Bush's Budget Disaster

The proposed 2006 federal budget President Bush released yesterday would drive America deeper into debt while making cuts that will hurt veterans, farmers, and other working Americans.

Bush's budget leaves out the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, currently running at $5 billion per month. It leaves out the cost of his Social Security privatization scheme and makes other unrealistic assumptions and ignores costs in an attempt to paint the rosiest picture possible. But his budget does nothing to decrease the deficit.

Despite Bush's failure to rein in the deficit, his budget still includes cuts to programs that will hurt Americans who need the most help. Areas Bush wants to cut include:

• Medicaid
• Veterans' health benefits (forcing veterans to pay more for health care)
• College loans
• Education programs that help poor children
• Farm subsidies
• Community development grants

Bush's allies in Congress are already expressing their opposition to the cuts in his budget. One Wall Street economist called the numbers "not credible," saying they "haven't been for the last few years and they shouldn't be looked at with much seriousness now."

Sign our petition today and tell President Bush to take his budget back to the drawing board. America needs a responsible budget that meets our priorities while making serious reductions in the deficit.

http://www.democrats.org/action

Take Action: Stop Bush's Social Security Cuts

The George W. Bush plan to dismantle Social Security has begun.

The administration floated a proposal to cut benefits to future retirees by changing the way those benefits are calculated. And these cuts are guaranteed -- whether you opt in to the Bush plan or not.

Here's what the Bush plan will mean for your retirement:

• If you retire in 2022, Bush will cut your benefits by almost 10 percent.
• If you retire in 2042, Bush will cut your benefits by more than 25 percent.
• In 2075, our children and grandchildren will face a staggering cut of 46 percent to their benefits.

And this is just the first step of the Republican Party's plan to dismantle the entire Social Security system that has kept generations of America's seniors out of poverty. Soon Bush will launch a $40 million TV ad blitz to convince Americans that our grandkids will be left out in the cold if Social Security is not privatized.

We will not stand by and allow that to happen.

Help us take our first step today by writing a letter to the editor of your local paper demanding that President Bush abandon his plan to cut benefits for tomorrow's retirees. Click the link below to write your letter today:

http://www.democrats.org/action/