Triple all of the items here - the $330 billion is "funny math": it's based on 10s of "sunset dates" that most likely will never come to pass since they will be revoked. This will push the cost to more like 800 - 900 billion dollars.
On Thursday, May 29, 2003, at 10:31 AM, William Wheatley wrote: > Just passing along don't fry me up like a cat fish :) > > > "When I came back from Korea, I had no money, no skills. Sure, I was > good > with a bayonet, but you can't put that on a resume - it puts people > off!" > Frank Barone, "Everybody Loves Raymond" > > > ------------------------------------------------------ > > That $330 billion could have covered every uninsured person in the > country > and paid for millions of teachers and child-care workers. Instead it's > going > to the richest Americans. > > > By Laura McClure and Mark Follman > > > May 29, 2003 | This has been a trying week for those with math > anxiety, > not to mention anyone who, owing either to their fear of numbers or > their > lack of millions of dollars of disposable income, may be struggling to > understand the impact of the tax-cut bill that President Bush signed > into > law Wednesday. White House press secretary Ari Fleischer, for > instance, said > the new measure, which includes $330 billion in tax breaks over the > next 10 > years, would create "more than a million jobs." Many economists dispute > Fleischer's analysis, but even if it turned out to be true, given the > overall job loss during Bush's administration -- 2.7 million jobs in > the > private sector alone -- it would still leave us in the red, job-wise. > > > In fact, it is in the red where the really impressive numbers reside. > The > day before the East Room signing ceremony, in a move unembellished by > ceremony, Bush signed a bill that allows the federal government to > borrow up > to $7.4 trillion -- a $984 billion increase in the federal debt limit > -- to > cover the tab for the tax cuts. This year's deficit, after surpluses > during > the last four years of the Clinton administration, already is expected > to > exceed a whopping $300 billion. > > > According to Bush, the tax cuts will give tax relief to 136 million > American > taxpayers -- another impressive figure, but especially if you are the > kind > of American taxpayer who seeks relief from taxes on capital gains and > corporate dividends. Some of the less advantaged -- especially those > who > have children, are married, or own small businesses -- will also get > tidy > sums. But universal relief, or even respite, is not part of this deal. > > > Meanwhile, every dollar sent back to an American taxpayer, however > deserving, is one less dollar that can be spent to meet the nation's > ever-growing needs. To facilitate a better understanding of what kind > of > relief, other than tax relief, this kind of money could buy, we have > listed > the price tags for some of the programs and projects that comprise the > nation's basic domestic wish list. With that $330 billion, for > instance, the > president could have funded health insurance for all uninsured > Americans, > erased all state budget deficits, completed Superfund cleanup at the > nation's worst toxic waste sites, and funded Head Start for all > eligible > children -- and still had almost $40 billion left over for a rainy day. > > > Here's an itemized list of things the tax cut might have paid for. > They are > diverse, pressing, some would say essential -- not just to low-income > Americans, but to many citizens who, having had a choice, might have > directed their billions elsewhere. > > > Tax-cut total: $330 billion > > > Amount needed to provide health insurance for all 9.2 million currently > uninsured children for one year: $13 billion > > > Amount needed to provide health insurance for all 41.2 million > uninsured > Americans, including children, for one year: $98 billion > > > Amount needed to close state budget gaps across the country: $78 > billion > > > Amount needed to hire an additional 100,000 teachers to reduce class > size, > provide grants to repair 6,000 schools and assist with new-school > construction, and provide additional math and reading help for over 9 > million eligible low-income students: $300 billion > > > Amount needed to end homelessness for chronically homeless people > within 10 > years: $1.3 billion per year to create and sustain 150,000 units of > permanent supportive housing > > > Amount needed by the Environmental Protection Agency to complete > cleanups at > high-priority toxic waste sites through the Superfund program: $92 > million > > > Cost of Head Start for all 1.8 million children, up to 5 years old, who > currently need but don't receive it: $25 billion > > > Cost of continuing to provide grants to potentially jeopardized > regional > poison control centers and maintain a toll-free poison information > phone > number between 2005 and 2009: $142 million > > > Cost of USDA testing of 12,500 cattle samples for mad cow disease, in > addition to homeland security measures such as physical security > upgrades at > lab facilities and background investigation of workers: $21.7 million > > > Budgeted cost of continuing