Amy Traub

Today, food stamps… tomorrow, the world!

We all knew it couldn't last forever. You can't repeatedly shrink public revenue through tax cuts while at the same time ramping up war-time spending and keep expecting people to believe you're a paragon of fiscal responsibility. Now, with the urgent need for new public programs to help the hurricane-battered Gulf Coast recover and rebuild, it looks like the bill is finally coming due.

Unfortunately, while self-styled fiscal conservatives are sensitive to the charge from the right that their actions haven't exactly been fiscally conservative their response is NOT to refocus on national priorities and make sure we have the resources to fund them. Instead they've decided to stick it to the poor. Since hurricane Katrina revealed (for anyone who might have forgotten) how miserable urban and rural poverty can be, it only makes sense that the conservative plan involves cutting back on the food we provide to hungry children

Luckily, those of us who believe we shouldn't be squeezing the disadvantaged to extend tax cuts that serve the most advantaged are starting to fight back. The new Emergency Campaign for America's Priorities aims to stop funding irresponsible tax cuts with cuts in vital services. And the progressives have already had some success.

This week progressives saved food stamps--- tomorrow the world!

Amy Traub: Author Bio | Other Posts
Posted at 12:42 PM, Oct 20, 2005 in Progressive Agenda
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