everyone thinks bush's "budget" is a bad idea

Bush's Budget Sparks Bipartisan Protest
WASHINGTON - The administration defended President Bush's $2.77 trillion budget plan Tuesday against criticism that it would damage education, health care and farm programs in the name of combating budget deficits.
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But critics noted that the deficit for the current budget year would rise to an all-time high of $423 billion and they questioned Bush's projections for declining deficits in future years.

Democrats said Bush's proposed budget for Fiscal 2007, beginning Oct. 1, was seriously understating spending that will be needed to fight wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and did not include the billions of dollars needed in future years to make sure the alternative minimum tax designed for the wealthy does not pinch more and more middle class taxpayers.

Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., said the explosion of federal deficits was adding to the national debt, requiring the administration to come to Congress in the next few weeks to raise the $8.18 trillion debt ceiling. He said all of that debt is being financed more and more by foreigners.

"America is borrowing 80 percent of the world's annual savings. We are handing our children and our children's children a set of obligations they will owe to foreign central banks," Baucus told Snow.

Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., produced charts showing that the amount of federal government debt held by foreigners before Bush became president totaled $1 trillion and now in the first five years of his administration has more than doubled.
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Bush's budget, which was sent to Congress on Monday, has faced predictable criticism from Democrats but it is also facing attacks from Republicans.

Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., called Bush's proposed cuts in education and health "scandalous" while Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, said she was "disappointed and even surprised" at the extent of the administration's proposed cuts in Medicaid and Medicare.

Snowe pushed the administration on Tuesday to explain why it was putting so much emphasis on getting a permanent extention of reductions in taxes on capital gains and dividends when, she said, the more immediate problem was keeping the alternative minimum tax from pushing up the taxes of more of the middle class.
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In addition to strict limits on most discretionary, non-security spending in the budget, Bush sought drastic cuts or total elimination on 141 programs that would produce savings of nearly $15 billion in 2007.

Bush's budget submission is just the opening round in what opponents are promising will be a spirited fight in Congress over spending priorities.

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So now not even sane republicans can justify bush's insane budget! He is cutting programs that average Americans need and use just so that he can continue to give his ultra-rich pals their tax breaks. Pretty amazing that he has doubled our debt to foreigners in just 5 years. Obviously, he doesn't care what happens after he leaves office - he won't have to worry about paying off the massive debt that he is leaving for the next generations. I guess he's hoping that Dems will take office and he can blame them for not balancing the budget that he destroyed!