Rich Man Poor Man

The rich continue to benefit from Bush's largesse at the expense of the poor. Just last Thursday, the Senate cut spending by $36 billion and taxes by $70 billion. The problem is the cuts included removing medical benefits for 6 million poor children, food stamps to 225,000 working families, and child-care for 330,000 poor children whose parents work. The $70 billion in tax cuts are primarily aimed at capital gains and dividends, which help the richest segments of our population, while the cuts exacerbate the financial insecurity of low income families.

An editorial in yesterday's St. Petersburg Times printed a scathing rebuke of the cuts, and pointed out that although it's necessary "to bring the deficit under control, it's hard to make a case for asking poor people to pay more when rich people are paying less." Just how much less are the rich paying?

An Urban Institute/Brookings Center report on the 2001 tax cuts shows that people with annual incomes of more than $1-million have received an annual average break of $103,000. Further, two new tax breaks scheduled to take effect in January will allow them to pocket $19,200 more each year.

Gee, I doubt families making $1 million will have to worry about heating their homes or feeding their children without those tax cuts, but apparently Bush and Congress see it differently. Forget about a refresher course in ethics, how about a course in doing what is morally right? Or, as the editorial puts it:

As to the values implied by such priorities, the president might want to listen to some voices in his faith-based community. A collection of church leaders, including the Rev. Frank Griswold, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church USA, recently wrote:

"Some contend that these (tax) cuts will stimulate the economy and improve life for all Americans, but we believe that stocking the rich man's larder is a peculiar strategy for getting Lazarus more food. Not only does this policy rest on dubious economic assumptions, but it asks the poor to pay the cost for a prosperity in which they may never share."