Cannibalizing ourselves
Domestic priorities like federal aid to schools and health research are squeezed under President Bush’s proposed budget for next year, but funding for the Pentagon, the war in Iraq and anti-terrorism efforts get impressive increases.
Monday’s budget tome will have a price tag of more than $2.7 trillion. The departments of Education, Commerce, Interior and Energy – will see their budgets, on average, frozen or cut slightly below today’s already austere levels.
…The National Institutes of Health’s budget is frozen at this year’s level and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is being asked to take a 2 percent cut. Both programs lose ground as Bush puts a higher priority on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and hurricane relief. </i>
We’re gutting the infrastructure of this country to pay for a non-existent “War on Terror” – just how long can we wobble before we lose our footing and fall?