PHOENIX – Retirees across the United States are in for a world of pain if Donald Trump becomes the next president.
That was Roman Ulman’s warning last week as Trump’s MAGA faithful nominated the convicted felon for a second term during the Republican National Convention.
Ulman, president of Arizona AFSCME Retiree Chapter 97, said the Project 2025 blueprint cooked up by Trump’s allies in preparation for a second Trump term would be disastrous for retirement security and for the country as a whole.
“Of particular concern to retirees, Project 2025 would eliminate traditional Medicare, stop the federal government from negotiating drug prices, and would no longer penalize Big Pharma for raising drug prices more than the rate of inflation,” Ulman said.
“Even worse, it would allow cuts to health care coverage to those seniors who need it most, by allowing states to eliminate or reduce Medicaid coverage for nursing home care,” Ulman said during a press conference days before President Joe Biden took himself out of the running and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. AFSCME’s International Executive Board has unanimously endorsed Harris.
Project 2025 would also undo all of the Biden-Harris administration’s economically beneficial legislation, Ulman said.
“Thanks to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, Arizona has received historic infrastructure and manufacturing investments that have created thousands of jobs across our state,” Ulman said. “Retirees across Arizona will see their costs go down because the Inflation Reduction Act is allowing the federal government to negotiate prices in Medicare with Big Pharma for the first time and capped retirees’ prescription drug out-of-pocket costs at $2,000. That’s a big deal.”
He also warned that Trump’s choice of Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his running mate “locks in place a ticket that endangers the things that retirees care about the most: the protection and expansion of their earned Social Security and Medicare benefits.”
Vance has a 0% voting record with the AFL-CIO and opposed the PRO Act, which would end union-busting “right to work” laws like the one in Arizona and make it easier for workers to form unions and win strong contracts, Ulman said.
“Trump’s Project 2025 is especially hostile to public service workers and unions like mine,” he said at the event, which included pro-worker advocates who are fighting to make sure Harris becomes the first woman to lead our nation.
The bottom line, according to Ulman: “Donald Trump and JD Vance will continue to sell out working families and retirees while doling out tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy. Working families and retirees can’t afford another Trump presidency and his Project 2025.”