Cuts to the State Department are an abdication of American global leadership.
The Trump Administration has proposed a 1/3 cut in the State Department funding for FY 2018; roughly $10 Billion from the 2016 $30 Billion budget. $10 Billion may seem like a lot, but it represents a 1/2 a cent cut for every dollar each American pays in taxes. In 2016 each American paid 1.6 cents for every dollar they spent in taxes on the State Department; with the proposed cuts this will go down to 1 penny for every dollar. To put this in perspective the Department of Defense cost Americans almost 33 cents for every dollar spent.
These cuts come after calls from the American Electorate to review our foreign aid portfolio as many ask 'why spend overseas when we there is so much to do at home?'. When many Americans think about the State Department they view it as a personal playground for diplomats to gallivant across the globe off the backs American tax payers while living as luxuriously as James Bond. They also perceive that the these global elites aren't doing what they are supposed to as they see more and more chaos in the world as it slowly unravels.
But what is the reality?
This is a first in a series of budget analysis for the $10 billion in cuts to the State Department that will go over what we are losing and what each program pays for.
To start, lets visualize what the State Department cuts look like in relation to Department of Defense increases.
From this perspective, these cuts barely seem to register, so what is the big deal? It all comes down to the value Americans receive from State Department programs. To do that we first need to categorize the different areas Americans invest abroad through the State Department. There are different ways to measure this. The White Hose and the State Department actually measure these in different ways which makes things difficult to analyze. I will use data from the State Department as it provided more detail. On a technical note, the state department budget was only offered in a .pdf format so the data had to be extracted from that to do a proper analysis - it was a real pain.
This visualization shows all cuts across all bureaus and regions. It's good because it shows what is spent where relative to everything else, but it is still too busy to do a proper analysis.
Luckily, the State Department does a good job of classifying each dollar spent by Program Area and are defined as follows:
Peace and Security - For necessary expenses to pay assessed and other expenses of international peacekeeping activities directed to the maintenance or restoration of international peace and security.
Governing Justly and Democratically - To advance human and labor rights, promote democratic institutions and the rule of law, and protect fundamental freedoms, including religious freedom in the following areas; Rule of Law and Human Rights, Good Governance, Political Competitions and Consensus-Building, and building civil society internationally.
- Investing in People - This is dedicated to programs investing in Health, Education and Social and Economic Services and Protection for Vulnerable Populations globally.
- Economic Growth - Funds Macroeconomic Foundation for Growth, Trade and Investment, Financial Sector, Infrastructure, Agriculture, Private Sector Competitiveness, Economic Opportunity, and Environmental protection programs internationally.
- Humanitarian Assistance - Funds Protection, Assistance and Solutions, Disaster Readiness, Migration Management programs internationally.
- Program Support - Budget for embassy and consulate management as well as payroll and education of employees
The largest cuts are to Economic Growth (60%) and Programs Investing in People (31%). I will go in to more detail on specifics of these cuts in later blogs. Despite the cuts, the principles of the State Department remain the same and and are committed to the preservation of Human rights as a cornerstone of American Foreign Policy.
“Defending human rights, democratic institutions, and fundamental freedoms is consistent with American ideals, essential to national security, and makes for a safer and more secure world. Governments with strong democratic institutions and respect for human rights are more stable, make more reliable allies, and are more productive economic partners than governments that deprive their citizens of individual voice and human rights. When governments violate the rights of their citizens, allow corruption to go unchecked, and ignore calls for accountability and respect for the rule of law, they fuel instability and violence, create conditions for the radicalization of individuals and communities, encourage irregular migration, and distort markets, deterring investments and harming U.S. economic interests. U.S. leadership is essential to reverse the troubling trend of increasing restrictions on the freedoms of expression, association, and assembly limits imposed on civil society; decreasing transparency; and increasing violence and persecution against religious, ethnic, and other minorities by both state and non-state actors. ”
There are those that will champion the decision to cut these programs stating that they are a good way to eliminate waste, however what is more likely is that real people will get hurt. At the very least these programs (that cost less than 2 cents for every tax dollar) will spread good will around the world and ensure that Americans remain safe. Thinking about what the State Department does besides the promotion of human rights is also the promotion of American enterprise. American businesses are more competitive overseas as a result of what the State Department does. Furthermore, the Secretary of Defense, James Mattis has publicly said that 'if the Stet Department budget is cut, he needs more ammo to do his job'. Is that the kind of global leader America wants to be?
Diving more into the details, the most alarming cuts is to International Organizations - including $132.5 million to the UN Children's Fund. The current world order has had America at the helm since the end of the Second World War. We set up these organizations to preserve the peace and as the leader we have had the luxury of setting the rules. Despite the the political rhetoric surrounding these organizations, they have done their job by ensuring the world has a forum for disputes rather than settling differences with weapons. This is the American International Order, but in order to preserve it, Americans need to pay for it. That said, this budget cuts ALL funding to ALL organizations as represents an abdication of our crown in the International Order and opens the door to new global leadership.
With the exception of a few countries, cuts to all programs are global and will be described in detail in a later blog post. To close, we will look at a more detailed view of the cuts to programs in specific regions.
