At approximately 9:40 AM today, President Millworth announced his budget plan. Many people in attendance were dismayed we were not handed the actual proposed budget (in hand) until after his speech but were allowed to ask general questions after his talk. After receiving the budget, we completely understood: He would have been pummeled by rotten fruit.In his opening comments, he again took the opportunity to use his campaign slogan by proclaiming his budget the "New - Idea" budget. His key messages were, "We have to collaborate for a better America" and then later, "We are in need of serious new ideas." The "collaborate" word was used several times. But not as many as his most often used phrase of "Let's be clear about something." That's precisely what the House and Senate want to know. Is there something the President can be clear on? Definitely not his budget. By slashing the National Defense budget and raising taxes by .99% (which he was happy to report was less than 1%), he expects the national deficit to turn into a surplus. We are talking about a $10 trillion debt with $47 billion in the current deficit. Yes, compounded over years it will be horrible, but some in attendance felt this budget was overly optimistic.
Possibly sensing some resistance, the President said, "We all need to come together to fix this economic crisis." That is probably a grandiose statement considering how the economic situation is for many Americans. Can we afford to lose even more of our income money while cutting back on the military? Do we feel any safer or more American by making such sacrifices? I'm not sure everyone's buying this candy, Mr. President.
If the President has his way, he anticipates a $39 billion in surplus each year. How does he propose to do this? He said, "with cheaper energy." The key is collaboration but he continued with this statement: (We) "can't cover everything. We're not here to drive numbers in your head but to give you an overview." His overview seems to include more than doubling the Energy budget.
When asked why the National Defense budget was cut by around 35%, the President said he felt the war was in the conclusion phase and the money that had been allocated to the war effort could be used elsewhere.
I asked him about the unemployment numbers that indicated we have more poor people this year and will definitely have a lot more poor people if they are taxed additionally in his proposed budget. If we have more poor people, I wondered, would the social services sectors be able to accomodate the needs of those new poor? The President responded that he had reallocated money in mind of the social services. This did not appear to be the case at all when the budgets were handed out. There were budget CUTS in the following areas: Medicare, Income Security, Social Security, Veterans Benefits and the Administration of Justice.
There was uproar in both houses regarding such areas of reallocation. I will be writing a more in-depth piece tomorrow on the reaction of Congress and any comments they wished to be a matter of record.
Until then -
E.E.
Of course, the income tax would probably go on the people who actually make money, rather than the poor who get money back from the government.
ReplyDeleteMillworth ran as a New Democrat. Despite some cuts in spending, I see an administration willing to gut the defense budget. Looks like a liberal to me.
I think I see your point, Mr. Plumber, yet people on minimum wage also pay taxes. A school teacher, even, pays taxes. Adding to these taxes would put those on the line of "just making it" to economically disadvantaged. In a sense, additional taxes will make more people poor by classification.
ReplyDeleteWhat "money back from the government" are you referring to? If it is income tax refunds, you are sorely mistaken. You have to make money to get money back. Most lower income families break even, and a number of them pay taxes rather than a refund. A large percentage of them carry several jobs without benefits. Can you imagine, Mr. Plumber, working three different shifts at three different workplaces, riding public transportation, and at the end of the day, you still don't have independent health coverage? Something is missing in the system and this is not an area we need to cut.