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OUR OPINION
The careless slashing of staff by the Trump administration at federal agencies such as the Forest Service, Bonneville Power Administration and Department of Education, to name a few, will have big effects on rural areas like Pend Oreille County.
As we reported last week, the Forest Service jobs are family wage jobs. Government in general pays more than most of the private sector jobs in Pend Oreille County. Cuts to these jobs will mean decreases in consumer spending, as well as the efficacy of government programs. The BPA is largely responsible for the cheap power in the Northwest.
The proposed cuts to Medicaid, implicit in the House budget resolution passed last week, will have devastating impacts on health care here, if enacted. Newport Hospital and Health Services will lose millions of dollars and be forced to cut services and not just for Medicaid recipients.
Rural areas like Pend Oreille County overwhelmingly voted for U.S. Rep. Michael Baumgartner, a Republican who won more than 72% of the vote here. Baumgartner received more votes than President Donald Trump, who garnered 68% of the vote.
It is especially disappointing when Baumgartner doesn’t respond to questions from The Miner about Medicaid cuts, despite regularly sending The Miner his campaign emails which always close with a plea for donations to his campaign.
“My goal is to raise at least $100,000 before the first quarterly fundraising deadline on March 31st. I have eight more weeks to work toward that goal. Would you chip in to help get us there?” Baumgartner says in the monthly update from his campaign received Feb. 6. That’s the only correspondence The Miner receives from the 5th District Representative, who represents Pend Oreille County and all of eastern Washington in the House of Representatives, the people’s house.
Baumgartner voted for the resolution that passed the House that seeks to slash more than $880 billion in Medicaid funding to support President Trump’s domestic agenda. In addition to border security, that agenda includes some $4 trillion in tax cuts through 2034, most of which would go to billionaires like Trump.
Trump proudly pays as little federal income tax as possible. In 2020 he paid no federal income tax, after two years in which he paid $750 a year, Politico reported in 2022. He does so legally under the tax code, offsetting millions in income with losses.
Trump, born and raised in New York City, obviously doesn’t care about rural areas. Baumgartner should know better and do better for his rural constituents, though. His claim that America is broke rings hollow when such tax cuts are considered. Requiring the richest to pay their fair share, as they did in the past, would make draconian Medicaid cuts unnecessary.
-DG
