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Uncompassionate ConservativePosted on Feb 8, 2007By E.J. Dionne WASHINGTON—It was one of those moments when a public official gives away a larger truth by offering what seems to be a throwaway line. Testifying earlier this week on President Bush’s budget, Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. suggested he would not mind a bit if the Democratic Congress added money to prevent cutbacks in coverage under the federal government’s children’s health insurance program. “It just may be,” Paulson said mildly, “that the Congress believes that that’s something that should be funded at a higher level.” In other words, Bush’s budget is a collection of artificial numbers—including cuts in domestic programs Congress will inevitably reverse—that allow the president to claim fiscal responsibility while demanding that his tax cuts for the wealthy be made permanent. The cutbacks in health insurance coverage for lower-income working families are among the most egregious of the president’s fiscal choices. And it’s not just Democrats who are saying so. “These cuts interfere with the fundamental responsibility of government: to safeguard the lives of its citizens,” said Gov. M. Jodi Rell of Connecticut, a member of that small, hardy group of Northeastern Republicans to survive last November’s Democratic tide. “Whether we are helping struggling families stay warm through the harsh winter months or protecting homes and residents against terrorism and natural disasters, we expect our federal partners to carry their fair share,” she said. “The cuts to these programs place extraordinary burdens on the states.” Or consider the response of the Rev. Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA. “The president’s new budget,” he said, “hurts those living in poverty at a time when we should be doing even more to help the most vulnerable among us.” You’d think Bush would understand this since he regularly praises faith-based groups and long ago touted himself as a compassionate conservative. After all, the president made big news last week when he finally acknowledged what has been close to unmentionable in his administration. “The fact is,” he said, “that income inequality is real.” Facts, as Ronald Reagan once observed, are stubborn things. But this is a budget destined to make income inequality much worse. The liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has created a chart that should be a centerpiece of all discussions concerning Bush’s accounting. The center examined what the White House’s proposals would mean in 2012, the magical year when Bush—with much flimflam—claims his plan will produce a budget surplus. It found that if enacted, the president’s budget would lead that year to $73 billion in tax cuts for households with annual incomes of over $1 million and $34 billion in cuts in domestic discretionary programs, many of them benefiting Americans of low and middle income. So here is a president who believes passionately in redistributing income—upward. As Rell suggested, there are plenty of problems with Bush’s budget, and with Republican governors complaining (Rell is not alone), even members of Congress from the president’s own party will quietly turn their backs on parts of his plan. But the most shameful move may be the poorly disguised reduction in SCHIP, the program for working families with kids whose households earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but too little to afford private coverage—exactly the sorts of hardworking citizens welfare reformers claim to love. At a time when so many Americans are losing private medical insurance, the SCHIP program—originally passed in 1997 with strong bipartisan support—is one of the few government efforts working against that dangerous health trend. The program now covers 6 million children in the course of a year. A president who cared about inequality would presumably be proposing to expand the program to cover the remaining 6 million lower-income children who still lack health coverage. At modest cost and in a rather simple way, Bush could get credit for taking a measured but significant step toward universal coverage. Instead, Bush proposes what’s called an increase in SCHIP funding of $4.2 billion over five years that has the practical effect of cutting into the number of kids covered. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., the Finance Committee chairman and no flaming liberal, has estimated it would take $15 billion over that period just to maintain current coverage levels. The president is far more committed to cutting taxes on Paulson’s old Wall Street pals than to getting health coverage to kids with low-wage working parents. It’s to Paulson’s credit that, from his words at least, he appeared to be embarrassed. Clearly Bush isn’t.
E.J. Dionne Jr.’s e-mail address is postchat(at symbol)aol.com.
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By Fadel Abdallah, February 17, 2007 at 8:09 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
Another glaring proof that the so-called compassionate conservatism is a hot-air slogan and hypocrisy of the worst type is a February 15 survey by the UNICEF ranking the U.S. and Britain at the bottom of a list of 21 wealthy countries in child welfare. You can read more about this report at Washingtonpost.com
Report thisCan we establish a link between these findings and evil Bush and Blair’s policies? Yes, we can and we should. For despite of being the two richest countries in the world, the most vulnerable segment of the society, children, fare worst in these two countries. While untold figures of treasure and human resources are wasted on colonialist wars based on lies, deception and pure evil, children are made the first victims of these evil policies. I don’t know how conscientious Americans and British can sleep when they read these findings. I am one who loses sleep over this, and it seems I can’t take it anymore! Wake up America and Britain! Wake up evil taxpayers!
