You may have heard, President Bush is trying to bolster his sagging poll numbers by throwing money at the Gulf Coast -- or rather, throwing money at politically connected contributors in the Gulf Coast while cutting wages for the poor saps who work there.
$200 billion. How are we going to pay for that? Well, Think Progress points out that you could get most of it from rolling back the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for the rich.
Ha ha ha ha ha!
No, seriously, we have to "cut unnecessary spending." And the House Republicans are ready, with their "Operation Offset," a list of cuts (PDF) they say could squeeze $500 billion in 10 years out of the federal budget.
Unsurprisingly, the cuts impose pain almost exclusively on programs meant to help the environment and the less fortunate. Here are a few of the cuts:
- Eliminate the EnergyStar program;
- eliminate state and community grants for energy conservation;
- eliminate National Parks Heritage Areas;
- reduce Amtrak subsidies (how come they never call highway spending "subsidies"?);
- eliminate the high-speed rail and light-rail programs;
- reduce fish and wildlife habitat construction;
- reduce Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management;
- eliminate the Applied Research for Renewable Energy Sources program;
- eliminate the FreedomCar program; and
- eliminate the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative.
Note that, as Brad Plumer points out, almost every federal program to encourage clean energy is cut, while the energy bill's recent billions in subsidies to oil and gas companies remain untouched.
There are more -- these are just the most salient environmental cuts. Some 30% of the cuts come from Medicaid. Others would eliminate a variety of foreign aid programs. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting would be de-funded, along with the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Many of the cuts are trivial in terms of the money they save. It's just a chance for House Republicans to take out some of their longtime enemies. It's really a stunning look into their priorities.
If you want to avoid cuts like this, get on the phone with your Congressional representatives.
(There are many, many blogs writing about this. Read around.)
(See also E.J. Dionne on the subject.)
Comments
View as Flat
trouserdude Posted 7:22 am
27 Sep 2005
social responsibility?
Who needs social responsibility?
This is a horrendous attack on our society, coupled with the attacks orchestrated by the wealthy right for some time now.
Opportunism aimed at clothing their overtly self-interested goals in a "relief" effort. This effort on further entrenches our society in the ineffective ways of the past and attempts to defund those effective programs the past has come up with.
We need a response that will address the inequality that Hurricane Katrina exposed and build something new. We have a unique opportunity to rebuild a region using the values of equality, freedom, and and environmental health that many profess to have.
I am hoping a proposal is made which offers a positive future to the affected region.
Permalink
gomothra Posted 1:00 am
28 Sep 2005
Operation Offset
_______________
From MoveOn.org:
Last week, congressional Republicans responded to Hurricane Katrina by proposing to cut nearly a trillion dollars from vital national services, like health care for the poor and elderly, student loans, Amtrak, and eliminating the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (again!).1 Republican leaders in Congress are now gauging the public's response to see if they can get away with their plan. We need to show them the answer is "no."
The cost of rebuilding the Gulf Coast, while huge, is far less than what President Bush has given away in tax cuts to the wealthiest one percent.2 National crises like Hurricanes Rita and Katrina are times for all Americans to stick together and put in our fair share.
So today we're launching an urgent petition to Congress to fully rebuild the Gulf Coast and pay for it by ending Bush's tax cuts for the very wealthy, not by slashing vital services that Americans need. If we can gather a quarter million signatures this week, we can show them that this destructive plan just won't fly.
Please sign today:
http://www.political.moveon.org/rebuild/?id=6042-3194599-x00foIAt66R32.GiuRFozg&t=3
The Republican proposal, titled "Operation Offset," was authored by the Republican Study Committee, a group of over 100 influential members of Congress, including powerful committee chairs and members of the Republican leadership.3 The proposal starts with support from at least these 100 representatives, and they are looking to quickly build momentum.
