[Changleen]

More money for the military, less for medicare and health programmes... D'oh!

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Following are questions and answers on U.S. President George W. Bush's $2.77 trillion budget proposal for fiscal 2007 unveiled on Monday.

HOW BIG ARE THE DEFICITS EXPECTED TO BE?

-- The blueprint forecasts a record $423 billion deficit this year. But the White House sees it shrinking to $354 billion in 2007, $223 billion in 2008 and $205 billion by 2011.

-- The plan expects the deficit to narrow to 2.6 percent of gross domestic product in 2007, 1.5 percent in 2008 and 1.2 percent by 2011, from a 3.2 percent share of GDP this year.

WHAT HAPPENS TO THE DEBT?

-- The total federal debt would swell to $11.5 trillion in 2011 from $8.6 trillion this year.

HOW IS MEDICARE AFFECTED?

-- Bush would wring $36 billion in savings from the Medicare health program for the elderly and disabled over five years, slowing annual spending growth to 7.5 percent from 7.8 percent.

-- Proposed savings mostly come from curbing payments to hospitals and other providers. Medicare faces growing financial pressures as the baby boom generation ages.

WHAT DOES BUSH SEEK FOR DEFENSE, IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN?

-- Bush proposed a record $439.3 billion defense budget, up 4.8 percent.

-- On top of that, the White House will seek a new infusion this year of $70 billion in emergency funds for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Total war spending for 2006 is $120 billion, the single biggest discretionary item in the budget. The $70 billion in emergency funds is in addition to $50 billion that Congress already approved.

WILL AGRICULTURE BE CUT?

-- For the second year in a row, Bush proposed an across-the-board cut in farm payments and a $250,000 a year limit on payments per farmer.

-- The cuts would save $10 billion over 10 years. Congress rejected a nearly identical package of USDA cuts last year.

WHAT IS PROPOSED FOR FOREIGN AID?

-- U.S. foreign assistance, excluding food aid, would rise 14 percent.

-- Programs funding everything from child health care to foreign military sales and debt relief would rise to $23.7 billion in fiscal 2007, up from an estimated $20.9 billion.

-- Bush would spend $4 billion to fight AIDS and HIV globally, a $740 million increase.

WHAT IS PLANNED FOR ENERGY PROGRAMS?

-- Bush did not seek money to boost capacity of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Congress is requiring the Bush administration to add almost 300 million barrels to the emergency oil stockpile.

-- The budget proposed $250 million in research funds to restart a controversial program that would reprocess spent nuclear fuel.

-- Bush sought to allow oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and assumed a windfall from money that would be collected in leasing fees from energy companies.

WHAT ABOUT EDUCATION?

-- The overall education budget would take a 3.8 percent cut.

-- Bush wants fresh money for what he calls his competitive initiative, including boosting math and science teaching in public schools and high-tech training.

-- But some programs deemed not essential would be cut, including a vocational training program and a college preparatory program for low-income families.

Opinons?

 

[jimmydean]

Wait until we have to send MORE troops to ANA, then we need to send troops to Iran, then what if we need troops in North Korea (and we will, just wait).

They will need all the funding they can get. Too bad it won't matter because if the last year taught us nothing, it's a fat contract still isn't enough to recruit new soldiers. Besides that, the Army can only use so many with missing limbs as good press.

Worry about old people later, we have pointless wars to fight now!

<edit> I forgot the need for more troops in Iraq

 

[Changleen]

Maybe Bush figures if he can send everyone off to war to be killed, the long term domestic medicare costs will be lower?

 

[LordOpie]

I thought they were planning to have the deficit zero'ed out by 2009?

(not that I found that acceptable, just thought that this admin publically stated that?)

 

[LordOpie]

by the way, what's the rest of the world's opinion on this? I mean, if the US has to cut their standard of living a little, isn't that good for the rest of the world? Or has the world become so dependent upon the USA, that they need us to stay #1?

 

[Changleen]

I think the world has been angling for a while now to become less and less dependant on the US. As I have noted at various points in the past there are more and more trade deals going on around the US, not with it - Europe and China, Europe and Asia, China and Asia, China and Africa, China and South America are growing their trade and making deals at ever increasing rates.

 

[jimmydean]

I thought they were planning to have the deficit zero'ed out by 2009?

(not that I found that acceptable, just thought that this admin publically stated that?)

Based on the State of the Union address, it was "...cut the deficit in half by 2009".

I also do not find this acceptable considering the administration went from being in the black to where we are now in 5 years. You would hope they could do more than cut it in half with about the same timeframe.

 

[The Amish]

by the way, what's the rest of the world's opinion on this? I mean, if the US has to cut their standard of living a little, isn't that good for the rest of the world? Or has the world become so dependent upon the USA, that they need us to stay #1?

If we werent number one who would they beg from:love:

 

[LordOpie]

Enterprise? They're #1 and they'll pick you up too.

Ah, cut it in half... sofa king we todd ed. The Reagan and Bush admins have put us in such a financial hole... and the Dems are the irresponsible ones?