The Big Boot of Government - More on Bush’s Appalling Budget Cuts

[kerrygoddess]

The new budget is so very ugly...

(snip)
Is there no end to the take from poor mentality of the Bush administration? Evidently not.

So far it appears that almost every cut some how affects the low-income citizens of this country. And they say that they have more “values” than we do! I find these budget cuts to be appalling, absolutely appalling.

AP News is reporting that the “budget will propose slashing grants to local law enforcement agencies and cutting spending for environmental protection, American Indian schools and home-heating aid for the poor.”

(snip)
In the 21st century when we should be lifting people up out of poverty, Bush is creating more and more poverty daily and making it more difficult for those who are low-income to survive on a day to day basis. What does this say to the children of low-income families that strive to teach their children that you can have a better life? It says, you are under my boot, the big boot of government and you are meaningless, that’s what it says.

http://www.lightupthedarkness.org/blog/default.asp?view=plink&id=326

[strategery blunder]

1. Yep, more "pro-life" crap from Bu$h*

Who cares if you freeze to death because you can't afford heat, right?:mad::mad::mad:

[kerrygoddess]

I love your graphic!

[strategery blunder]

13. Hehehe...you're not the first one to say that

Although, if I may ask, are you referring to my avatar or sig?:)

[kerrygoddess]

21. You sig!

[murray hill farm]

2. It will get worse..much worse..

before it gets better again..and many will suffer...but as it gets worse..more people will react...he is on some delusional high right now..and does not see that his own people are on the edge of nasty revolt and even if that does not happen, the world is turning on him and he does not see that either..and will not see it until it is not just his own people, but the people of the world who revolt against his tyranny.

[Coastie for Truth]

3. Even more Pro Life Crap from the compassionate conservatives

Cuts in research and treatment funds for rare diseases.

Cuts in research and treatment funds for traumatic spinal cord and brain injuries.

Cuts in research and treatment funds for recovery of umbilical stem cells (not embryonic stem cells, still permitted by Scalia, by Dobson, by Falwell).

Cuts in funding for bioterrorism defense.

Cuts in funding (relative to CPI) for NSF.

[G_j]

4. surely

his "mandate" clearly demonstrates to him that people don't mind freezing to death for "freedom".

[Disturbed]

5. If Dems in Congress develope spines they should..

rise up and protest this War on the Middle Class, Working Poor and the Poor. They should demand that this tax cut for the wealthy be abolished and that the money should go to programs that help most Americans. Will the Democractic Party stand up for non-wealthy Americans?

[G_j]

6. I hope I'm correct here but

I believe all these 'social' programs add up to about 6% of the deficit(?), the tax cuts about half.

wish I had a link

[sustarr]

7. Can someone explain to me..

what your saying is that because of the tax cuts given to the rich by that idiot in charge,he has to cut progams to make up for it.Look dont laugh,Im new at this.Thanks

[kerrygoddess]

8. That's about the gist of it...

and add in the cost of the ill gotten war.

[kerrygoddess]

9. If you find a link...

would love to know!

[G_j]

12. found it!

NPR's Morning Addition
this is a fairly short audio segment. About half way through Robert Greenstein of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities states the figures I gave.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4486893

So I decided to look further into the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and found this very enlightening press release:
(Their website also has a lot of good stuff on SS)

Cuts to Low-Income Programs May Far Exceed the Contribution of These Programs to Deficit's Return

http://www.cbpp.org/2-4-05bud.htm
===================================

[kerrygoddess]

14. I may have read this already, but I am reading it again...

I've been on their website a few times in recent days, they have alot of good stuff. It's one for the links on Econ page on LUTD. Thanks so much!

[kerrygoddess]

15. Good stuff here!

This page is so worth reading...

Low-Income Programs and the Deficit

For the purposes of this analysis, low-income programs fall into three categories.

The first category consists of “means-tested entitlement programs.” Under these programs, which include such programs as food stamps and Medicaid, all households that meet the relevant eligibility criteria for a program can receive aid. Eligibility is limited to households below certain income levels and often below certain asset limits as well. Eligibility often is restricted to households that also meet certain other criteria, such as being elderly, having a disability, or being employed.