A full reconstruction of the Gulf Coast region is generally estimated to cost around $200 billion.4 We could more than meet this cost by rolling back Bush's 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for just the wealthiest one percent of the country, which would save us an estimated $327 billion.5
"Operation Offset," however, calls for an astounding $949 billion dollars in cuts over 10 years to vital national services.6--almost five times the full cost of reconstruction. To further put that in perspective, it's also more than 4 times what we've spent in Iraq.7
This plan is not about "offsetting," or rebuilding--it's about exploiting this crisis to push their longstanding goals for America. As conservative movement leader Grover Norquist has often put it, the goal is to get government "down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub."8 This proposal is their latest attempt to drown the public sector.
The excess of the Republicans' proposed cuts is almost unbelievable. You can read the full proposal here:
http://www.political.moveon.org/images/operation_offset/operation_offset.htm?id=6042-3194599-x00foIA t66R32.GiuRFozg&t=4
Here are just some of the most egregious cuts:
- $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.Which and how many of these cuts move forward in Congress depends largely on the public response this week.
As the reconstruction begins our country faces a basic question: Will we respond to Katrina by banding together to solve national problems, or by helping the wealthy and powerful cut and run while those left behind fend for ourselves?
The radical Republicans have spoken up loud and clear with their answer, and we must respond with ours.
Please sign today:
http://www.political.moveon.org/rebuild/?id=6042-3194599-x00foIAt66R32.GiuRFozg&t=5
____________________
1 "Lawmakers Prepare Plans to Finance Storm Relief," The New York Times, September 20th 2005
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/21/national/nationalspecial/21cong.html
Note: the $500 billion referred to this article only covers section 1 in "Operation Offset". The full proposal has six sections and calls for total cuts of $949,674,000,000 over 10 years.
See the full proposal here: http://www.moveonpac.org/images/operation_offset/operation_offset.htm#total?id=6042-3194599-x00foIAt 66R32.GiuRFozg&t=6
2 Center for American Progress
http://thinkprogress.org/2005/09/22/progressive-spending/
3 The Republican Study Committee
http://johnshadegg.house.gov/rsc/about.htm
Some examples of prominent RSC members include:
RSC Founder Rep. John Doolittle (AZ), Republican Conference Secretary
Rep. Eric Cantor (VA) Chief Deputy Majority Whip
Rep. Richard Pombo (CA), Chair, House Committee on Resources
Rep. Joe Barton (TX), Chair, House Committee on Energy and Commerce
4 "How to spend (almost $1 billion a day)" Time Magazine, September 26th, 2005
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1106310,00.html
5 Center for American Progress
http://thinkprogress.org/2005/09/22/progressive-spending/
6 Operation Offset, RSC Budget Options 2005
http://www.political.moveon.org/images/operation_offset/operation_offset.htm?id=6042-3194599-x00foIA t66R32.GiuRFozg&t=7
7 Based on a $196 billion dollar cost for the Iraq war to date.
National Priorities Project
http://costofwar.com/
8 "Grover Norquist: 'Field Marshal' of the Bush Plan", The Nation, May 14th 2001
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20010514/dreyfuss
PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
____________________________
____________________________
The VANGUARD PUBLIC FOUNDATION contributes $200,000 to the
Higher Ground Hurricane Relief Fund at nationally televised
benefit concert with Danny Glover and Harry Belafonte:
http://www.alternet.org/katrina/25862/
The Vanguard Public Foundation . . . has a long history of social justice philanthropy
and activism, and has established a People's Hurricane Relief Fund.
To support this effort, send tax-deductible donations to:
People's Hurricane Relief Fund
Vanguard Public Foundation
383 Rhode Island Street, Suite 301
San Francisco, California 94103
For More Information call (415) 487-2111
Want to Volunteer? Email Becky Belcore at: bbelcore@hotmail.com
To donate on-line visit 222.vanguardsf.org
___________________________
"The Vanguard Foundation strives to eradicate racism in all its manifestations and promote
civil rights, economic justice, gender equality and community empowerment." {{Hari Dillon, President}}
383 Rhode Island St., Suite 301 | San Francisco, CA 94103 | Phone (415) 487-2111 | Fax (415) 487-2124
___________________________
___________________________
Here's a really good idea for cleanup in floodzones: bio-remediation.
