Community members and leaders from each congressional district in the region joined Alliance San Diego Monday morning at a rally to oppose the Trump administration’s proposed budget cuts to Medicaid and SNAP.
The proposed cuts would affect at least 580,000 people in the San Diego region who depend on Medicaid, SNAP and healthcare under the Affordable Care Act, according to the alliance.
“In a democracy, we hold dear the value that our government is about the people and we all should have a voice in shaping the nation,” said Andrea Guerrero, executive director of Alliance San Diego. “The policies that support our communities should reflect our families, not the billionaires.”
“Today, our democracy is under threat, where billionaires have taken control of the government and are rigging it in their favor,” Guerrero said.
President Trump announced his support for the House Republican budget proposal that includes massive tax breaks for the wealthy and big corporations by cutting programs such as Medicaid.
Cuts to Medicaid would affect funding for hospitals, community health centers, nursing homes and physicians, officials said.
“This will make life harder for working families,” said Hiram Soto, a community member affected by the proposed cuts.
“Healthcare and home care will become more expensive. Colleges will become less accessible. If you want to build a competitive, thriving, we need policies that help families navigate these transitions,” Soto said.
“Our responsibility as educators, advocates and leaders is to ensure that every child has the opportunity to thrive, but how can they when their basic needs are under attack?” said Cipriano Vargas, Vista school board member.
“If this moves forward, we will see more students struggling with health issues, more families making impossible choices between food and rent and more educators forced to support children who are falling behind due to circumstances that are out of their control,” Vargas said.
