Social Security Tour Stop 15: The Coverup

The Coverup? Yeah, the coverup. This is a stretch for the tour but I'm running out of time here. So what happened yesterday besides the pres conference that you absolutely MUST know about? The budget! Passed in stunning 1993 form without a single Democratic vote. Why is 1993 important? This is when the Republicans came out with the Contract with America and trampled into the congress the next year. Now the same thing has happened in the other direction. And Republicans did cross the isle. How close were the votes? House: 214-211 Senate: 52-47 So, where are the priorities? Medicaid got cut $10 billion and taxes got cut ten times that much! This budget gives an additional $106 billion in tax cuts and leaves a $386 billion deficit. WOW. That's right, this stuff is nuts. Here's a quote from the Seattle Times:

(1)The compromise calls for $40 billion in savings in Medicaid, farm programs and other fast-growing entitlement programs over five years.

Read "savings" as "cuts." That's right they cut important programs for tax cuts and they wouldn't have had to make any cuts if they had only given less of a tax cut. This all happens in the midst of the Bush Press conference and will go largely under the radar. Sources: (1) GOP agrees on budget for 2006 Seattle Times - April 29 (2) House Passes Budget Plan, 214-211, Senate Passes 52-47 Daily KOS - April 29 More on: The Social Security Tour | Medicaid