I found these references on the Dennis Kucinich/Peace Alliance Forum:
http://www.kucinich.us/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=16856&highlight=#16856
http://www.kucinich.us/phpBB2/index.php?sid=4e51c84d0edcb108fa914f0fa3556554
_________
"Effective MicroorganismsTM, or EM*1® as it is sold in over 100 countries, consists of 3 major genera of microorganisms: phototrophic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, and yeast. EM*1® is produced in 54 countries (including the USA), all-natural, non genetically modified, and approved for certified organic production under the new USDA program (OMRI Listed). Although originally developed By Dr. Teruo Higa for an alternative to synthetic fertilizers and pest controls, the use of EM Technology has broadened in the last two decades from agriculture to water treatment, odor control, animal husbandry, human health, and numerous industrial treatments."
_________
For more information on Effective Microorganisms, please go to:
http://www.emamerica.com/ or call: 1-505-983-4014.
_________
"We are getting very close to applying "Effective Microorganisms" (EM) to the disaster site in New Orleans. Jon Mackey, founder of Whole Foods, is willing to purchase all of the stocks of EM from the production plant in Tucson, about 25 tons, and ship it to the New Orleans Disaster Relief. Once there, each gallon of EM can be activated 2000 times from its original quantity, which would total 50,000 tons. The final hurdle is in getting the authorization to begin applying it. EM was used extensively throughout the Tsunami Wave Disaster. The World Health Organization had originally warned that more deaths would occur from the spread of pathogen diseases than occurred from the Tsunami Waves, which was over 150,000 deaths. The deaths from the pathogen diseases never happened. The death rate was actually lower after the disaster than before. EM saved tens of thousands of lives. EM was also used by the German government after the flood disasters a couple of years ago that resulted in over $20 Billion in damage. Also, EM has been successful in cleaning up the inland seas of Japan.
EM is relatively new to the US, although it is being used in over 120 countries around the world and has been in use for over 25 years. The final hurdle of getting EM applied to the disaster site in Louisiana is crucial. Whole Foods has been very generous in offering to purchase and transport the EM to New Orleans. The flooded area will take at least six more weeks to pump and drain. However, in about a week, the stagnant waters combined with sewage, poisons, and other contamination sources in New Orleans will begin breeding pathogen bacteria that will begin spreading diseases throughout the region. The CDC (Center for Disease Control) in Atlanta is aware of this, but is not publicizing it to the media. The government is currently planning on spraying bleach to control the spread of pathogens, but bleach will only add to the long-term deleterious damage of the disaster.
EM is an all-natural, organic solution that has no negative side-effects. This is why Germany and South Asia resorted to its usage rather than chemicals in their disaster decontamination relief. At this point, we simply need authorization from FEMA and federal relief agencies to move forward.
Senator John McCain is from Arizona, where EM is produced in the US. Many top officials are telling us that he is the most influential individual to gain approval in these emergency circumstances. We currently have friends of Sen. McCain contacting him and apprising him of the situation. But other contacts are needed. We need top officials from around the country encouraging this proven technology to be used immediately, before this disaster evolves into a horrendous catastrophe from the spread of pathogen diseases. Please, this is a call to everyone to use your personal resources and personal contacts to prevent a tragedy of much greater proportions.
Help us to get FEMA to authorize the application of EM as soon as possible! The EM website is http://www.emamerica.com/. They can be contacted at: 1-866-369-3678.
Please forward this message to all interested parties or call my office at 505-983-4014. Every day, every hour, every minute is crucial! Many thanks for your prayers and encouragement."
James McMath
___________________________
___________________________
... a seed is planted -- who knows what will grow? You are invited to stop in and visit: TAHOMAHOMESITE www.tahomahome.com
Permalink
Storm Dragon Posted 1:39 am
08 Oct 2005
Time to get our priorities straight
As usual, this country seems to have its priorities backwards. We wage costly, disastrous, and morally reprehensible "pre-emptive" wars overseas, and then, when disaster strikes at home, we wonder where the money will come from for repairs. When are we going to get some sense?
Permalink