Get your paper and pencil
out, Guilford students . it’s time
to do some math.Over the course of the next
365 days, the United States government
plans to spend $22.2
billion for domestic security, 29
percent more ($5 billion) than
last year. Roughly a third of that
will go to protecting military
bases. A quarter will go to government
purchases of vaccines
as well as grants to local law
enforcement. Another 25 percent
will go to intelligence and
federal law enforcement. And
one more statistic – Bush’s approval
ratings remain high at 83
percent.

The rest of the money will
be split between sectors like the
Transportation Department and
the Department of Health and
Human Services. “In the aftermath
of the Sept. 11 attacks,
funding homeland security initiatives
has become a top priority,”
reported a semiannual
study published by the Congressional
Budget Office.

The United States is experiencing
its first recession in al-
most 10 years. In the last quarter
of 2001, the economy expanded
by 0.2 percent, primarily
from an increase in consumer
spending on cars. That
doesn’t mean the economy is
exactly booming, so the White
House has to get the money from
somewhere. Roughly $180 million
will be cut from “youth opportunity
grants,” programs designed
to boost youth job opportunities
in poor neighborhoods.

Included in Bush’s plans for
increased military spending is
his 10-year, $1.35 trillion tax
cut. That will leave little for domestic
programs like prescription
drug benefits or social security
reform. Also, the
president’s new budget is expected
to cut $850 million from
education and training assistance
programs.

Last year, the United States’
economy was estimated to have
a $5.6 trillion surplus. In light of
recent events and economic proposals,
the Congressional Budget
Office is estimating that the surplus
will dwindle to $1.6 trillion.
Latest reports from the Bush administration
estimate that the
government will plunge even
deeper into the already existing
deficit, including a $106 billion
deficit from this year alone. Bush
has acknowledged that the increasing
monetary demands will
certainly “put a strain on the budget.”

In Bush’s first State of the
Union address Tuesday, he addressed
these economic concerns.
He pledged to wage war
on recession, therefore challenging
Congress to pass his proposed
unemployment benefits
and tax cuts to encourage business
investment. While Bush
defends the rising deficit with the
current recession and the cost
involved in fighting a war against
terrorism, Democrats assert that
his exorbitant proposed tax cut
is causing the loss.