No. of Recommendations: 7
There's a long list of individuals and groups that Mad King Donald has targeted for persecution, including Fed Chairman Powell, Anthony Fauci, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, immigrants, transgender people, scientists, universities, and, well, you get the idea.
But lost among the chaos and cruelty have been the gutting of services that keep children alive and well: programs that feed kids, teach them the alphabet, provide them medical care, guarantee their rights and shield them from abuse.
Destroying these programs is not only cruel and contrary to the far-right’s allegedly pro-family agenda; it’s also tremendously wasteful. Research shows that government dollars spent on kids — especially on low-income kids’ health and education — offer some of the highest returns on investment.
This week, for instance, a leaked document revealed the administration’s plans to eliminate federal funding for Head Start. This comes after officials kneecapped the 60-year-old pre-K program by temporarily freezing funding for its care providers; firing its Washington-based employees en masse; and permanently closing half its regional offices around the country. (Just coincidentally, they only closed offices in blue states.)Head Start, which dates back to the Johnson administration, has received bipartisan support through the decades since... well, until today. No doubt today's spineless congressional republicans, frightened of being primaried or harassed by Trump's fanatical supporters, would destroy the program in a New York minute.
Ironically, children in Head Start end up making more money, paying more in taxes and needing fewer safety-net benefits over their lifetimes. Ending Head Start makes the government less efficient and costs it taxpayer dollars.
In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention laid off everyone in its lead-poisoning group last week and funding to help states replace lead pipes has also been frozen or delayed.
The Agriculture Department eliminated $1 billion for food banks and school lunch programs to purchase food from local farmers and ranchers. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins called this spending “nonessential.”
And how long before Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ends school vaccination requirements?
And, whoa... we won't even begin to discuss school shootings.
Ah well, who would choose to feed, immunize, and provide safe drinking water to children rather than give rich folks and non-federal tax paying corporations tax cuts?
Gift Link:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/04/18... 