current regime. We already have mass protests across the country that mainstream media are ignoring. What could come next will be Ugly.
Personally, I celebrate (from the bottom of my heart) what Trump and his Team are currently doing! The unbelievable corruption, graft, avarice and greed that has been placed on the American public (for decades) is disgusting and stomach turning. Millions of us have simply had it; no more. All of this odiferous corruption is now being dragged into the “light of day” – and I’m thankful for it.
The fear and hyperbole as displayed above – is just that; fear and remarkable hyperbole! No “the sky is not falling” – but stunniing change is taking place; and there is no going back to the malaise and insanity of the last quarter of a century. That I’m quite certain of.
This type of comment demonstrates that too many live in epistemic bubbles. If the comments was sincere, propaganda truly has resulted in individuals who are now past feeling. The current kingmen are the real cause of the “corruption, graft, avarice and greed that has been placed on the American public,” to which you can add other consequences like contention, bigotry,, hate and hypocrisy..
Why is it easy to give money when we’re part of a religious group to help those in need, but we disagree or dislike when some programs now run by the government fulfill the same purpose?
It breaks my heart and makes me uneasy ato see and hear all that is happening, and that will still be coming to us. I keep asking myself, what can I do right now to prepare , not only for me, but for my kids??
Thank you for this post. I too am heartbroken at the slashing of humanitarian programs under the current administration. I personally know individuals with food and water provided through USAID in Haiti that have been instructed not to distribute these under the current US Government policies. Why? No reason is given. I am also deeply dismayed at the random firings of United States Park Rangers and the effects it will have on our National Parks., cutting back the agencies that monitor and prevent consumer fraud, diseases, aviation safety, and so forth. The government is shrinking, but instead of reducing the deficit, the savings are eaten up by tax cuts to the wealthy. So now our food, water, and friendly skies are less safe, while the deficit grows and our safety net shrinks. I have disabled and elderly family members who rely on social security and if those are reduced or eliminated I will end up supporting them all. If I become unable to work (I’m a senior citizen) we will all end up living in a box down by the river. It is sickening to hear Musk boasting of indiscriminately firing government employees and dismantling life saving government programs.
I appreciate this thoughtful post. As I watch the cuts and and executive orders being made I see how most of my life is funded as the result of a compassionate federal government. I had Pell Grants to fund my undergraduate degree. My dad lost his job working for a local government contractor during the Clinton budget cuts my senior year of high school. (When that happened locally, and under a democrat, people were upset but now not so much.) I also had a government subsidized student loan to finish the masters degree that was required to work in my field of study.
The field I work in is funded by Medcaid, insurance, and in schools IDEA. So there are giant questions over how my job functions going forward. As the primary bread winner this is the job that has supported my family for 15 years.
Medicaid also funded the nursing home for my mother-in-law when she developed early onset Alzheimer’s. (The fear of going bankrupt while figuring out how to get care for her was intense.) My husband drove for Meals-on-wheels during this time as it allowed him the ability to have more time to care for her. That program has also been used by my grandmother and currently my father-in-law.
The Affordable Care Act also allowed my family to access health insurance during a time when neither of our jobs offered it. And my father-in-law has and uses his VA benefits regularly.
Maybe I am unusual in my situation. But I also wonder if others are paying attention to the supports that have kept them afloat and are keeping their friends and neighbors afloat.