to enable states to meet energy > emergencies due > to extremes in temperature, either during severe cold weather in the > winter > or sustained heat waves in the summer: $1.7 billion > > > Cost of measures to improve food safety in 2003, including hiring > additional > FDA inspectors, and developing new ways for federal inspectors to > detect > food-borne illnesses in meat and poultry and determine the source of > contamination: $101 million > > > Estimated homeland security costs for full support of state and local > emergency personnel in their efforts to prevent and respond to acts of > terrorism for three years: $12 billion > > > Cost of providing housing assistance nationwide for victims of domestic > violence from 2004 through 2008: $100 million > > > Cost of hiring 100 new public-school teachers: $3.125 million > > > Cost of hiring 100 state child-care workers: $2.08 million > > > Cost of fully immunizing 100 children against preventable diseases: > $64,433 > > > Price of 250,000 new fire trucks: $56.2 billion > > > Identified funding needs for community-based services in the care and > treatment of HIV/AIDS in 2002: $2 billion > > > Identified funding needs for HIV prevention and surveillance prevention > programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: $1 billion > > > Identified funding needs for HIV/AIDS research at the National > Institutes of > Health: $2.9 billion > > > Estimated cost of funding Older Americans Act programs for seniors -- > such > as transportation, delivered meals and elder abuse prevention -- for 10 > years: $39 billion > > > Cost of providing needed assistive technology and durable medical > equipment > for 1 million individuals with disabilities for 10 years: $39 billion > > > Cost of compensating federal employees called to active duty in the > uniformed services or National Guard for the difference between their > civilian and military pay: $89 million over the 2004-2008 period > > > Yearly cost of direct treatment for mental illness in both the private > and > public sectors in the U.S.: $92 billion > > > Estimated cost of spending for countermeasures against smallpox, > anthrax, > botulinum toxin, plague and Ebola under Project BioShield: $5.6 billion > between 2004 and 2013 > > > Cost of 60 million doses of an improved smallpox vaccine: $900 million > > > Annual cost of providing services to foster children, including > educational > assistance, job placement, health services and room and board: $200 > million > > > Amount needed to establish a National Housing Trust to provide > communities > with funds to build, rehabilitate and preserve 1.5 million units of > affordable housing over the next 10 years: $5 billion > > > Cost, per recipient, of Job Corps, an education and training program > benefiting disadvantaged youth and young adults: $17,000 > > > Federal funding requested in 2004 to maintain the National Domestic > Violence > Hotline: $3 million > > > Federal funding requested in 2004 for the national Abandoned Infants > Assistance program: $45 million > > > Cost of assisting states in covering the excess costs of providing > special > education services to children with disabilities: $8.9 billion > > > Annual cost of providing funding to public libraries through state > formula > grants so that libraries can promote wider access to learning and > information: $1.6 billion between 2004 and 2009 > > > Cost of providing grants for treatment, counseling and referral for > runaway > and homeless youth subjected to sexual abuse in 2003: $15 million > > > Annual cost of funding the National Center for Missing and Exploited > Children: $20 million > > > > > Sources: > > > Children's Defense Fund > > Physicians for a National Health Program > > National Conference of State Legislatures > > Fair Taxes For All, National Education Association > > National Alliance to End Homelessness > > Natural Resources Defense Council > > Children's Defense Fund > > Congressional Budget Office > > United States Department of Agriculture > > Administration for Children and Families > > Food and Drug Administration > > Fair Taxes For All > > Congressional Budget Office > > Children's Defense Fund > > Children's Defense Fund > > Children's Defense Fund > > The National Priorities Project > > Human Rights Campaign > > Human Rights Campaign > > Human Rights Campaign > > Alliance for Retired Americans > > Fair Taxes For All > > Congressional Budget Office > > National Mental Health Association > > Congressional Budget Office > > Congressional Budget Office > > Administration for Children and Families > > National Low Income Housing Coalition > > Brookings Institution > > Administration for Children and Families > > Administration for Children and Families > > Administration for Children and Families > > Congressional Budget Office > > Congressional Budget Office > > Congressional Budget Office > > > salon.com > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?forumid=5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?method=subscribe&forumid=5 Get the mailserver that powers this list at http://www.coolfusion.com Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
