Meat Ax

"The conservative ideological agenda on the economy has hit full stride: aggressively slash taxes on the wealthy; run up huge budget deficits; then push for massive cuts in critical domestic spending under the guise of fiscal responsibility. President Bush will introduce a budget today that is so callous Vice President Cheney felt compelled yesterday to assure viewers of Fox News that "it's not something we've done with a meat ax." Just as with its push for privatizing Social Security, the White House plans "an elaborate marketing strategy to sell the cuts to voters and lawmakers." The message: they aren't cutting government programs for the needy, they are "centralizing government services and saving tax payer money." America doesn't need to be sold another product. America needs a responsible budget that allocates resources to where they are most needed. (Share your thoughts on the budget at ThinkProgress.org.)" [CAP] [NYT] [Tribune] [Yahoo]

Among the "needed" cuts: Job training cut by $500 million. Slashed funding for police and firefighters. Cutting veteran's benefits and doubling the drug co-payments for veterans. Big cuts in bioterrorism protection. And, of course, leaving the poor out in the cold.

But, we NEED to privatize Social Security and extend the tax cuts for the wealthy!!!