Bullock Texas State History Museum
Misguided Priorities
RECEIVED Tue., Feb. 8, 2005
Dear Editor,
With the release this week of his slash ’n' burn budget, George W. Bush has finally showed the hand he has been holding for the past four years. The great tax giveaway of '01 and its lesser sequels perplexed many economists. Why was Bush shifting the tax burden from the corporations to the middle class? What was he thinking by giving away our surplus? Why was he willing to borrow so much from other countries to fund his ill-fated and half-baked policies?
The answer is clear now. Bush was draining away the necessary funds from the programs that help average Americans the most. Now, with this “budget,” his vision is almost complete. Gone is the America we once lived in, in which we looked after our neighbors. It has been replaced with a “me first” society that brings out the worst in human nature. And without a touch of irony, Bush blames the cutbacks on the deficit he created, all while trying to sell the snake-oil of privatized Social Security – a plan to add more than $4 trillion in red ink to our debt.
Even a cursory look at Bush's plan confirms huge cuts in programs that most effect Americans' lives, including supporting farming families, protecting the environment, and health care for our soldiers. It seems likely that the details of the budget will be even more alarming.
If the president installs his vision of America with this budget, it may be decades before this country can recover its moral soul. This country was not founded to inflate the wealth of those in power; it was founded to support and protect all of us.
Bush should be ashamed of his misguided priorities, but sadly, he has neither the humility nor the sense to do so.
With the release this week of his slash ’n' burn budget, George W. Bush has finally showed the hand he has been holding for the past four years. The great tax giveaway of '01 and its lesser sequels perplexed many economists. Why was Bush shifting the tax burden from the corporations to the middle class? What was he thinking by giving away our surplus? Why was he willing to borrow so much from other countries to fund his ill-fated and half-baked policies?
The answer is clear now. Bush was draining away the necessary funds from the programs that help average Americans the most. Now, with this “budget,” his vision is almost complete. Gone is the America we once lived in, in which we looked after our neighbors. It has been replaced with a “me first” society that brings out the worst in human nature. And without a touch of irony, Bush blames the cutbacks on the deficit he created, all while trying to sell the snake-oil of privatized Social Security – a plan to add more than $4 trillion in red ink to our debt.
Even a cursory look at Bush's plan confirms huge cuts in programs that most effect Americans' lives, including supporting farming families, protecting the environment, and health care for our soldiers. It seems likely that the details of the budget will be even more alarming.
If the president installs his vision of America with this budget, it may be decades before this country can recover its moral soul. This country was not founded to inflate the wealth of those in power; it was founded to support and protect all of us.
Bush should be ashamed of his misguided priorities, but sadly, he has neither the humility nor the sense to do so.
Sincerely,
Sean Barnes
San Marcos
Sean Barnes
San Marcos
