The President’s Scandalous Budget

[Lasher]

Here's more about the Bush cartel's FY 2007 budget. The shameful attempt to revive Social Security privatization, which is already under lively discussion here at DU, is not the only outrage it contains.

Senator Arlen Specter took a look at the President’s budget proposal for FY 2007 and called it "scandalous" for its cuts to health and education. He is right. The budget is shameful for abandoning investments in many vital services – and for recklessly handing out still more unaffordable tax cuts.

This budget requires sacrifice from those with modest incomes, but provides still
more billions to the wealthiest.

Massive Cuts to Services. The President’s budget cuts $182 billion over five years in domestic
programs except homeland security. Medicare is cut by $36 billion. Medicaid, just cut in FY 2006
budget reconciliation legislation, is hit again – with close to $14 billion in legislative and regulatory proposals. Low - and moderate-income people, young and old, are disproportionately affected.

Unaffordable, Unfair Tax Cuts. The budget also cuts taxes by at least $285 billion over five years, by making permanent tax cuts that would otherwise expire in the next few years, and by some new tax break proposals. Although the service cuts hit people with low to moderate incomes hardest, they get very little out of the tax cuts. On the other hand, millionaires will average $136,000 a year in tax breaks; over ten years, the millionaires’ share of the tax cuts will be $600 billion, according to the Tax Policy Center.

http://www.chn.org/pdf/060208presbudget.pdf