On this first Thanksgiving of the Trump era, let us pause and bask in the graciousness of second chances, and above all be thankful for the upcoming 2018 midterm elections which will present us the opportunity to put the brakes on some of Trump’s deconstruction of the administrative state. If the importance of the 2018 election opportunity needs to be underscored, I urge you to read the following commentary from today’s Washington Post, and below it, an email post from our colleague, Maureen Harwood, Democrats Abroad Canada, that includes two remarkable articles that juxtapose what we are facing. The Trump tax reform will do more than just ensure that the wealthy have lots to give their children. It will leave millions without health care, and will set the USA on backward path toward something more akin to a pre-Lincoln nineteenth century.
Dear Friends,
In case anyone needs more incentive to voice concerns to their US Senator - also included in this appalling tax bill are proposals aimed directly at US universities. Key Republican provisions would eliminate or reduce deductions on student loan repayments (including death or disability), tax tuition waivers for graduate students, and endowments for private universities. Note that vital and ground-breaking research comes from our universities' science labs, thanks to graduate students working for minimum wage. While the Senate is reportedly hedging on some of these provisions (let us hope) the overall thrust amounts to a full-fledged attack on US higher education.
There has been some coverage of this recently in the NYTimes and Washington Post. Two articles are linked below:
Maureen Harwood
DA Canada
DA Guatemala