Budget Cuts And What They Said They Want To Cut…

U.S. News had an article by Paul Bedard about the "Spending Reduction Act of 2011" proposed by members of the conservative Republican Study Committee, chaired by Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan. What they propose to cut is quite telling; let’s look at the energy and transportation cuts…

Amtrak Subsidies. $1.565 billion annual savings.
Department of Energy Grants to States for Weatherization. $530 million annual savings
New Starts Transit. $2 billion annual savings.
Intercity and High Speed Rail Grants. $2.5 billion annual savings
Applied Research at Department of Energy. $1.27 billion annual savings
FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership. $200 million annual savings
Energy Star Program. $52 million annual savings
Subsidy for Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. $150 million annual savings.

What a gift to BIG OIL! Lets crank out those gas guzzlers! Mass Transit, no way!

When we should be finding way to conserve oil, we should not be cutting that research. We need to have cars that do not run on fossil fuels. We need to weatherize our homes not only to conserve fuel, but also to save money and make homes more affordable. We need mass transit; we have one of the worst mass transit systems in the developed world. We spend billions on aviation, we have just started building up a high-speed rail system and now the Republicans want to do away with it.

At my first internship, I had to research where and how a woman who was seeking prenatal care in Waterbury would go if Waterbury Hospital closed. I found out that the nearest hospitals were in Danbury, Meriden and New Haven and that there was no direct inter-city mass transit available. That for a 10:00am appointment she would have to travel all day. And that leads me to the next proposed cuts…

Legal Services Corporation. $420 million annual savings.
Hope VI Program. $250 million annual savings.
Community Development Fund. $4.5 billion annual savings.
Exchange Programs for Alaska, Natives Native Hawaiians, and Their Historical Trading Partners in Massachusetts. $9 million annual savings.
Title X Family Planning. $318 million annual savings.
Eliminate fund for Obamacare administrative costs. $900 million savings.

Lets increase the burden on low income families. No legal aid to sue landlords when the cut off the heat and hot water. No funding to improve the inner cites. No help for the Native Americans, after all we only took away their most productive lands and made them wards of the government. No family planning, Title X,

The Title X family planning program is intended to assist individuals in determining the number and spacing of their children. This promotes positive birth outcomes and healthy families. The education, counseling, and medical services available in Title X-funded clinic settings assist couples in achieving these goals [Title X does not provide funding for abortions].

How much of these cuts would have been paid for by the millionaire tax? They took away the lifeline for low-income families and gave it to the rich, Robinhood in reverse.

Lastly the Republicans took away the little thorns that irk them…

Corporation for Public Broadcasting Subsidy. $445 million annual savings.
Presidential Campaign Fund. $775 million savings over ten years.
Sell excess federal properties the government does not make use of. $15 billion total savings.
Repeal the Davis-Bacon Act. More than $1 billion annually.
National Endowment for the Arts. $167.5 million annual savings.
National Endowment for the Humanities. $167.5 million annual savings.
Heritage Area Grants and Statutory Aid. $24 million annual savings.
Save America's Treasures Program. $25 million annual savings.
Eliminate taxpayer subsidies to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. $12.5 million annual savings.

Of course the biggest thorn is PBS, the Republicans do not like any media that they cannot control. Their rally cry is the firing of Juan Williams for his remarks about Muslims on Fox News; what they don’t understand is that PBS has higher ethical standards than Fox New. The Republicans do not like public campaign funding, after all when you have millionaires who can run for office or donate why would you want any laws that level the playing field. Since you represent big business why would you want any laws that strengthen the workers. Funding for the arts! Bah, that is for the intellectuals. Then of course, everyone knows that global warming is just a figment of the liberal imagination.

There are a number of items in the list that I do go along with like, cutting the federal travel budget and Beach Replenishment program. You can cut a lot of fat out of the budget, but you cannot do it by just cutting, there has to be increases in taxes like the millionaire and estate taxes. In addition, as President Obama says, when the economy picks up again so will the revenues and it is all about jobs. When you cut spending in infrastructure, you cut jobs. My prediction is this, if the Republicans make these cuts, you will see the unemployment rate increase.