Marie Cocco: The Budget Speaks Louder than Pandering

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from Truthdig:


The Budget Speaks Louder than Pandering


Posted on Feb 6, 2007
By Marie Cocco

Although President Bush recently feigned interest in income inequality and the deficit, his whopper of a budget makes it clear that his heart is still with his base: the haves and the have-mores.


WASHINGTON—Somebody should get the president back into his white tie and tails.

It’s always a kick when President Bush goes to New York City, where the man from Crawford can sometimes look as out of place as he does on those rare occasions when he visits his family’s summer home in Kennebunkport. Last week Bush showed up on Wall Street, where year-end bonuses totaled an estimated $23.9 billion—up 17 percent from 2005, according to the New York State comptroller’s office—and the average payout per person topped $137,580.

For the first time, Bush uttered two words—``income inequality’’—that are the hallmarks of our economic era. The assembled movers and shakers fell as silent as a Southampton sidewalk in February. But not to worry.

On Monday, Bush proposed a federal budget for the coming year that preserves his cherished tax cuts—the ones that help keep Wall Streeters’ wallets as pumped up as their egos—while hacking away at health care and other safety-net spending for the poorest citizens, including and especially poor children.

To be fair, Bush wasn’t as cynical in his New York speech as this juxtaposition makes it sound. The president never did pledge to do anything to start addressing the income inequality of which he suddenly is so aware. He merely told the chieftains before him to be more careful about their compensation. The nudge had no apparent purpose, other than to serve as a gentle reminder that those outsized executive pay packages look just awful, and are becoming potent as a political issue.

And the president took pains to point out that income inequality just isn’t his fault. Broad economic trends such as globalization and technological change that began more than three decades ago are the culprits. Which is true, to a point. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20070206_the_budget_speaks_louder_than_pandering/