Big Government ConservativesCould there be a more frightening thought?
The belief that a child born into poverty is not trapped by the economic circumstances of his (or her) birth remains an ensconced part of the American dream, yet real numbers inform us that the American dream of exceptional opportunity may not be as true as we'd once thought. The gap between rich and poor has widened since 1970, and has particularly accelerated since the economy slowdown in late 2000. There is a significant link between federal tax policies and the well-being of the poorest living in America's cities. Hurricane Katrina revealed a lot of previously-hidden truths about poverty and the failures and shortfalls of federal and state legislation to help the working poor. We might have expected to see the Bush administration reconsidering the path they were taking on economic policy after Hurricane Katrina. Instead,The Urban Institute-Brookings Tax Policy Center reports that the households with incomes more than $1 million a year are receiving tax cuts averaging $103,000 each this year, and two new tax cuts primarily benefiting the same group are slated to take effect Jan. 1. As the federal budget moves toward finalization, the Senate and House of Representative appear to continue to move forward on the pre-Katrina plan for $13 billion in proposed cuts in Medicaid and Food Stamps.
Journal Star - Lincoln, Nebraska
Should the nation proceed with these tax cuts at a time when many Katrina survivors remain in difficult straits, when huge sums are being discussed for Katrina relief and recovery, and when cuts in domestic programs — including programs for the poor — are slated for Congressional consideration this fall as part of the reconciliation bills?In a nonpartisan Diageo/Hotline poll taken Oct. 12 to 16 and released this week, only 4 percent of people named cutting "spending for domestic programs, like health care and education" as the best way to pay for problems caused by Hurricane Katrina. But 31 percent said "delay or cancel tax cuts," and 27 percent said "cut spending for the war in Iraq."....So, as Republicans get pulled in several directions over the fiscal future, the party could also end up finding itself pulled toward trouble in next year's midterm elections. [Terry Neal - Cutting the Cost of Spending - WaPo]
See Center on Budget and Policy Priorities New Tax Cuts Primarily Benefitting Millionaires Slated to Take Effect in January (pdf)
Because of heavy Federal cuts to programs intended to alleviate poverty, the individual State governments have been under intense pressure to close their budget gaps in a weaker economy. Decisions forced upon States about decreased allotments for social programs have had a direct impact on lower income families, especially on the issues of unemployment, child care, and health/disability insurance. These decisions have made the poorest in our society less mobile.
Michael Harrington wrote about "The Other America" over 40 years ago. Even then, he realized that "the state governments in the U.S. have a political peculiarity that renders them incapable of dealing with the problems of poverty. They are, for the most part, dominated by the conservative rural elements. In every state with a big industrial population, the gerrymander has given the forces of rural conservatism two or three votes per person. So it is that the state legislatures usually take more money out of the problem areas than they put back into them. So it is that state governments are notoriously weighted in the direction of caution, pinchpenny economics, and indifference to the plight of the urban millions." Harrington said that it was a "noble sentiment to argue that private moral responsibility expressing itself through charitable contributions should be the main instrument of attacking poverty. The only problem is that such an approach does not work."
The Republican party is going to begin to come apart when Americans catch on to the fact that they are currently a party of narrow values, BIG government and radically Conservative politics. After Hurricane Katrina, moderate America is already beginning to shiver and give the cold shoulder to the GOP's hypocritical rhetoric.
Republicans are losing control of runaway deficits and the Iraq War (and the monster-sized spending accompanying it - with much of that money mysteriously disappearing in the appearently corrupt "new" Iraq). Gas prices are through the roof. Health care, even if you can obtain it or afford it, has a rapidly increasing price tag. Republicans in Washington have passed a Medicare bill that will create $139 billion in profits for pharmaceutical corporations, yet produces inflated prices for elderly consumers. No one bought the Bush line on privatizing (ie: dismantling) Social Security.
We need a new direction. The Democrats know it. They've been saying it for a long time now. The American people are agreeing. They want America to be governed as one America - not just for the few, but for everyone.
As for the failure of the GOP's policies, the proof is in the poverty.
