Trump rewards the rich and punishes the poor

J eff Bezos dropped $165 million two weeks ago for the most expensive residential property in the history of Los Angeles. That’s about an eighth of 1% of his $131.9-billion net worth. Bezos’ purchase is like a regular person forking over just $121 for a house, given that the Federal Reserve says the median net worth of an American is $97,300. Bezos’ home, nestled on nine acres in Beverly Hills, includes two guesthouses, a nursery, three hothouses, tennis court, swimming pool and a ninehole golf course.

Put Bezos’ groundbreaking purchase against another record: The United States just hit the highest number of homeless school kids in modern history: 1.5 million.

As the media revel in the lifestyles and trophies of the ultra-rich, reporting on the policy choices that are worsening inequality and homelessness gets buried. Consider President Trump’s fiscal 2021 budget proposal, which also came to light two weeks ago.

“Who the hell cares about the budget?” Trump asked the donors at a pricey political fundraiser in January at Mar-a-Lago (reportedly worth $160 million). No one in that room might have cared, but taxpayers should.

Trump’s proposed budget would extend his cockeyed 2017 tax cuts to 2027. Those cuts primarily benefit wealthy individuals and corporations like Bezos’ Amazon. (Amazon — guess what? — paid $0 in taxes in 2018; in 2019, its effective tax rate was 1.2%.) The 10 years of the tax giveaway would cost the nation $1.9 trillion.

In addition to a tax policy that explodes inequality, the president’s budget demands deep cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, programs that offer a lifeline to unemployed individuals, low-income families and senior citizens — those whose homes are least secure. The budget demands sharp cuts to Social Security programs that help support those unable to work because of disability. This despite the president’s repeated promises not to cut these programs.

Trump’s budget makes massive cuts to just the type of programs that offer services and limited assistance to working-class and poor people. The cuts to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program and to food stamps (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) would amount to more than $20 billion a year on average over the next decade. Some social service programs would be eliminated.

The president is proposing a cut of $5 billion in voucher rental assistance for the next year alone. New rules would deprive some families of subsidized housing if occupants cannot obtain and document sufficient hours of work.

Trump’s budget would also eliminate the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, the national Housing Trust Fund, Community Development Block Grants and the Choice Neighborhoods program, wiping out another $5 billion a year for investment in affordable housing and community development.

As we gawk at the palaces of rich men such as Bezos, and as so many struggle to find affordable housing, we should focus our attention on the federal policies that fuel this discrepancy.

Rich Benjamin, a fellow at the Puffin Foundation and the Economic Hardship Reporting Project, is a contributing writer to Los Angeles Times Opinion.