Donald Trump's new tax and spending plan slammed as 'morally bankrupt'

The proposals call for cuts to social welfare
AP
Martin Coulter12 February 2018
WEST END FINAL

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Donald Trump's latest budget has been decried as "morally bankrupt" by his critics, characterised by tax breaks for the wealthy and cuts to social welfare programs.

The proposal, titled 'Efficient, Effective, Accountable: An American Budget', lays out Mr Trump's tax and spending proposals for the coming financial year.

The plan calls for cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and food stamps, while setting aside more funds for the military and the planned wall along the US-Mexico border.

Democratic senator Bernie Sanders led the charge against Mr Trump's proposals, calling them "morally bankrupt".

He wrote on Twitter: "The Trump budget is morally bankrupt and bad economic policy.

"It pays for his tax breaks for the rich and large corporations by slashing Medicaid by $1.3 trillion, cutting Medicare by $554 billion and slicing $10 billion from the Social Security Disability Insurance Program."

The budget submitted Monday shows the growing deficits despite major cuts for domestic programs, largely because of last year’s tax overhaul, which is projected to cause federal tax revenue to drop.

This budget does not yet reflect last week’s two-year bipartisan $300 billion pact that wholly rejects Trump’s plans to slash domestic agencies.

Mr Sanders criticised the proposals 
Getty Images

Brian Klaas, a fellow at the University of Oxford, wrote: "Trump promised to eliminate the federal debt in eight years.

"The latest budget projections say that the debt will instead rise to $27.8 trillion instead, partly due to Trump's fiscally reckless and badly thought out tax cut that disproportionately benefits the wealthy."

Announcing the budget, Mr Trump said his administration had "laid the foundation for a new era of American greatness".

“In this budget we took care of the military like it’s never been taken care of before.

“In one year of working together, we have laid the foundation for a new era of American greatness.

“America is back to winning again. A great spirit of optimism continues to sweep across our nation.”

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