Dubya's Fiscal Swan Song

[marmar]

from Too Much: A Commentary on Excess and Inequality:



Dubya's Fiscal
Swan Song
George W. Bush won't be around to lead the United States through 2009. But his enormously generous tax giveaways to America's wealthy will remain in place — at everyone else's expense.
February 11, 2008

By Sam Pizzigati

Here's a nutty idea. Let's start by cutting back on what the federal government spends on education — and the environment and health research, too.

And let's not forget to trim back federal aid for firefighters and other first responders. Or federal help for seniors facing huge spikes in home heating bills. Let's cut all this federal spending — by $15 billion or so.

Then let's take this $15 billion and give every dollar to taxpayers who make over $1 million a year. Wait, that's not nutty enough. Let's take that $15 billion, triple it, and only then give it to millionaires.

We clearly have the makings here for a truly great comedy sketch on Saturday Night Live.

But the SNL crew, to really maximize the guffaws, might want to make all this even more ridiculous — by choosing, for instance, to keep those giveaways to millionaires going for the next ten years, with each year's giveaway larger than the year before's.

Now that would be nutty.

That would also be exactly what President George W. Bush proposed last week in his latest — and last — federal budget submission to Congress.

“It's a good budget,” the President told the nation last week.

It's actually insane. This new Bush budget, to keep tax cuts flowing to America's wealthy, rips into federal programs that average Americans support — and need.

America's wealthy certainly don't need any more help. But they get plenty of it in the President's new budget. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.cipa-apex.org/toomuch/articlenew2008/feb11a.html