THE FY 2006 SPEND LIKE YOU STOLE IT PLAN - AKA THE PRESIDENTIAL BUDGET FOR FY 2006.
By: Dallas Foster
If you haven't heard about, seen it on TV, or perused it online at the budget's website, you are missing out on one of the greatest wastes of paper to hit the congressional floor since the proposal to declare an Act of War on Iraq due to its involvement in terrorism and their possible interest in having WMDs or a possible stock pile of WMDs, depending on whose information you went by.
To sum it up, the Department of Defense and many other government agencies received "much-needed budget increases" so they may prepare for another attack by the terrorists of the world, which makes me wonder which terrorist group is going to attack next since the only threats we get are from Al Qaeda or Iraqi militants who want us out of their country. So why all the expense on this? Because the scared little men running our country are afraid to get caught in the same investigations they dealt with after 9/11. But supposedly we took care of those insurgents, so either the government is lying on the actual progress of the war in Afghanistan and Iraq, or we are receiving threats from other countries that the government is not telling the general public about. Or - better yet - they are covering their rears with their constituents who pay to get them elected.
These increases include but are not limited to biological threat research, moving troops from one part of the world to another so as to better "police the world's terrorists who wish to attack democracy and the American way." This means we are moving troops out of the Republic of Korea to a permanent home nearer Iraq and Iran. In light of the news that North Korea has admitted to having nukes and also to having the ability to create more whenever they may need them - not to mention they walked out on disarmament talks recently - I don't have a warm fuzzy feeling on that idea. But that's what the highest paid military minds think is best in the long run for our defense against terrorist nations like Iran and Korea. Of course, these are the geniuses who gave us the war in Iraq that has no foreseeable pullout strategy, which some of the greatest (now retired involuntarily) military minds tried to inform the President of, as they did his father and President Clinton.
The budget also increases funding for faith-based programs like teaching abstinence-only to young adults, instead of teaching birth control and abstinence like they did only a few years ago when I was in high school. This budget also has many cuts to programs that were under-funded as it is, like programs for the poor or the homeless. Certain types of shelters will receive less grant money, and this is money that they need desperately to keep running. As a result, they are cutting much-need programs in our public schools like music, drama, and art, but increasing the failed programs of "No Child Left Behind." They say they're trimming fat, that these programs are antiquated and not needed. But the Congress and the President will never need nor use the programs that they are "trimming the fat" from - these programs help people get off the streets and make kids smarter and more well-rounded.
This budget does not include money for the war in Iraq or Afghanistan, nor does it include the money that we are using to rebuild the country we just spent billions to blow up. Only in America could we spend billions to blow something up then turn around and rebuild it better than it was before and even better than said country that is paying for the destruction and rebuilding of the "ex-terrorist nation" we invaded twice in the span of 10 years, under the leadership of one family. The one thing this budget doesn't cut is Congress' paycheck - in fact it increases their pay more then they increased the men and women of the armed forces pay.
Even with the pay raise the military received this year, they are paid less than 85% of non-third world countries. What kills me is my wife - who is a cop in the Air Force - is paid less than the Iraqi National Guard even though she helps train these guardsmen and helps protect $80 million aircraft on a daily basis.
My opinion of this budget is that if you, a Congressman, can afford to raise your pay and not pay taxes on that pay (while all the while military men and women are taxed), then you can afford to keep all the programs fully funded and operational, have all necessary gear for the military, and have no deficit at the end of the year - and if we have a deficit then your pay should be docked for your irresponsibility and stupidity. Why not ask the accountants of Bill Gates or Oprah to help out? I'm pretty sure they could offer a better insight on the budget. For the sake of the country get someone who knows money to create the budget and then actually stick to it! And then just maybe - after we don't owe any money to anyone - then you can decide on a pay raise for you and your colleagues and you can buy a new helicopter for the President or a new fighter jet or a new whatever you think we need for our defense. That's what a budget should be - not an excuse to protect your friends and spend money like it was going out of style.
