(Akiit.com) Donald Trump has been President of the United States for less than one week, and has already on pace to be the worst executive this country has had in decades in terms of civil rights and progress for people of color and women. His dictatorial executive orders have been aimed squarely at those who depend upon government protection and benefitted big businesses.
His strategy is a brilliant one, which is to use job creation as a smoke screen for massive efforts at deregulation and tax relief for the wealthy.
On the campaign trail, Mr. Trump made appeals to African-American voters saying he would bring back jobs to the inner city. Needless to say, not all African Americans live in inner cities, but more jobs would certainly beneficial in areas that are heavily populated by African Americans. However, Trump’s rhetoric has not included support for business creation or growth for people of color. In his New Deal for Black America, he wants to give tax “holidays” and incentives to foreign companies that invest in “blighted American neighborhoods”. In fact, he has vowed to defund the Minority Business Development Agency. Black owned businesses are the most likely to employ Black people.
Donald Trump famously claimed he grabbed women by their vaginas, which he attributed to locker room talk. However, in a move that will impact women nationwide, Trump reportedly plans to reduce funding for the Office of Violence Against Women.
The president has also promised equal protection under the law, but is taking funding away from the parts of government that are in place to protect the Civil Rights, including the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department. The Civil Rights Division upholds the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Hate Crimes prevention Act, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, all of which protect vulnerable populations and people of color. In addition, they are in charge of investigating police misconduct through the Violent Crime Control and Immigration Act and protect Black and brown businesses through the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.
Donald Trump also plans to gut funds for the Legal Services Corporation, which provides help for poor people, including children who can not afford legal services. The majority of their clients are Black.
President Trump has put a moratorium on the issuance of visas from Sudan, Syria, Libya, Iran, Iraq, Somalia and Yemen. Despite the fact that as of Oct. 1 2015, 24 Americans had been killed by terrorists on US soil over a decade. At the same time 52 Americans had be killed by domestic hate groups in 2015 alone. According to many different studies, White supremacist groups, many of whom strongly support the president, are more deadly in the U.S. than Muslim terrorists. Trump’s ban does not include the home countries of those who have committed acts of terror in the US. Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt (911), Chechnya (Boston bombing), nor Pakistan (San Bernadino). Most of the terror attacks on US soil have involved US citizens.
Donald Trump has also put his expensive and pointless border wall plan into motion along with the Dakota Access Pipeline despite the objection of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, who claim it will result in the destruction of native burial sites.
Donald Trump also signed a hiring freeze for federal employment. This action disproportionally effects people of color. Government jobs at the federal level generally pay higher wages than the private sector. African Americans comprise close to 18% of the federal labor force as opposed to 10.5% of the private sector. In total, people of color make up 33.5% of federal workers.
Trump’s apparent plan to obscure these acts is as brilliant as it is dastardly. He will likely leverage his relationships in the business world to create a small number of new jobs. While he will tout his negotiating skills, he really is giving companies sweetheart deals and tax relief that will benefit them. Trump has even publicly promised to “cut taxes massively” and “cut regulation massively” by as much as 75%. He will gut programs that protect our civil rights and liberties to offset the cost. African Americans, women, Natives, Latinos, and refugees will lose important protections.
Columnist; Jason Nichols
Via http://Afro.com
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