This statement from Catholic Charities decries the damaging effects of the Budget Reconciliation Act passed right before Christmas. Merry Christmas, everyone, especially the elderly, children, and people hoping to go to college!
“Trapped at the bottom of the labor market, thousands of families are unable to meet their basic needs. Consequently, they turn to our agencies to fill in where their budgets fall short – one month it may be food, the next they may seek prescription co-pay assistance, and still another month they may turn to an agency for shelter,� said Fr. Larry. “This budget will only make their situation more dire.�
According to Moveon.org, this budget will mean that poor, elderly, and handicapped Medicaid recipients will be forced to pay over $10.1 billion in increased fees for basic services over the next 10 years. It means that $12.7 billion has been slashed from student loans, the largest cut in student loan support in history. It means cuts to child support enforcement that will cause needy families to lose $8.4 billion in unrecovered payments.
What about reconciling the budget by cutting back on subsidies for corporations? How about reconciling the budget by reducing, even by half a percent, military spending?
The vote in the Senate on this bill was 51-50, with Vice President Cheney breaking the tie. That means we were one vote away from a more humane budget, one that could have relieved suffering, helped people get out of poverty, and made higher education a possibility for scores of smart, financially strapped young adults.
Lincoln Chafee voted against the Budget Reconciliation Act, demonstrating his ability (which some say has been waning on other votes such as the Patriot Act) to keep his independence as a Republican. What would our other senate candidates have done?
Kmareka.com 
Here is a classic example of the how the two wings of the Rep party are often at cross-purposes. It’s no secret that GWB et al openly sought conservative Catholic votes with overheated rhetoric about gay marriage and choice. They pretty much openly lobbied the church to deny communion to John Kerry because of his pro-choice stance. However, they flat-out ignored the Vatican’s positions on Iraq (very, very anti-war) and assistance for the poor.
This bill is a classic example of how the Crony Capitalist Repubs play the social conservative Repubs for suckers. Hold out a few non-committal positions on gay marriage and choice or flag-burning (all against) while studiously avoiding taking any action on these issues. Then, turn around and give away the store to your wealthy pals who have funded your campaign and who will give you a job if you ever want to leave government.
That’s what this bill is all about: more tax cuts for wealthy people and corporations that are already rolling in so much money they have no good use for it. Give more money to those who already have a lot by taking away the opportunities for others to better their circumstances.
Cutting back on college funding while simultaneously outsourcing a lot of entry-level jobs is a sure-fire recipe to concentrate ever more wealth into ever-fewer hands. And that is the intent.