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You're kidding, right?
Warning--politics ahead....
The Republicans have decided how to pay for Katrina. Yeah, right...
"Congressional Republicans have proposed to offset Katrina with nearly a trillion dollars in cuts from vital national services, like health care for the poor and elderly, student loans, Amtrak, and eliminating all funds for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. These cuts are almost five times the cost of rebuilding, which could be paid for entirely by ending Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy. This is divisive politics at its worst and we can do better. Let's show Congress that this destructive proposal will not fly by gathering 250,000 signatures on this petition this week."
The excess of the Republicans' proposed cuts is almost unbelievable. You can read the full proposal here:
Go to the petition here.
The Republicans have decided how to pay for Katrina. Yeah, right...
"Congressional Republicans have proposed to offset Katrina with nearly a trillion dollars in cuts from vital national services, like health care for the poor and elderly, student loans, Amtrak, and eliminating all funds for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. These cuts are almost five times the cost of rebuilding, which could be paid for entirely by ending Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy. This is divisive politics at its worst and we can do better. Let's show Congress that this destructive proposal will not fly by gathering 250,000 signatures on this petition this week."
The excess of the Republicans' proposed cuts is almost unbelievable. You can read the full proposal here:
* $225 billion cut from Medicaid, the last-resort health insurance program for the very poor.
* $200 billion cut from Medicare, the health care safety net for the elderly and the disabled.
* $25 billion cut from the Centers for Disease Control
* $6.7 billion cut from school lunches for poor children
* $7.5 billion cut from programs to fight global AIDS
* $5.5 billion to eliminate all funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
* $3.6 billion cut to eliminate the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities
* $8.5 billion cut to eliminate all subsidized loans to graduate students.
* $2.5 billion cut from Amtrak
* $2.5 billion to eliminate the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative
* $417 million cut to eliminate the Minority Business Development Agency
* $4.8 billion cut to eliminate all funding for the Safe and Drug-Free schools program
And the list goes on and on.
Go to the petition here.
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I am, however, very encouraged to see that in less than 24 hours MoveOn has already collected over 160,000 signatures.
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(insert foaming at the mouth ranting here)
What is WRONG with these people!?
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Eliminate Funding for Penile Implants Under Medicare
Decline Member [of Congress] Pay Raise
Eliminate Funding for Democratic and Republican Conventions
Repeal the Highway Earmarks in TEA-LU ($25 B in earmarks for things like bridges to nowhere, ferry systems and "Blue Ridge Music Center")
Limit Future Enrollment in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP pays farmers not to farm their land)
Drop Wealthy Communities from CDBG (The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program provides annual grants to communities to help eliminate slums and promote economic development. The existing formula actually favors wealthier areas.)
Eliminate School Lunches for Students Above 350% of Poverty
The School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program provide funds that enable participating schools to offer subsidized meals to students. For the 2004-2005 school year the federal subsidy was $0.21 per full price lunch and $0.23 per full price breakfast. This option would eliminate the breakfast and lunch subsidy for full-price meals for students whose household income is above 350 percent of the poverty line, while increasing the subsidy for reduced-price meals (both breakfast and lunch) by $0.20. Savings: $6.7 billion over ten years ($3.2 billion over five years)
Most disturbing:
Eliminate Teen Funding Portion of Title X Family Planning
HHS reports that 1/3 of Title X clients are teens. The program was designed in the 1970s to pay for family planning for the poor. Federal regulations allow teenagers to qualify on their own income as “poor” and thus qualify for free and reduced-priced contraceptives, including the IUD, the injection drug Depo-Provera, and the morning-after pill to teenagers, without any parental involvement or consent. $286 million is spent on the program each year, and if 1/3 of funds spent are spent on teens, that totals $95 million per year. Savings: $1.3 billion over 10 years ($511 million over five years)
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I say eliminate tax breaks for companies that make over 100M in net reportable income, increase tax levels for companies that make over $100M taxable income, repeal the capital gains tax breaks, increase the tax rate for the highest two income tax brackets, stop the cap growth on estate taxes at $3M and hold it there, and increase the EIC tax credit and education credits.
Then do a zero balance budget. Make everyone relobby for every penny.
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