Yesterday the President presented his $2.4 trillion budget for fiscal year 2005 - "a plan to help make America a more secure, more prosperous, and more hopeful country" (the White House's words, not ours).
Heavy on national security expenditures and promises to cut domestic spending, the President's budget has a number of goals (again, according to the White House):
#1 Winning the War on Terror by Defeating Terrorists and Their Supporters
Yes, GW's budget includes more than $400 billion for the Defense Department. But that isn't necessarily going to help us win the war on terror. That's a war that was started in large part because of American troops in the Middle East, and the invasion of Iraq only made things worse. Unless that $400 billion is going to help get our troops out of Iraq or address the root causes of extremism (poverty, hopelessness, hopelessness, poverty), then we are only going to add fuel to the fire of Terrorists and their Supporters.
#2 Protecting America by Securing Our Homeland
America is not more secure because of the war on terror, escalated Orange Alerts or no. Americans are hurting because we can't find jobs, afford health insurance or pay for childcare. We don't need more scare tactics. We need real solutions.
#3 Strengthening Our Economy
The President's budget projects a $521 billion deficit for fiscal year 2004, a result of economic downturn and an unbelievably shortsighted tax policy that has slashed taxes for the richest Americans at a time when the country is bleeding defense dollars and cutting social services. Bush wants to make those tax cuts permanent. Oh, and it turns out that the White House can't do math. Now it says the Medicare bill it pushed through Congress will cost $134 billion more than projected - not exactly giving us confidence in this Administration's economic stewardship.
#4 Supporting Key Priorities Like Education, Health Care, and Helping Americans Most in Need
Let's be clear. When the White House claims that it is "keeping non-defense, non-homeland security Federal spending growth to less than 1%," that means that Americans Most in Need won't be getting a lot of help from the federal government. Meanwhile, the Bush education policy is leaving schools behind, branded as failures, and the kids who fail the tests won't be far, well, behind.
It's an odd budget for an election year, according to Elisabeth Bumiller in the New York Times:
Mr. Bush's calculation is that voters will care far more about protecting the nation from another terrorist attack than about cuts to popular programs, or, for that matter, the record-high deficit.To that end, Mr. Bush's $2.4 trillion budget provides the back-up material to the re-election theme that the president first set forth in his State of the Union address: He is the national security candidate to take care of America's fears.
Hear that America? Mr. Bush is going to take care of our deepest fears.
We're feeling more hopeful already.
It'd be interesting to look into the effects of the President's educational changes on the fabric of his political support. Every teacher I've even tangentially mentioned the testing requirements to has gone off on a rant for at least ten minutes, usually more.
If the testing has the effect of keeping students from graduating and prevents public schools from getting the funding they require to *improve* things, then all it would take is a few well-placed parent-teacher conferences for child-rearing voters to realize that Bush might not have the most valuable contribution to make to the system.
One might hope, at least.
Posted by: Eric on February 3, 2004 10:45 AMWell, his own party is turning against him, so we can only hope that someone else occupies the White House come the end of the elections.
Posted by: Zog on February 5, 2004 10:28 AM#1: Let's do it your way; let the terrorists continue to grow and bomb innocent people and that will win the war on terror.
#2: You want a real solution, pound the pavement like me. Work for less until you find something that brings more. This is a recession and we're coming out of it, slowly. So whom do you wish to hand you a job, ME? LOL Somebody told me, "You make your own mistakes and your own breaks." And another said, "Just do it!" What are you waiting for?
#3: Now you're saying the White House can't do math because Congress passed a different bill than proposed. Do I hear you correctly? That's a neat twist!
#4: Hmmmm, there's a gunman at your door but you want use the phone to call for a pizza delivery, not call 911. If you're a Democrat, then I'm a Republican! I hope you're not a doctor at my hospital.
