Budget Cuts Series: Manufacturing Extension Partnership Which Assists Small Businesses

In Smart Dissent's Budget Cuts Series, we are examining the White House proposed budget cuts to learn what's hidden beneath the surface and later update based on Congressional budget proposals and actions.  This is our third to focus on proposals related to 2019.  Since Congress never got their act together for 2018, most of Trump's proposals didn't go into effect fortunately and hopefully the same is true for 2019.

Trump’s proposed budget calls for eliminating federal funding of a program to support small manufacturers that officials say created or protected more than 100,000 jobs in the last fiscal year alone. The proposed $125 million cut would slash budgets for 51 local offices affiliated with the Manufacturing Extension Partnership for fiscal 2019..... the elimination of federal funding would imperil their work assisting smaller manufacturers with business planning, employee training and cybersecurity protection.

This is a model program that helps American businesses despite the fact that almost none of us have heard of it before now.

Manufacturers credit local extension offices with providing them advice and services they couldn’t afford from the private sector. The extension network has also helped the U.S. Department of Transportation steer work—such as making rail for streetcar projects—to American manufacturers that would otherwise go to foreign firms, said John Porcari, who served as deputy transportation secretary during the Obama administration.

This is anti-business, anti-small business, anti-jobs, anti-workers, anti-American.  Why on earth would Trump's budget cronies even suggest it?  Because they are idiots.

The cut to the manufacturing extension program might not last in the president’s budget proposal. A former Commerce Department official said the program has typically had broad bipartisan support in Congress.

Some of the program’s clients are puzzled by Mr. Trump’s proposed funding cut, given his frequent pledges of support for manufacturing.

That's because he's an unprincipled liar and somehow cutting this program will benefit his donors.  That's the rationale behind every decision we are seeing.

Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/trumps-budget-cuts-funding-for-manufacturing-program-1518703201