RE: [Futurework] The House that George Built

[Harry Pollard]

Karen,   Thank you for all the good stuff you post. It must be a lot of work and we appreciate it.   The difference between those with high incomes and those with little has been with us for many centuries – actually for ever.   What would you do about it?   That’s an unfair question – but if you can offer something, I would appreciate it.   Harry   ******************************** Henry George School of Social Science of Los Angeles Box 655  Tujunga  CA 91042 818 352-4141 ********************************     From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Karen Watters Cole Sent: Tuesday, August 30, 2005 12:33 PM To: futurework@fes.uwaterloo.ca Subject: [Futurework] The House that George Built   Item #1:  CEO pay: sky high gets higher: war profiteering? http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/26/news/economy/ceo_pay/index.htm Census: 1.1 million more Americans slipped into poverty last year, 37 million total, or 12.7% of the population http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/30/news/economy/poverty_rate.reut/index.htm?cnn=yes Greenspan: end of housing boom inevitable http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/27/news/newsmakers/greenspan_housing.reut/index.htm   #2. Coinciding with a lame duck president earning historically low approval numbers hiding from war protestors, “when Congress returns from its August break next Tuesday, congressional committees will be charged with cutting approximately $35 billion from mandatory spending programs through an annual process called budget reconciliation. Vital programs important to the daily lives of many Americans, such as Medicaid, Medicare, food stamps, student loans, and other forms of government assistance, are likely to suffer drastic and consequential cuts. The budget-cutting measures are necessitated by, as President Bush noted, a need to "reduce our deficit."   In turn, the deficit-cutting measures are needed because the Bush tax cuts, which predominantly favor the wealthy without providing much economic stimulus, have played such a large role in creating the deficit, and Bush is stubbornly refused to rolling them back (instead, Bush is calling for the tax cuts to be made permanent). Even conservatives, such as Brian Riedl of the Heritage Foundation, acknowledge that "[budget] reconciliation will be painful." One Senate veteran of budget fights said the battles this fall over budget cuts could "become an explosive cocktail" for Congress.   #3. Just as energy prices and consumer debt are catching up with more Americans, “the Senate Agriculture Committee is considering cutting $600 million from food stamps. Early this month, 68 minority House members wrote a letter to House Agriculture Committee Chairman Robert Goodlatte stating, "There is no way to reduce food stamp spending without eliminating the eligibility for vulnerable groups of people or lowering benefits in ways that increase the threat of hunger for millions of struggling families, seniors, and people with disabilities." Also, Senate aides are "crafting legislation to cut $7 billion from the federal student loan program" just as students return to college. Groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are weighing in against increasing federal pension insurance premiums by billions of dollars as part of the reconciliation package, calling that plan "a steep tax increase on pension providers." And another fight that may be brewing, according to Congressional Quarterly, is whether the reconciliation package will include cuts to welfare programs or omit increases for child care funding. Funding for Section 8 housing is also on the chopping block. #4. And while the destruction of lives, property and natural protections is on our minds from Hurricane Katrina, consider that “two months ago, President Bush took an ax to budget funds that would have helped New Orleans prepare for such a disaster. The New Orleans branch of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers suffered a "record $71.2 million" reduction in federal funding, a 44.2 percent reduction from its 2001 levels. Reports at the time said that thanks to the cuts, "major hurricane and flood protection projects will not be awarded to local engineering firms. ... Also, a study to determine ways to protect the region from a Category 5 hurricane has been shelved for now." (Too bad Louisiana isn't a swing state. In the aftermath of Hurricane Frances -- and the run-up to the 2004 election -- the Bush administration awarded $31 million in disaster relief to Florida residents who didn't even experience hurricane damage.)   The Gulf Coast wetlands form a "natural buffer that helps protect New Orleans from storms," slowing hurricanes down as they approach from sea. When he came into office, President Bush pledged to uphold the "no net loss" wetland policy his father initiated. He didn't keep his word. Bush rolled back tough wetland policies set by the Clinton administration, ordering federal agencies "to stop protecting as many as 20 million acres of wetlands and an untold number of waterways nationwide." Last year, four environmental groups issued a joint report showing that administration policies had allowed "developers to drain thousands of acres of wetlands." The result? New Orleans may be in even greater danger: "Studies show that if the wetlands keep vanishing over the next few decades, then you won't need a giant storm to devastate New Orleans -- a much weaker, more common kind of hurricane could destroy the city too."    (items 2-4 c/o American Progress 083005)

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