By TAO Walker, February 14, 2007 at 7:47 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
To born (again?) bullies, whose “....name (in these latter days) is Legion,” “.....the most vulnerable among us....” are nothing but prey. So what better way to guarantee a steady supply of easy pickings than to systematically reduce entire nations of already captive peoples to the meanest level of vulnerability? And what better method to do it than to turn them all into wage/debt slaves......for generations to come (assuming perhaps idiotically there will be any, under conditions of such institutionally enforced degradation)?
Your predator classes are not just toying around with you, people. They are eating you alive, and intend fully to go right on doing it ‘til hell freezes over or you’ve all been consumed, whichever comes first. Better get your bets down on that before the window of opportunism closes forever.
Visit a feed-lot or a factory-farm or a slaughter-house. Ask yourself honestly if there is really no possibility whatsoever that in this big wide universe there are entities able and eager to do to stupified two-leggeds here what the civilized breeds of them are doing to the the hapless bovine victims of the hamburger industry, for one example. Consider whether these beings could be sufficiently sophisticated to keep their human livestock as ignorant of what’s being done to them as “The Colonel” keeps chickens, for another.
Are their semi-human overseer classes fixing to cull-out weaker, less “productive” members of a domesticated human herd now numbering nearly six billion? You bet your dumb ass they are!
How else to account for the well-funded global effort to selectively wreck the human immune system? The breeding stock has been “chosen.” Your “average” person has about a snowball’s chance in hell of making the grade. Good thing here in the good ol’ U.S.S.A (as in Lake Woebegone) all god’s chilluns is “above average.” Just ask ‘em, if you don’t want to believe this old Indian.
Meanwhile, the hapless human cattle mill around in utter confusion, taking out their unaccountable misery on each other, completely oblivious to their shadowy tormentors lurking just out of range. Only the utterly foolish and wilfully blind would say it can’t happen here....except to “the lower animals,” of course.
That’s the thing about a “food chain,” though. There’s really no such place as “the top.” Us Indians don’t call our living arrangement here The Great Hoop of Life Herownself for nothing.
HokaHey!
Report thisBy Jon B, February 14, 2007 at 5:37 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17155848/
US and UK ranked at the bottom of child welfare.
Is there a inverse correlationship between anglo and welfare of human beings?
Report thisBy john sandoval, February 14, 2007 at 3:49 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
Subject; National debt
In his 2003 state of the union speech George W Bush Lied when he said; Iraq had 25,000 liters of Anthrax, 38,000 liters of Botulinum Toxin, and 500 Tons of Sarin; also Mustard and VX nerve agents. (these quantities were made up no source was mentioned) Bush also Lied stating that Iraq had Weapons of Mass Destruction.
Report thisVice President Cheney Lied when he said; Iraq has a Nuclear Weapons program that is making progress. Secretary of State Colin Powell Lied when he said; Iraq had Biological Weapons Laboratories on rails and Chemical Weapons Bunkers.
(an absolute falsehood)
Ex deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz (now President of The World Bank) Lied when he stated that Saddam Hussein had Nuclear Weapons of Mass Destruction ready to attack the United States.
He was the prime architect, designer of the excuse for invading Iraq the Weapons of Mass Destruction. Paul Wolfowitz, represents Israel, more than our United States.
No one would have agreed to launch a full scale war on Iraq without the sensationalizing of this made up nuclear threat. When asked what he had to say about this sensational lie, Paul Wolfowitz responded quote! I don’t have to !
It is blatantly obvious in view of the exorbitant cost of the Iraqi War (projected to be $468 Billion) that he deliberately drove the point home, that War was inevitable, in order to raise the National debt, so The unconstitutional Federal Reserve Board could collect the prime rate of interest, for the loans to support the War. He is an American Jew and is arbitrarily representing the best interests of the State of Israel. He is the prime responsible person for our involvement in the Middle East Crisis. The second most responsible person is George W Bush an autocratic/dictatorial President with the mentality of a spoiled teenager. This man will go down in history as the creator of the Illegal Iraqi War.
A war that is placing America in serious risk of a future Economic Collapse.
