Six years ago, George W. Bush arrived in the White House with an ostentatious determination to phase out many of our nation's domestic programs and erode citizens' social safety nets. In the wake of tragedy and heartbreak, the self-proclaimed "compassionate conservative" was quickly given the opportunity to embark in his uncompassionate endeavor through the disorienting hype of the "War on Terror." The administration's ensuing campaign of perpetual paranoia made Americans buy into the ass-backward notion that international terrorists present a far greater threat to their security than disease, poverty and unemployment.
This mindset was palpably epitomized last week in the release of the president's colossal $2.77 trillion budget proposal for 2007. While requesting a record $439 billion for defense, it also seeks drastic cuts or the total elimination of 141 domestic programs, most of them social services. In fact, the White House is recommending a reduction of $2.2 billion in government operations unrelated to "national security." While the education, environmental and justice agencies were among those to receive the budgetary shaft, the most disturbing slashes occurred in the health care sectors. And to think that two weeks ago, Mr. Bush had the audacity to stand in front of Americans during the State of the Union and declare that affordable health care was an administrative priority.
While lying through his teeth, Mr. Bush was plotting to strip $40 million in funds for the National Cancer Institute, while shortchanging the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of a much-needed $21 million. Yet while denying resources to agencies responsible for finding cures for the two leading causes of death for Americans — cancer and heart disease — the president included a provision guaranteeing bird flu vaccinations for every citizen. Now, this writer does not intend to undermine the threats posed by the avian virus, but how can the president fund measures to deter one potential pandemic while stripping funds meant to cure diseases that have long been pandemic? It's quite a misguided contradiction, considering cancer and heart disease kill 1.5 million Americans annually, while bird flu has claimed the lives of a mere 80 people, mostly through close bird-to-human contact. On top of that, Mr. Bush proposed to cut the budget of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by a staggering $179 million.
The people that stand to suffer the most from Mr. Bush's pillaging of our social systems are also our nation's most vulnerable citizens. The budget proposal reduces federal Medicare payments to hospitals, nursing homes and health care providers by upwards of $35.9 billion over the next five years. More and more individuals will be forced to spend their old age working just to keep health insurance benefits, and a secure retirement will soon become a luxury enjoyed by a mere few. The president better make sure that my grandparents never fall victim to a terrorist's bomb — because he's doing his best to ensure that they couldn't afford hospital treatment if they ever did.
The administration has made it clear that they will continue to ask the most vulnerable Americans to make these sacrifices so that the well-endowed of society can permanently revel in tax cuts which so disproportionately favor the rich. Meanwhile, the seemingly limitless amounts of funds pouring out of the country to prop up the weak infrastructures of two war-ravaged nations has taken preference over propping up more than 45 million uninsured Americans. While again using the War on Terror to justify fiscal irresponsibility, Mr. Bush's budgetary priorities are quite reflective of the priorities of our current leadership — they would rather spend millions on technology meant to destroy lives than on technology meant to save them.
It seems that we all need to redefine our notions of what constitutes "national security." Security is not just freedom from persecution or violence instigated by shadowy figures, nor is a country endowed with a well-trained and well-equipped military automatically a "secure" nation. Security is being able to live with the knowledge that if anything ever happened to you, or to a loved one, help would be readily available and affordable. Security is knowing that your most basic needs will be taken care of, and that you can go through your days free of worry about "what if" scenarios. There are a lot of people without health care, access to education, employment or other basic necessities living in the prosperity that is America. These individuals may be protected from international terrorists, but they are just as vulnerable as those in the World Trade Center were on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001.
Adam Lichtenheld ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in political science and African studies.
