Ballyhoo Brewing Over Bloated Budget Baloney
President Bush presented Congress with a budget proposal that masks evils and exaggerates claims.
By James P. Tucker Jr.
President Bush submitted to Congress on Feb. 3 a proposed budget for fiscal 2004 that disguises foreign give-a-ways and boasts of “homeland security” but does nothing to prevent terrorists from crossing U.S. borders almost at will.
Instead of, as in the past, listing specific amounts of taxpayer money given to individual countries, the budget “appendix” this year talks of $2.5 billion in “economic support funds” for the Middle East, providing that funds “made available to Israel” must be dispersed immediately. It provides no dollar amount for Israel.
Another $4.4 billion for “foreign military financing” again provides no amounts for specific countries but says funds “made available for Israel” must be dispersed no later than Oct. 31 and “shall be non-repayable.”
Scattered among numerous titles (“peacekeeping,” “emergency fund for complex foreign crises,” “nonproliferation,” “international military education and training”) are billions more for Israel and other nations.
A cute provision in the new budget provides for a “Millennium Challenge Account,” which begins with an outlay of $1.3 billion and grows to $5 billion in three years.
This will reward countries that handle their internal affairs according to U.S. dictates: “that govern justly, invest in their people and encourage economic freedom.”
But a pursuit of the money trail and interviews with congressional functionaries provides minimum assessments:
• At least the typical $5.5 billion in economic and military grants and loans—automatically forgiven—will go to Israel. Considering that, with the return of deficits, the United States must borrow the money it gives Israel instantly and pay interest, the total cost will exceed $10 billion.
• In addition, Israel is confident of collecting the $12-$14 billion it has demanded of the United States be cause its tourist industry is suffering. Israel wants the United States to destroy Iraq so it can expand to a “Greater Israel” but demands compensation because tourists shun the war zone.
Total foreign aid is $18.8 billion, an increase of $2.4 billion.
Bush called for $373 million for “border security” but most of this will go to buying radiation detectors and X-ray machines to inspect cargo containers at the ports—not to protect the southern border.
Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) and others have suggested strong border protection could be gained at no cost by deploying the military—soldiers have to be paid anyway—instead of patrolling 16 far-flung sites scattered throughout the Earth. Bush resists border protection for fear of offending Hispanic voters.
The $2.23 trillion budget projects deficits of $307 billion in 2004—assuming that numerous user fees are approved by Congress and optimistic revenue assumptions prove correct. The cost of invading Iraq—estimated at least to be $100 billion—is not factored in.
Proposed tax cuts of nearly $1.5 trillion over 10 years have been assailed by left-wing Democrats as deficit-generators. But Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) has said the budget could be balanced and taxes cut by simply not increasing spending for 10 years. There would be no cuts, just no increases.
But the urge to hike spending is a political itch. Bush feels he is exercising great restraint by holding the overall budget increase to 4 percent—the average income gain for citizens, he says.
But the increases are tilted toward defense, homeland security and international affairs. Spending by the rest of the government would increase by 1 percent.
Another $53.1 billion is wasted on the Department of Education, an increase of 5.6 percent.
Under the 10th Amendment, the federal government has no role in state and local school systems. Since the department was created by former President Jimmy Carter, the quality of education has declined—by all measurements—around the country with each year, while home schooling rockets.
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