Bushbudget.com

FYI-

Dear MoveOn member,

Last month, President Bush announced his proposal for the next federal budget. It's another "reverse Robin Hood," disaster that robs from the poor, gives to the rich and explodes the deficit. Bush is even trying to sneak through his old proposal to privatize social security and cut benefits!

Right now, the House of Representatives is drafting its own budget and deciding whether to accept the President's proposal. The final decision will come down to just a handful of swing Republicans. So today, we're trying a new technique—we're going straight to the voters in these key districts to ask them, person to person, to call their representative and oppose Bush's budget.

We've set up a simple online system where you can write a personal letter to an independent or Democratic voter, tell them why this budget is important, and even include their representative's phone number. If you take a minute to write your letter online, we'll print it and mail it for you right away. Just click below to get started:

http://political.moveon.org/letters/?id=7067-4178494-e9uELyK1_D1IiX4dbs6...

You don't have to be any kind of expert to write one of these letters—we're all just citizens reaching out to other folks to show them what's at stake, and how they can make a difference.

We call it a "reverse Robin Hood" budget because it takes Bush's habit of robbing from the poor and middle class to pay back his wealthy supporters to new heights. Here's some of the highlights of how Bush's plan would effect us all:1

* Social Security: Bush is trying to use the budget to sneak through his old $700 billion dollar plan to privatize Social Security2 and immediately slash benefits by $6.3 billion dollars.3
* Health Care: Bush would slash Medicaid by $13.7 billion over 5 years, abandoning millions of young, elderly, poor and disabled Americans who depend on Medicaid as their health care option of last resort.
* Education: Bush is pushing for the largest cut in the history of the Department of Education, and to completely eliminate the Perkins loan, a vital program for college students in need.4
* Child care: Bush wants to kick 400,000 children out of child care programs for low income working families.
* Budget busting tax breaks for the rich: Bush's budget would only continue to explode the deficit by giving away over $900 billion dollars to richest 1% of the population over 10 years.
* Deeper debt: Bush wants to give so much away to millionaires that even after his service cuts the annual deficit would grow by almost $200 billion dollars

Opposing this budget is also a key to victory in 2006. The reverse Robin Hood approach is deeply unpopular once it's understood. By reaching out directly to voters in swing districts, we're helping to hold these vulnerable Republican representatives accountable in November. We can win this budget fight, but to make the positive changes we really believe in we first need new leadership in Washington—this will help us get there.

Decisions about the federal budget effect all of us more than perhaps anything else Congress does—we're literally all in this one together. So let's take this chance to reach out to our fellow voters in key Congressional districts and do what MoveOn members have always done best—inspire others to speak out and make our Democracy better.

If you write your letter online today, we'll print it and mail it right away. It just takes a minute, at:

http://political.moveon.org/letters/?id=7067-4178494-e9uELyK1_D1IiX4dbs6...

Thanks for all that you do,

–Ben, Adam, Marika, Eli and the whole MoveOn.org Political Action team
Monday, March 20, 2006

p.s. If you're able kick in a few bucks to help us pay for postage, it would help a lot. You can donate online, at:

http://political.moveon.org/letters/?id=7067-4178494-e9uELyK1_D1IiX4dbs6...

Sources:

1. Unless otherwise noted these facts are derived from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities report entitled, "The President's Budget: A Preliminary Analysis," February 10th 2006
http://www.cbpp.org/2-6-06bud.htm

2. "Bush's Social Security Slight of Hand," Washington Post February 8, 2006
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1549

3. "Republican Budget Imposes Special Interest Surtax on Middle-Class Families," Democratic Policy Committee, February 16, 2006
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1550

4. United States Student Association
www.usstudents.org

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