The Unholy Budget

As a public educator, I make the following statement without reserve: Anyone who works within the public education system that voted for Bush’s reelection should be ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES. Why? Because you knew what this president would do to public education, and he has done it. We are supposed to be the front line of advocacy for America’s children, especially the underprivileged and disadvantaged. The 2006 Federal budget is anything but that. Over 10 billion dollars is cut from student loan programs – but the president increases the defense budget by 20 billion, and that doesn’t even include the 80 billion more he wants for the war in Iraq. The president claims he is cutting inefficient and wasteful government programs, offices, and agencies, but I noticed the Office of the Presidency was not on the list. Of course, nothing would be cut that would directly affect him or his cronies. He can let slide that 8 billion dollars disappeared in Iraq, he’ll just take it out of the Medicaid and State Children’s Health Proposals (44 billion cut), or perhaps the transportation budget – because only the working poor need public transportation, and who cares about them?
Of the 150 odd programs that were either cut or extinguished in the 2006 budget, almost a full third of them were directly related to education – and primarily subsidy benefits that were for poor and otherwise disadvantaged children. Meanwhile, the number of people living in poverty has increased 14% under Bush. Other slashed programs will affect the elderly, such as reduced emergency home heating aid. I guess frozen corpses are easier to carry. But we can double the budget for abstinence education. All this and he asks for more tax cuts for the wealthy.
I do, however, understand the president’s plan for the public education system. Slash the budget and ask teachers (again) to do more with less. Good teachers with other options will move to the private sector, perhaps choosing to teach in a private school that has resources through the wealth of the constituency. Poor and minority students will continue to see the military as their best (perhaps only) option, and others will abandon the public system for religious schools, in which children are taught not to question their faith or their government. It’s really pretty ingenious, and if you don’t see that’s it’s gradually happening, well…shame on you.
And a note for those of you who voted on the basis of faith – you had better pray hard that your God is merciful, because there is nothing Christian about this budget. What happened to Matthew 25:40 or Mark 10:25? What happened to “Blessed are the peacemakers”? If your church is pushing you towards the right, it’s time to stop listening to your pastor and start reading your Bible.