nytimes.com — The Food and Drug Administration needs far more money than the White House has proposed for next year, senators of both parties said Tuesday. “To us, it’s clear that they’re seriously underfunded,” Senator Herb Kohl, Democrat of Wisconsin, said after a hearing of the Appropriations subcommittee, headed by Mr. Kohl, that oversees the agency’s spending.
It is easy to forget about the Census. Every ten years, a knock on the door, a letter in the mail. But like the bridges, the aqueducts, the levees and the roads, the Census is falling victim to The Big Con.
Taxes are one of those things that everybody loves to hate. Tax collectors are the perennial bad guys, a picture of a 1040 form is squeezed between a picture of Hitler and an MRE on the blog StuffNobodyLikes, and the certainty of death and taxes is widely agreed upon. more »
washingtonpost.com — At least half of the nation's states are facing budget shortfalls, some of them severe, and policymakers in most of the states affected are proposing and passing often-painful measures to trim costs and close the gaps. Spending on schools is being slashed, after-school programs are being curtailed and teachers are being notified of potential layoffs. Health-care assistance is being cut for the elderly, the disabled and the poor. Some government offices, such as motor vehicle department locations, will start closing on weekends, and some state workers are receiving pink slips.
alternet.org — "A country that devotes a vast array of resources to killing capabilities will steadily undermine its potential for healing. For social justice. For health care as a human right." Solomon both highlights the absurd priority of defense spending, and the failure of all presidential candidates to stand for a complete overhaul of the status quo.
President Bush signed bipartisan legislation in December reauthorizing the Head Start program. But even as they praised the program, Congress funded the program at $480 million below its authorized level. Then President Bush in early February proposed a budget that would reduce funding even further below what the Congress authorized. It would mean the number of children who would be served in Head Start would fall to 895,000 in 2009, with deeper cuts in the future. That is at a time when the number of children eligible for Head Start grew by 13 percent between 2002 and 2006. Head Start will have no choice but to turn away children who need this support the most.
The President’s 2009 budget proposes to fund Head Start at $7 billion, just a hair under what is needed to maintain 2008 funding levels adjusted for inflation, and about 12 percent below the 2002 funding level adjusted for inflation.
The reality is that for every $1 that Head Start received in 2002, it will receive just 89 cents in 2008. President Bush is not supporting the Head Start program. He is starving it, and leaving children behind in the process.
Help us spread the word about these important stories...
As a detailed outline of how the government will spend your tax dollars in fiscal year 2009, the budget submitted to Congress by President Bush is virtually worthless. But as a way to contrast the misplaced priorities of the last seven years of conservative rule with what the country really wants and needs, Bush's 2009 budget document is invaluable. Let the debate begin.
OTHER GOOD RESOURCES: The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities has released its analysis of the Bush administration 2009 budget. Read and comment.
Help us spread the word about these important stories...
President Bush’s fiscal 2009 budget would provide more tax cuts heavily skewed to the most well-off while cutting vital services for low- and moderate-income Americans, generating large deficits, and increasing the strain on states already confronting budget problems as a result of the economic downturn. The budget reflects misguided priorities that would leave the American people more vulnerable in a number of ways. more »
Help us spread the word about these important stories...
As a detailed outline of how the government will spend your tax dollars in fiscal year 2009, the budget submitted to Congress by President Bush is virtually worthless. But as a way to contrast the misplaced — and, frankly, immoral — priorities of the last seven years of conservative rule with what the country really wants and needs, Bush's 2009 budget document is invaluable. So let the debate begin.
washingtonpost.com — At their annual retreat, Democrats are thinking smaller, much smaller than in 2007. They hope to leave Friday with the beginnings of a scaled-down plan to pass a handful of bills in the House — even if they cannot get through the Senate — and build a case for November that Democrats have been productive enough to warrant at least another two years in the majority.
Delicious
Digg
StumbleUpon
Propeller
Reddit
Magnoliacom
Newsvine
Furl
Facebook
Google
Yahoo
Technorati
As a detailed outline of how the government will spend your tax dollars in fiscal year 2009, the budget submitted to Congress by President Bush is virtually worthless. But as a way to contrast the misplaced priorities of the last seven years of conservative rule with what the country really wants and needs, Bush's 2009 budget document is invaluable. 