The Seven Governors of The Federal Reserve Board are celebrating the collection of the behemoth amount of Prime Rate Interest. Israel gets Billions per year, in aid and guaranteed loans from the United States of America; while Mr. Paul Wolfowitz is basking in his appointment to new President of The World Bank.
For what ? Other purpose, did King David create The Treasures of Zion.
Contribution by Jonathan
By Zena, February 14, 2007 at 10:50 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
I’m suspicious of this article. Wanna know why? ‘Cause Catholic charties are involved....is it OUR American children that’s most affected, or illegal alien’s kids? Because it’s been clear for some time that Catholic charties favor illegal immigrants over the American people who DO NOT BELONG to their church. They’d rather see people over-populating and starving than to fight for their human rights of survival and quality of life. Don’t rag on me about this...I don’t have to make this stuff up. Just the facts, Man.
Report thisBy Jon B, February 12, 2007 at 10:13 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
“Conyea West said it best"George Bush doesnt care about black people. Unless your name happens to be Condolezza.”
Uhhhhhhhh, are you sure Condi is black? I am color blinded and I thought she’s white.
Report thisBy marie2, February 12, 2007 at 9:32 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
Bush continues to cut back on issues that matter most like our children’s health care, global poverty, and medicare. We should let our representatives know that we do not agree with his policies. We would like to see his Iraq War be cut back.
Report thisBy Bert, February 11, 2007 at 9:12 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
I think that Congress should put legislation on the table mandating a balanced budget, involving across-the-board cuts of 30%. Keep doing whatever it is that is being done, but do it for 30% less.
Congress controls the budget, there’s no law that says they have to rubber-stamp everything that flies across their desks, and they can do a damn sight better than has been done in previous years.
Public accountability and transparency on the budget is the remedy to all of this fiscal irresponsibility we’ve seen, and it didn’t just start yesterday, and it didn’t just start with Bush and company, either, although they’ve provided some of the more egregious negative examples in recent memory. Nonetheless, the point stands that it’s the expectation of the general public that Congress do as much as is humanly possible to make the books balance, and to prevent wholesale evacuation of the national coffers.
Whether anyone in this administration will stand responsible for their 3 trillion dollar red-ink spending spree remains to be seen, the burden of proof falls to Congress as well as the voters,
Report thisthis year could be interesting, in that context.
Time will tell what happens…
By Gus's Girlfriend, February 10, 2007 at 11:54 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
You got it right Bukko. That is their entire agenda: to siphon wealth away from the middle class and away from programs that help the poor, and into the coffers of the wealthy elites. That is what the Iraq debacle is all about, and that is what their new “budget” is all about. That is what every one of their policies is about: theft from the public treasure, and the chaos, murder, divisiveness and confusion that facilitate that theft. We live now under a “pathocracy”—meaning a government run by pathologically greedy and avaricious people. Republicanism today is nothing more than a convenient ideological system of self-delusion for the rich—a system that allows the country’s privileged few to remain deaf to the promptings of conscience while maintaining the illusion that they are decent people with ethics and intellectual integrity.
Report thisBy Rodney Matthews, February 10, 2007 at 8:39 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
Conyea West said it best"George Bush doesn’t care about black people. Unless your name happens to be Condolezza.
Report thisBy Bert, February 10, 2007 at 1:50 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
I think the public school system should be annually audited, but largely maintained as it is, and parents should actively seek to participate in educating their children, instead of placing all their hope in some acronymified government education program that’ll represent a supplemental taxpayer burden.
This administration led the last Congress down the garden path of systematic and intentional overspending, hopefully this Congress came to office with their integrity and ‘cancel’ stamps intact...8.5 trillion in red ink on the books, and counting...where will we be with all of that in 2020, or so? Does Congress, as a body, still have the capacity to think and plan ahead effectively, independent of the influence of various and sundry corporate influence, or has it somehow become a wholly owned subsidiary, by now?
Report thisWhat’s REALLY going on, here? Hmmm…
By Chaseme, February 9, 2007 at 10:15 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
People, it’s time to create avenues of escape from what is to be left of america.
The truly wise among us have futures that does not include trying to survive this mess that has been created by the bush administration.
Allow yourself for a few minutes to imagine what life is going to be like once these plans of cuts and bush replacements are in effect. You think they jacked up Iraq, wait until things start to unfold in america!
