Bush and the economy

In a time when the United States needs answers and solutions, the American people find themselves without any guidance. Instead, our fearless leader seems to ignore what his public needs and has raised our budget deficit to historical heights.

President Bush's 2004 budget calls for $1.46 trillion in tax cuts over 10 years with a projected shortfall of $307 billion, but it fails to include the costs of war with Iraq. This new fiscal budget has increased from the 2003 shortfall of $304 billion.

The hardest hit federally funded programs are Social Security and Medicare. Combined, these programs provide financial support to 39 million senior citizens (14 percent of the population), according to the 2004 United States budget submitted to Congress.

More than 100 pages long, the proposal states, "The cost of these programs will grow enormously, so rapidly that they will threaten to overwhelm the rest of the budget."

What happened to the budget surplus that existed during Bill Clinton's presidency in the White House?

It has virtually turned to dust. In the eight years he was in office, President Clinton made a promise to the Baby Boomers and Generations X and Y.

His promise was known as the "lockbox." It promised that Washington will balance its budget without tapping into the budget surplus, and instead the surplus will be used to pay off the national debt (then $3.4 trillion). In the end, the surplus would provide retirement money to Baby Boomers and pay off the national debt.

During the 2000 presidential campaign, Bush endorsed the lockbox idea. In the same year, the Congressional Budget Office projected that if the government kept to the lockbox idea, the national debt would be paid off by 2008, making the United States debt free for the first time since the 1830s, but that is now a lost dream.

In his State of the Union Address last month, our Commander-in-Chief touched on our economic troubles, but offered no solutions. His focus was on the impending war with Iraq and his effort to persuade the public to support the war.

In Bush's defense, the start of the recession after Sept. 11 was out of his control, but his actions have worsened the debt, with no sign of improvement.

Currently the national debt stands at $6.3 trillion while the debt ceiling is $6.4 trillion. At this rate, the United States will reach the ceiling by the end of February.

In June 2002, Congress increased the limit by $450 billion from $5.95 trillion to its current amount of $6.4 trillion. But the increase did not help control governmental spending, nor did it stimulate the economy; instead the spending worsened.

If Congress does not raise the debt limit, the federal government will default on the national debt. This could ultimately weaken the world economy and would be a political blow to Bush's chance for re-election.

As we stand on the threshold of war, here is one thought to ponder: Why are we really going to war? Is it for peace? Or is it to get the United States out of its economic slump? How can Bush even think of financially supporting a war when he cannot financially support the United States? His irresponsible spending has sunk the United States into a deep economic hole.

President Bush and his Congress need to get a new economic plan - one that will have future positive results, not one that will have our children paying for four years of mistakes.