As Ohioans prepare to cast their votes in the 2024 election, they must carefully consider the implications of a second Trump presidency, particularly in light of Project 2025.
This extreme policy agenda, crafted by Trump’s allies and supported by right-wing think tanks, seeks to dismantle essential federal protections and programs that countless Ohioans rely on.
Under the guise of “draining the swamp,” Project 2025 poses a direct threat to the financial security, healthcare, and civil rights of millions of Americans, especially here in Ohio.
Attacking Social Security and Medicare
One of the most alarming aspects of Project 2025 is its plan to privatize Social Security and Medicare. These programs have long been the bedrock of retirement security for millions of Ohio seniors. Trump’s allies propose replacing them with private accounts that would be subject to the whims of the stock market, putting Ohioans’ hard-earned savings at risk.
In addition, the elimination of Medicare’s ability to negotiate lower prescription drug costs would lead to skyrocketing prices, forcing seniors to choose between life-saving medications and other necessities.
Gutting Healthcare Protections
Project 2025’s healthcare agenda doesn’t stop at Social Security and Medicare. It also includes plans to dismantle protections for pre-existing conditions, allowing insurance companies to once again deny coverage or charge exorbitant rates to those with health issues.
This would be a disaster for Ohioans with chronic conditions such as diabetes or heart disease. Furthermore, Trump’s plan would allow employers to deny coverage for birth control and IUDs, stripping away essential healthcare rights from women across the state.
The project also proposes ending the $35 insulin price cap, which has been a lifeline for Ohioans with diabetes. Without this cap, the cost of insulin could skyrocket, leading to devastating consequences for those who depend on this life-saving medication.
Undermining Workers’ Rights
Trump’s vision for Project 2025 also includes dismantling worker protections that have been in place for decades. One particularly egregious proposal would give employers the choice to no longer pay overtime to hourly workers. This would directly harm middle-class Ohioans who rely on overtime pay to make ends meet, effectively reducing their income and quality of life.
In addition, Trump’s plan would reverse regulations that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics, making the workplace less fair and safe for countless Ohioans.
Attacking Reproductive Rights
Under Project 2025, Trump’s allies are pushing for policies that would create a surveillance state to monitor pregnancies, giving the government the power to prosecute those who experience miscarriages.
This dystopian vision extends to banning the shipping of pills used for medication abortions and the medical equipment doctors use to perform abortions, effectively ending access to abortion care nationwide.
Ohioans have already seen the devastating effects of restrictive abortion laws, and Trump’s plan would make it even harder for women to access essential healthcare.
Threatening Ohio’s Education System
Project 2025 also poses a significant threat to Ohio’s education system. The plan includes slashing budgets for low-income schools and eliminating programs like Head Start, which provides critical early childhood education to disadvantaged children. These cuts would disproportionately affect Ohio’s rural and urban communities, widening the education gap and limiting opportunities for the state’s most vulnerable students.
Furthermore, the project’s push to privatize programs like Medicare extends to the Department of Justice, with plans to eliminate more than 50,000 government jobs. This would not only destabilize these institutions but also lead to a loss of vital services that Ohioans depend on.
Undermining Climate Protections
Trump’s Project 2025 would also reverse progress made on combating climate change, pulling the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Accords and rolling back regulations on greenhouse gas emissions.
For Ohio, this would mean increased pollution, particularly in industrial regions, and a greater risk of environmental disasters. By making it more difficult for renewable energy sources like solar to be added to the national power grid, Trump’s plan would also stifle job growth in Ohio’s green energy sector.
Increasing Economic Inequality
Perhaps most concerning is the fact that Project 2025 would increase the amount working families pay in federal taxes each year, while allowing the wealthy to pay even less. This regressive tax policy would exacerbate economic inequality in Ohio, placing an even greater burden on middle-class families who are already struggling to get by.
What can Ohioans do about it?
The stakes in this election could not be higher. Project 2025 is a blueprint for dismantling the protections and programs that Ohioans depend on, from Social Security and Medicare to healthcare and education. A second Trump term would bring these dangerous ideas to life, threatening the well-being and security of millions of Ohioans.
Ohioans must stand up against this radical agenda and vote to protect their future.
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The choice is clear: reject Project 2025 and Trump’s dangerous vision for America, and instead, choose a path that prioritizes the health, safety, and prosperity of all Ohioans.