Report thisBy Dale Headley, February 9, 2007 at 5:11 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
It has always amazed me that Americans couldn’t see from the beginning of his 2000 campaign for President, that George Bush is not only not a “compassionate conservative”, he is not a compassionate person. It’s in his history, in his smirk, and in his eyes.
Report thisBy Quy Tran, February 9, 2007 at 5:08 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
Bush wanted to cut every funds for his illegal war in Iraq.
Report thisBy Ed, February 9, 2007 at 10:27 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
This “smoke and mirrors” budget game and the nearly full corporate takeover of government is going to lead to a full-blown economic depression in the United States. It will not surprise me if financial entities around the globe start unloading dollars in favor of euros in the next few years.
For far too long the U.S. has neglected health care issues, education, infrastructure and energy policy. An unregulated free market economy only works for short term gains, and as the baby boomers reach maturity, the bill is going to come due. The stock market is going to dip, the standard of living is going decline sharply and social unrest will follow (perhaps even to the point of armed revolution).
Is this what you want for your children?
The country as a whole needs to get its head out of its ass and start making hard choices that may be a little painful now to avoid a complete catastrophy later. It might be too late as we stand now.
Report thisBy Christopher Robin, February 9, 2007 at 9:42 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
That’s right our own people go without, while the political class jets pallets money off to Iraq.
And we can’t even expect an accounting where it has all gone 8.8 billion?
Is there an award Mr. Bremer hasn’t won? or elite Ivory tower college he’s not associated with too give some clue to the incompetence demonstrated here?
Bremer’s distinguished career,see here.
But Bremer didn’t manage this on his lonesome, no the Bush administration is the motherload of Wall Street windbags.
One’s who preach, but fail in the practicing. Is there an award for that? Would you trust the future Social Security system to the management of these types? Privatize....Yeah right...for who’s benefit?. What country will they send the assets off to? To make a quick easy profit? China?
These cuts interfere with the fundamental responsibility of government: to safeguard the lives of its citizens, -
Gov. M. Jodi Rell of Connecticut
With all due respect to my current governor, a slight correction .The government’s obligation is to it’s citizens. The safety and welfare of it’s own citizens. Which means the end results of it’s policies should be measured by how majority of citizens are.
Not just the current Dow Jones industrial number.
Why not bestow the largest honor of all? Complete this picture of democracy, and just put Alan Greenspan’s face on the twenty?
Report thisBy Larry, February 9, 2007 at 8:26 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
Sometimes a face tells all, to me. Possibly from experience, maybe from insight. Theodore Reik, a psychoanalyst, in his book, “Listening With The Third Ear,” states that “Intuition is internalized experience.”
Report thisI think that this president’s face tells me that he is a snivelling liar. A panderer to his illusionary belief that he is a true-blue member of a higher order of society.
In “The Education of Henry Adams,” Adams decries the degeneration of what he feels was once, indeed, a higher order of public servants, a higher order of members of our society: those who could divorce themselves from their “order” enough to consider and benefit all of its members--true humanists (but who also suffered from certain of the human frailties to which all of mankind is subject to): educated, principled, and unyielding in their beliefs.
Except for educated, mr. president has those qualities, albeit misguided. He adapted himself to, rather than understood, the responsibilities of that privileged class—having wealth and seeking public service to lift up the downtrodden; and, it shows in his face, to me.
Little surprise that he is pro-life, yet would deny those children who, if abortion was not available, have, at the very least, security in a health care system that would help promote their development.
He is false. He is a hologram of his order: form without substance. Check out the synonyms for false. Can you find a characterization of our president?
By Jackie T. Gabel, February 9, 2007 at 5:58 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
In Iraq it was bomb now, die later; at home, cut now, die later. What’s the difference? To the NWO (New World Oligarchy) the poor of the world are just a burden ones worth is measured only in his sweat and purchasing power time to start witholding labor general striks and the rise of a barter society to sustain the populus while the Oligarch’s phony paper pulverizes before their eyes.
Report thisBy Bukko in Australia, February 8, 2007 at 11:32 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
Obviously Gov. Rell does not understand the mission of government in Repiglican America. That mission is to give money to rich people and let the weak ones die. The Bush budget is a pefect vehicle to do that, especially the let people die part. Time to kick this fake Rethug out of the party!
Report this