The Issue:
A nation’s budget is, in its aggregate, a statement about the values and priorities of its people. On February 4, 2008, President Bush released his budget proposal for fiscal year 2009 (which begins October 1, 2008) and it is most notable in that it features cuts in scores of programs that are essential to millions of middle- and low-income families and calls for additional tax cuts that will primarily benefit the wealthiest Americans. In short, it is a continuation of the disturbing budget choices President Bush has been making for the last 8 years.
President Bush has proposed spending $3.11 trillion while bringing in $2.7 trillion in revenues in fiscal year 2009. He would squeeze most domestic programs by essentially freezing them at this year’s levels. Furthermore, President Bush has not included much of the anticipated cost of the war in Iraq in his estimate, he has made unrealistic tax assumptions and he has assumed that domestic spending will remain stagnant for the next five years. All of these are considered to be flawed assumptions. President Bush also used his 2009 budget proposal to again call to permanently extend tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans that were enacted in 2001 and 2003. In addition to freezing domestic spending, many of these tax cuts would be paid for by reductions in Medicare and Medicaid.
Over the next seven months the United States Congress will debate and decide not only how the American taxpayers’ money is spent, but also how it is collected (in other words, should we continue to provide tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans). It is important that we make our voices heard and that we let our elected officials know that we place a premium on federal programs which help low- and middle-income Americans reach their potential and help fight continued racism and discrimination, which hold everyone back. The NAACP will continue to fight for more federal funding for public education, access to safe, secure and affordable housing, health care access and quality, crime prevention, job training and job creation, small business promotion, the protection of our basic civil rights and liberties, energy assistance, the protection of workers’ rights and more, including continued assistance for those whose lives were devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.
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