Week 5, Entry #2
Zain Nensey
Bush’s new budget, which was released recently, is actually a decent budget for once. However, it still focuses too much on the military. According an article on CNN, the new article will get an eleven percent increase in its budget, which is the highest of any for any department. However, this does not account for approximately $235 billion in war costs over the next 18 months. In addition, while they are not receiving decreases, the Education and health programs of our administration are barely receiving anything, and tax decreases are forcing it so that there may be cuts in the next few years. Another problem is that the elderly population is growing, so it means we obviously need to devote more to our medical growth. The major problem here is the war- if the government found a way out of Iraq, then a lot more money would be available to spend on reducing the deficit, allow for increases in medical spending, or to spend more on education or alternative energy sources, both of which are very important. However, without eliminating at least one of these major functions, it will be difficult to allow us to reduce the deficit. For these reasons I do not agree with the President’s plan. If I could change the way the government is running, I would submit a plan that would force less military funding to force the Iraqi government to take more charge in fighting the insurgencies in Iraq, which would allow us to focus on our own problems. We have enough problems that we do not need to try and solve another country’s problems.