------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the Feb. 13, 2003 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------
EDITORIAL: THE WAR BUDGET Guns or butter? It is said that the government can spend its tax revenues on one or the other, but not both. The fascist governments in Europe claimed that they could do both back during the great capitalist economic depression in the 1930s. In the current capitalist recession, the Bush administration has offered a variation on the fascists' promises of the 1930s. Bush thinks there's no reason to promise "butter" to the workers. In fact, the Bush plan cuts social services and will reduce benefits across the board for anyone making less than $100,000 a year. But the Bush plan does promise guns and butter. Only the butter this time is for the rich. Never before in history has a U.S. president offered such a war budget as Bush's. The Bush budget calls for the biggest increase ever for military spending, and expands spending for repressive forces in the "homeland security" department. Yet it does not include one cent for a war on Iraq or even a penny for Afghanistan, either for its continued military occupation or for any other kind of spending on Afghanistan. Ignoring the so-called balanced budget law Congress passed not too long ago, Bush's budget promises to create the biggest deficit in U.S. history. Usually presidents who propose war budgets and talk about the deficits caused by war spending also talk about why they have to raise taxes. But not Bush. Bush is proposing to drastically cut all taxes paid by the rich. So who is going to be made to pay? You already know the answer. It's not enough that a handful of Democrats have made some mild criticisms of Bush's budget proposal. Something more decisive must be done to avert this train wreck called Bush's budget. There are already some who are calling for impeachment of the president. That, at least, could start to put the brakes on this coming disaster. Raise your voice with a multitude of others in the week of protests from Feb. 13-21 to demand money for jobs, education and health care, not warfare. And cast your ballot in the people's effort to impeach the war monger in the White House: www.votetoimpeach.org. n - END - (Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe wwnews- [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Support the voice of resistance http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php) ------------------ This message is sent to you by Workers World News Service. To subscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Send administrative queries to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
