Many programs were cut, citing "ineffectiveness." Programs that would promote students to go into health professions? Cut, because it was found to be "ineffective."
"The Department of Education’s 2006 appropriation terminated
funding for five programs totaling $26 million and included significant reductions to ineffective and low-priority programs"
Remember that word- "ineffective."
Flash back to the State of the Union, delivered less than a week before the budget was released.
"To overcome dangers in our world, we must also take the offensive by encouraging economic progress, and fighting disease, and spreading hope in hopeless lands."
Fight disease! Yay! On a CDC budget cut by over $160 million.
"Tonight I propose to train 70,000 high school teachers to lead advanced-placement courses in math and science, bring 30,000 math and science professionals to teach in classrooms, and give early help to students who struggle with math, so they have a better chance at good, high-wage jobs."
Grants for teacher training and incentive remain level when compared to FY 2006. Factor in inflation, and the result is a loss in real dollars for these programs.
"we need to encourage children to take more math and science, and to make sure those courses are rigorous enough to compete with other nations. "
The President's budget cuts outlays for the Department of Education by $19 billion. Discretionary spending is cut by $2 billion. There are specific programs for math and science which receive funding, but the total for these new programs is $15 million. Sound like a lot? Ask anyone in D.C. how you're supposed to run a nationwide program on $15 million. They'll turn around and walk away, but not before doubling over with laughter.
Pell grants face a cut of over $5 billion.
Federal direct student loans and Federal family education loans face cuts if the President's budget is adopted as is.
What good is high school math and science if you can't take it to the next level?
"Wise policies, such as welfare reform and drug education and support for abstinence and adoption have made a difference in the character of our country."
I'm not an expert on welfare reform or abstinence only education. But I know my drug policy. If drug education has made such a difference, why did the President ask for cuts to the budget of the National Institute on Drug Abuse? As well as cuts for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration? $350 million in requested cuts from the Safe and Drug Free Schools Block Grant program? Is the war on drugs over? did we win?
Ok, tangent time. The following SOTU excerpts have nothing to do with the budget.
"Tonight I ask you to pass legislation to prohibit the most egregious abuses of medical research: human cloning in all its forms, creating or implanting embryos for experiments, creating human-animal hybrids..."
Human-animal hybrids? Did I miss the U.S.A.'s transformation into the Island of Dr. Moreau?
"Human life is a gift from our Creator."
Seems like your not to thrilled with the gift from said creator. Otherwise you wouldn't be so careless in taking it. I don't care what your reasons were for the war, but you sent over 2,000 Americans, and tens of thousands or Iraqis, to their deaths.
Don't preach about the sanctity of life, and then turn a deaf ear and blind eye to Darfur.
http://www.savedarfur.org/
Back to the budget. As always, the devil is in the details (that's a metaphor, not a reference to Vice President Cheney.) The budget repeatedly cites as a reason for budget cuts to educational and social services are that certain programs are "ineffective," and as a result no longer deserve to be funded.
Yet the president asked for a large increase in FEMA's budget. Granted, FEMA needs some help. In my opinion, no government agency or program proved itself to be more ineffective than FEMA in 2005. Besides the ill-fated response to Katrina, FEMA repeatedly missed Congressional deadlines for reports, disclosures, testimony, etc. Some people from the gulf coast region may be reading this, and in no way do I want you to think that I do not support the rebuilding of the region and continued efforts to help people regain their lives. But if other programs are ineffective and they get cut, it would follow logically the if FEMA were ineffective, it too should receive budget cuts.
I recognize that it would be political suicide for Bush NOT to ask for an increase for FEMA. That being said, maybe his administration, in order to be consistent, should have come up with some different explanations for cutting other programs that are "ineffective." Maybe the following messages would have been closer to the truth:
We just really don't like poor people.
Too many children have been left behind, so screw it.
You didn't really think we'd keep our word, did you?
As long as the homeland is safe, we don't care if everyone in it is sick and stupid.
We're trying to fight meth, and math is only one letter off, so we're fighting that too.
This administration seems to think that American's can't handle the truth. Whether it be about weapons of mass destruction, the death of Pat Tillman, when the White House actually knew about the levees breaking, or take your pick. Did the President actually think he could say one thing, do another, and American's wouldn't notice? Probably.
Some may not have noticed. But some did.
posted by The leftist southpaw @ 7:31 AM
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