Opinion
 

Staff Editorial

                              Matt Dulin    Barrett Goldsmith    Zach Lee 
                Jim Parsons            Christian Schmidt           Blake Whitaker

A little to the right

Already fully entrenched in his re-election campaign, President Bush continues to pound away at one of his campaign mantras: "no one left behind." 

The $2.4 trillion budget his administration sent to Congress this week seems to enforce that, with some minor modifications: "no one left behind -- except the homeless, students, people with diseases, veterans and the elderly."

Bush's budget proposal calls for a $31 billion increase in discretionary spending, or spending that Congress controls, from last year's budget. Of that $31 billion, roughly $29 billion is earmarked for defense -- primarily the military and homeland security. 

The Associated Press reported that the proposal would eliminate or severely reduce funding for 128 federal programs. Nearly all of the programs involve either environmental programs, labor-training, healthcare, education and veterans.

Undoubtedly some of the cuts are prudent -- the government still wastes far too much money on programs that are neither financially solvent nor significantly helpful. 

But many of the cuts will further widen the gap between the wealthy and the middle to lower classes. More importantly, the cuts will further endanger those citizens who are already at risk.

For example, the administration calls for a $135 million increase to Health and Human Services for "biosurveillance." But it also calls for a $400 million cut for the Center for Disease Control. 

President Bush's goals for the budget -- a reduction of the deficit, increased homeland security and a strong military -- are without question noble and well-meaning. 

The budget will undergo change after change during the congressional process, and President Bush knows that. Perhaps that is why his budget is so far to the right -- it will almost certainly be headed farther left in the coming weeks.

Whether four more years of this strategy is in the country's best interest will be up to the American people this November.

Send comments to dccampus@mail.uh.edu