The second category of means-tested programs consists of low-income “discretionary” programs. These programs are funded through the appropriations process on an annual basis, with the number of beneficiaries served, or the level of services provided, being limited by the amount of funds made available. “Low-income” discretionary programs generally restrict eligibility to households that fall below certain income levels and meet various other eligibility criteria.

The final category consists of two “refundable income tax credits,” the Earned Income Tax Credit and the refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit. These refundable tax credits are limited to low-income working families. If a family’s income is sufficiently low that the size of the tax credit for which it qualifies exceeds the amount of income tax that the family otherwise owes, the family receives the remainder of its tax credit in the form of a “refund” from the Internal Revenue Service.

Low-income programs make up a relatively small portion of the budget — about one-fifth in 2005.<10> The majority of expenditures for low-income programs occurs through means-tested entitlement programs; a significant minority occurs through discretionary programs; and roughly one-tenth results from refundable tax credits.

http://www.cbpp.org/2-4-05bud.htm

[G_j]

24. very good info

thanks!

[kerrygoddess]

10. Plenty have certainly been calling for just that.

I think it is filibuster time... all the time!

[DemDogs]

11. No Amtrak money

So much for the working guy on the train.

[ticapnews]

25. The working guy can fly instead of taking the train...

How many billions have we given the airlines? How many times have we bought out their pension funds? But we can't spare a few hundred million to sustain an alternate, cleaner, cheaper and more efficient method of travel?

Shouldn't be surprised.

[ginnyinWI]

16. And their overall plan is to KILL the government!

Someone has to be in control--either big business (which is out for its own power and profits), or government (which is supposed to be for and by the people and their interests.) Guess which one Bushco wants in power? Right!

So the plan is to run up deficits so that the federal government's hands are tied, and those nasty social programs which require tax revenues are starved out of existence, giving full rein and high profits to big business. Cute plan, isn't it? Soon we will be back to a system of serfs and kings.

[progressiveright]

18. at this point

they not gonna kill the government, big business and government are in the process of merging.

[ginnyinWI]

19. ok that's true

But any part of government working for the people will be neutralized--it will be working solely for corporate interests. How can people not see this? All those repub voters who have faith in their Dear Leader. Hook, line and sinker.

[progressiveright]

17. idiotic

yet the government is growing. congress passes bills that give billions of taxpayers dollars to corporations, and then slash some social programs as a result. the fact of the matter is that ending corporate welfare would allow us to have the kind of education, welfare, medicaid, and foreign aid programs we need without raising taxes. democrats are unable to say that because they rely on corporations for donations as well, howard dean offered some hope when he started to rely small donations from private citizens through internet which made him outraise all other democratic candidates, and hopefully he will keep taking party in the right direction.

[kerrygoddess]

20. Um...

Well no candidate in the history of the democratic party raised as much money as John Kerry...

And Kerry was not afraid to stand up and talk about ending corporate welfare either...

Maybe you just missed the memos. I hope to see good things from Dean as the head of DNC, but we'll have to wait and see... I was never a fan of his flavor koolaid.

[progressiveright]

23. i'm sure kerry said that somewhere

but I guess failure of that part of his message to get to me, as a person who is relatively interested in politics as opposed to half of our country, is a part of general failure of his campaign. Voters, even educated ones, still need some straightforward messages to depend on that are hammered down from the top through the 'media filter'. so fine, he mentioned corporated welfare somewhere, but it has to be a theme shouted from the rooftops, as in - this is what we are going to do, we are going to have all these wonderful social program and we are going to pay for them by cutting corporate welfare, this is what we democrats stand for !

[Negatron]

22. As I said in another thread, they are short-sighted.

It bears repeating:

We will pay through the nose for every cut they make. The cost of jails and hospitals is going to far exceed any "savings" from cutting the low-income safety net. When you take away the things underpriveleged people need in order to live a decent life, you are consigning them to an indecent life. In real-world terms, that translates to prisons for those who lose housing and education, and emergency rooms for those who lose health care. Every dime they are saving now is going to cost a dollar later, but they don't give a shit because they will either be dead by then, or sitting on a pile of money. Guess who is going to be stuck footing the bill?