Since George W. Bush decided to have the federal government pay the cost of cleaning up after Hurricane Katrina, the big question has been how to pay for it.Democrats are floating a variety of good ideas. Delay the implementation of the Medicare prescription drug bill, which is actually a windfall for the drug makers. Change the bill to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to bargain for lower drug prices. Put off tax cuts for the top one percent of Americans. Cut the $25 billion in pork recently attached to the transportation bill. The list of good ideas goes on and on.
By contrast, the Republicans have come out with a typical Republican idea - put a fancy name on a lousy proposal. The name this time is "Operation Offset". Their "solutions" include many of the proposals already announced by Democrats and outlined above. But they also include permanent cuts in the following areas: Medicare Part B, Medicaid, student loans, federal pensions, home health care, farm aid, foreign aid, education, scientific research and exploration, conservation, pollution cleanup, energy efficiency, rail transportation, and many, many others. The list of cuts literally goes on for pages.
Some specifics:
- Elderly Americans will pay 20% more for their supplemental medical insurance and home health care.
- America's poorest people will pay more in Medicaid co-payments.
- Elimination of student loans for graduate students.
- Cuts in foreign aid programs including:
- Peacekeeping operations
- The Global AIDS Initiative
- The Peace Corps
- The Andean Counter-Drug Initiative
- Teacher training for math and science education will be eliminated.
- Wastewater cleanup grants to states will be eliminated.
- The Energy Star program, which encourages consumers to buy more energy efficient devices, will be eliminated.
- Department of Education funding will be cut.
- Funding for modernizing networks at the Federal Aviation Administration will be cut, putting airline passengers in jeopardy.
- Several other government agencies, including the General Services Administration, the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Agriculture, the Treasury Department, and others, will have their administrative funding cut, without regard to how the agencies will manage these cuts.
- Funding for alternative energy sources and more efficient vehicles will be cut.
Some of these cuts are draconian. The key word, however, is "permanent". Remember, Katrina is a one-time event. But the Republicans want to make permanent cuts in many needed services. Their cuts would hurt those most in need of help, including the poor, the elderly, and students looking to compete in a world economy.
Perhaps now we know the real reason George W. Bush introduced a major new federal program. He wasn't looking to expand the role of the federal government; he was looking to make permanent cuts in needed services.
It should be noted that nowhere in the Republican plan is there any proposal even to delay tax cuts for the richest Americans. Only the poor and middle class would pay. Once again, the Republicans show their true colors. They are the party of the wealthy, by the wealthy, and for the wealthy.
Copyright 2005, Dan Jacoby
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