Poverty reduction should be a moral imperative in politics. A budget that scapegoats the poor, fattens the rich, and asks for sacrifice mostly from those who can least afford it is a moral outrage. These budget priorities would cause the prophets to rise up in righteous indignation, as should we. Our nation deserves better vision.
-Jim Wallace 04.27.05

Budget Reconciliation Passes in Close Final Vote

Feb. 3, 2006

On Wednesday, February 1, Congress took the final vote on the fiscal year 2006 “budget reconciliation” bill, which cuts $40 billion in mandatory (“entitlement”) spending and removes support for a range of low-income programs.

The House passed the budget “conference report” (S. 1932) by a vote of 216 – 214. The Senate approved the bill in December. All House Democrats (except Rep. Blumenauer who was absent), Independent Bernie Sanders (VT), and 13 Republicans voted against the bill. The legislation will now be sent to President Bush to sign into law.

Passage of the budget will result in cuts to health care, child support, and educational assistance for low-income families. At the same time, Congress is planning to provide more tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. In fact, on February 2, the Senate passed a $70 billion tax reconciliation bill that may eventually include provisions to extend capital gains and dividends provisions enacted in 2003. Under reconciliation rules, the size of the tax cut package was allowed to rise from $60 billion to $70 billion once the budget bill was passed. These budget and tax bills (which together comprise this year’s “reconciliation” process) will increase the deficit by $30 billion, despite claims that the process is an act of fiscal discipline. Cutting supports for families is not a good option on its own, but doing that AND increasing the deficit is not fiscally responsible. Deficits affect our children 's futures just like social cuts harm low-income people now.

Some argue that past tax cuts, and extending them, stimulate the economy and help job growth. However, the current economic recovery has underperformed past recoveries in terms of GDP growth, and investment growth has been below historical norms (www.cbpp.org). Job creation under President Bush has been the lowest since World War II. Hourly and weekly wages are dropping, poverty has risen in each of the past four years, and food insecurity has risen in each of the last five. Plus, 9.2 million working families are on the brink of poverty. A study by United for a Fair Economy concludes that these tax cuts have not produced the jobs promised, the quality of jobs as measured by income, health insurance, and retirement benefits has declined, and changes in tax policy have no clear impact on job growth (www.faireconomy.org).

Instead of spurring economic growth, more tax cuts will lead the U.S. deeper into debt. Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, noted the connection between further tax cuts and the deficit: “We should not be cutting taxes by borrowing… We do not have the capability of having both productive tax cuts and large expenditures, and presume that the deficit doesn’t matter” (NY Times 11/4/05).

This is why I'm frustrated with Bush's presidency. People always find out I vote Liberal and freak out and ask me how I feel about the war in Iraq and ask, "So you believe in abortion?" or somehow relate it to me having friends who are gay. Nope, mosty the ridiculous things he gets away with under the radar. The country functioning under a moral budget is a much more Biblical issue than the War on Terror and although I have strong feelings regarding both, does no one care that ALL of the House Democrats and 13 of his own guys voted against it? Accountability? Anyone?

Woe to those who make unjust laws,
to those who issue oppressive decrees,
to deprive the poor of their rights
and withold justice from the oppressed of my people,
making widows their prey
and robbing the fatherless.
What will you do on the day of reckoning,
when disaster comes from afar?
To whom will you run for help?
Where will you leave your riches?
Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives
or fall among the slain.

Isaiah 10:1-4