Columnist David MartinLast Thursday, I was minding my own business, thoroughly invested in the the first day of the NCAA men's basketball tournament (aka March Madness), when my phone started buzzing with "breaking news" updates from numerous news outlets. Wondering what calamity had just taken place, or what the president might have been tweeting, I pinged around the internet to uncover the scuttlebutt.
Turned out, the White House had released President Trump's proposed annual budget.
It was a doozy.
Even for me, someone who desperately wants to see America start moving toward financial solvency, it was eye-popping. Not that Trump's budget actually shrinks deficits. To increase military and border spending, he simply wants to cut elsewhere. The U.S. would still add another $487 billion of red ink to its debt next year.
What was so jolting about the "Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again" (yes, its real name) is how many sacred cows Trump put on the chopping block.
Not only would the plan completely axe marquee programs like the National Endowment for the Arts and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, it would significantly scale back or eliminate fiscal allocations to a whopping 62 programs and agencies.
The outcry from the left, and even some from the right, was loud and completely predictable. For those who believe the federal government's checkbook is the lone weapon for what's good in this world, every red-lined item equaled a step back in the direction of the Dark Ages.
"Sesame Street"! Meals on Wheels! Hamilton! Can America exist without them?
Of course there are other, arguably more meaningful, cuts in the Trump budget, such as $221 million from the Economic Development Administration and $715 million in the form of vanishing Community Services Block Grants - Chattanooga itself would have to make due without $2 million in such grants.
Big Bird, however, seems to come up more in popular dialogue.
Wait. Timeout. It should be emphasized here that this was Trump's proposed budget. The Republican-controlled Congress gets a say, and with midterm elections looming it's unlikely the budget will survive fully in its current form.
That said, while it's unlikely a GoFundMe campaign will emerge to backfill $54 billion worth of funding gaps (or whatever the amount ends up being), the hysteria caused by the mere suggestion of slimmer domestic spending resulted in some actual good.
As reported by CNN, Meals on Wheels, a nonprofit organization that delivers hot meals to elderly Americans - which could (emphasis on could) see some of its federal support disappear thanks to pending cuts to the Administration for Community Living - collected 50 times its typical amount of daily donations last Thursday after the president's budget was announced. The Minneapolis-St. Paul branch alone received 40 donations in 24 hours. Its average in that timespan is three. Additionally, volunteer sign-ups have skyrocketed.
So where were those donations and avid volunteers before? Why did it take Trump's budget draft to get people more involved? It's simple: Because big government lulls to sleep humanity's sense of civic engagement. Who needs an active civil society when our daddies in D.C. (try to) take care our every want and need?
When reading that CNN report, I had flashbacks to my nonprofit fundraising days. "Why would I write y'all a check? I pay my taxes."
Ouch. That was one of the hardest rebuttals to counter.
But a mobilized community is a powerful thing. Just ask the kids playing baseball at Howard High School this season.
And while $54 billion isn't chump change, hopefully the thought of its absence will propel more individuals into action, no longer relying on Uncle Sam to shoulder every single burden.
Contact David Allen Martin at davidallenmartin423@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @DMart423.