Department of States Budget Cuts
DRAFT
Thane Rolston
ERH-102-11
Part of President Trump’s plan for his first 100 days, is that he wants to make drastic cuts to government spending. His spending cuts include reducing the budget for the United States Department of State to $27.1 Billion, a 29% decrease from last year. If these budget cuts are passed, it could hurt the United States by making us more vulnerable to terrorism, as well as possibly strengthening the Chinese Government.
Fighting radical Islamic terrorism has become a top priority of the Trump administration, as well as the Republican party as a whole. That fight is largely in Afghanistan, where the Taliban are retaking large parts of the country and the Islamic State is growing in strength and numbers. While the soldiers of the Resolute Support Mission continue to train the Afghanis and fight terrorists in the country, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is working to better the Afghan Economy, so that young people have jobs and do not need to turn to terrorism to support themselves. Part of the proposed budget cuts for the State Department include a 31% reduction in our financial support for the IMF. One of the largest projects the IMF supports in Afghanistan is to connect more people to the power grid. Only 30% of People there have access to electricity, but the number of people with electricity grows by 6% every year. that project is in danger due to the possibility of a lack of funding. If the project fails, it could have disastrous consequences in regards to our fight against extremists. Having electricity means that stores can operate, ecommerce firms can open even in remote villages, and a constant power supply means stat businesses can stay open more, instead of closing during frequent power outages, therefore allowing workers to work longer and earn more. If Afghanistan does not have access to stable electricity, people will continue to be poor. Because of the amount of poor people combined with low economic productivity, there is a power vacuum in rural regions, as government efforts are focused on urban centers such as Kabul and Kandahar. Places like the Helmand are neglected. These power vacuums create the ability for terror groups to build clinics and schools, using them as a recruitment tool for poor youths (Beenish Ahmed). This in turn strengthens groups such as the Taliban, who can afford to build schools and clinics. A decrease in funding for the State Department will cause the Taliban to become stronger because poverty will increase, leading to vulnerable youths to be recruited as fighters and suicide bombers threatening Americans in Afghanistan as well as allowing the Taliban to take over more of the country.
Future cuts to the United States Department of State could strengthen China and threaten the United States’ position as the leading global superpower. Along with radical Islamic terrorism, the current Trump administration has outlined the People’s Republic of China as a growing threat to the United States, both militarily and economically. Over the past two decades, China has become the “workshop of the world”, allowing them to modernize. Fueling their growth is a hunger for natural resources. Those resources come from all over the continent of Africa. A lack of attention paid to Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa particularly, by the United States has left a vacuum for economic development that has been seized by the Chinese. The Chinese trade over $132 Billion annually with the African continent. To counter Chinese development in Africa, the United States has been increasing humanitarian aid to African countries, mainly through the IMF and the World Bank. Projects include building schools and combating dangerous diseases like malaria and HIV/ AIDS. While the United States has been doing this, the Chinese have been supplying water to Liberia, a $12 Billion railroad in Nigeria, and a $6 Billion, 10,000 resident city in South Africa. If the United States is no longer able to support African countries as it has been, the United States of America lose influence over the fastest growing continent on earth to the Chinese. Along with its vast amounts of people, Africa is one of the most resource rich places on earth. Access to these resources mean that the Chinese are able to continue to produce large volumes of goods as cheaply as they do currently. Along with reducing Chinese production costs, Chinese domination of Africa reduces the number of countries firms from the United States can source materials from, therefore increasing the cost of producing goods in the United States, contradicting President Trump when he said, “I am going to bring back American jobs from China”.
Along with the economic consequences President Trump’s proposed cuts to the State Department, National Defense will also suffer under the proposed budget.