Compassionate conservatisam strikes again

Just as the Bush administration was slow in admitting that it took the nation to war against Iraq on faulty intelligence, the Congress, controlled by the GOP for the most of that same time, has been slow in admitting that it has been overspending a bit. The fact that the $128 billion dollar surplus that was in place at the end of the Clinton presidency has been transformed into a $350 billion dollar deficit (give or take a buck or two here and there) would have been enough of a clue for the ordinary individual, but as members of Congress (who earn in excess of $150,000 per year, yet cannot afford to pay for their own lunches, plane tickets, or golf outings) remind us on a regular basis, they are anything but ordinary.

So now that it has come to their attention that someone has been busting the budget, those intrepid defenders of fiscal responsibility have decided, in the words of Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, noted Republican deficit hawk, to “make the tough choices in tough times to put our…house in order.” With this in mind, the unthinkable has been done, and a bill that will trim a whole $39 billion from the deficit over the next five years has passed both houses of Congress, and is on its way to the President, who is ever so eager to sign it.

And being the practical sort that they are, those who constructed this budget have decided to kill two birds with one stone. Noting that the Army is having trouble meeting its recruitment goals because of the war in Iraq, and in light of the fact that many of the nation’s military personnel joined up prior to the Iraqi conflict because they could not otherwise afford to go to college, one of the first cuts involved funding for secondary education.

With this in mind, the student loan program will be cut by $12 billion dollars. And to make sure that the future college crowd gets a warm, fuzzy feeling whenever they think of this Congress, the pols are also increasing the interest rates on the few loans that will eventually be made.

And, as is usual with the Congress, this decision to reduce our investment in secondary education is a far-sighted one, as it will surely help Americans remain competitive with the rest of the world.

Of course, there is one other area in which we are over-invested, and that is the area of providing health care for the working poor and elderly of our country. Medicare and Medicaid are next in line, and they do their part to reduce the deficit by seeing their funding reduced, by $6.4 billion for Medicare, and by $4.7 billion for Medicaid.

In the case of those dependent on Medicaid, and perhaps to demonstrate that they are not totally heartless, the Congress here makes a bit of a concession. Sure, funding is cut from Medicaid, and to add a dash of salt to the wound, Medicaid recipients must pay a higher co-payment to receive treatment. But, under current law, if a Medicaid recipient cannot afford to pay that co-payment, providers must still treat these individuals. Under this new budget, if a Medicaid recipient cannot afford to pay the increased co-payment, the providers can deny treatment.

Well, somebody had to get a little something!

Speaking of which, seeing to it that Exxon/Mobile, Dutch Royal Shell, etc,, have record profit years has taken its toll on the less well off of our nation. (Less well off sounds better than poor, doesn’t it?) So, while the price of home heating fuel has gone up some 150%, and the number of people who need heating assistance has risen almost as sharply, this Congress remains steadfast in their determination to reduce the deficit, and have added not one red cent to the amount appropriated last year for this purpose.

Yes, there are the doubters among us who ask how reducing the deficit by $39 billion over the next five years will do any good, especially since the same Congress that passed the deficit reduction package is ready to enact $70 billion in tax cuts that once again will benefit mainly the very wealthy.

Yet we must not be too ready to criticize the President and the Congress. For, as they remind us on a pretty consistent basis, the President and most members of Congress are very religious individuals. And this budget calls to mind a bit of wisdom from the Bible, in the words of the late, great Billie Holliday, “Them that’s got shall get, and them that’s not shall lose.” And here, clearly the work of the Lord is being done.