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PRESS RELEASE
Khan: Republican Policies Are "Fiscal Insanity" $461 Billion for War, Veto for Children's
Health Insurance Parsippany, October 20--Eight years ago, the federal government was running a budget surplus. In June
of 1999, President Bill Clinton said, "If we maintain our fiscal discipline, using the surplus to pay down the debt and
using the savings to strengthen Social Security, America will entirely pay off the national debt by 2015." Imagine that!
Fast forward only three years, and we were back into deficits. Record-setting deficits. It was so bad that the Republicans
started talking about cutting Social Security and Medicare. What happened to the surplus? Why are there such huge deficits?
How does this affect us in New Jersey? Part of the problem was a natural business cycle. Companies spent a lot on computers
and software to prepare for Y2K. So after New Year’s Day 2000 passed without problems, business spending on computers
slowed down again. Then there was the bursting of the "dot-com bubble." But the main problem was a set of policies
that were followed ruthlessly by the Republican Party. Bush promised a tax cut. But he delivered this tax cut only to
what he calls "the Haves and the Have Mores"—the people
he calls his base. Not only did these tax cuts switch the federal budget from surpluses to deficits for the foreseeable future,
they shifted the tax burden from wealthy people to middle income people. For most of us even in affluent Morris County, we
got a tax shift, not a tax cut. A study by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities estimated that households with incomes
of over $1 million per year would have an average net gain of $59,637 from the Bush tax cuts. But the middle 20% of households
would end up with a net loss of $228, because of increases in other taxes and loss of services. So for the middle 20% of the
population, the Bush tax cuts were really a tax increase.When the federal government cuts spending, state governments often
have to take up the slack. But we’ve had income tax cuts in New Jersey as well. Back when Christine Todd Whitman was
governor, she had ambitions for greater things. To boost her reputation with the Republican Party nationally, she spearheaded
a 30% cut in state income taxes. According to a recent study published by the nonpartisan New Jersey Policy Perspectives,
Whitman’s tax cuts cost the state at least $14 billion in revenue. But during the time that these tax cuts have been
in effect, the average residential property tax rose by $1886. For more than 90% of households, the income tax cut has been
less than the average increase in property taxes. Furthermore, the lower a household’s income, the more likely it is
that its property tax went up more than its income tax went down. So unless you are very wealthy, beware of Republicans promising
tax cuts. Bush’s tax cuts were only part of the reason for the mess we’re in. At the same time that he was
cutting taxes for his wealthy "base," he was planning to go to war in the Middle East. Keep in mind how strange
this is. When the United States entered World War I, World War II, and the Korean War, the income tax rates for the top tax
brackets were increased. The wealthiest people in the country allowed themselves to be taxed at much higher rates in order
to finance the war. But now we have the wealthiest people demanding a tax cut in wartime. To pay for this tax cut, Congress
has also cut things such as support for higher education. So more and more young people feel that joining the military is
the only way that they would be able to afford to go to college. Back in 1998, Bush’s neoconservative cronies
at the Project for a New American Century wrote to President Clinton, arguing for a war in Iraq. The PNAC neocons wrote
a report in 2000, arguing for a massive military buildup, but noting that the American people would resist it, "absent
some catastrophic and catalyzing event–like a new Pearl Harbor."
We now know that the President ignored warnings in his Presidential Daily Briefing that Osama Bin Laden was determined to
attack inside the United States. How hard would it have been to warn the FAA, so that they could have ordered that all cockpit
doors be locked before takeoff? Instead, we had a catastrophic and catalyzing event that killed over 3000 innocent Americans.
And Bush used the anger that it generated to launch an attack on Iraq, which had nothing whatsoever to do with the events
of September 11 and which had no weapons of mass destruction.So far, the federal government has spent $461 billion on the
Iraq War, and there is no end in sight. According to the National Priorities Project, Morris County’s share of that
comes to $1.6 billion. Then there’s the loss of life: 3830 American servicemen and –women as of October 17, 2007. Tens of thousands of others grievously wounded—blinded, missing limbs, or with brain injuries. And don’t forget the Iraqi casualties. A study published in
the medical journal The Lancet last year estimated over 600,000 excess deaths in Iraq. The death toll among Iraqi civilians
may be as high as 1 million. The medical and psychiatric disabilities afflicting our servicemen and –women and the Iraqi survivors shall continue to haunt us into future. When we need
more funds to provide greater services to our returning soldiers and to protect us from the long-term ramifications of this
unnecessary war, we are headed into economic paralysis. This combination of policies, which has taken the country from surpluses
to massive debts, is fiscal insanity. What can ordinary people do about these problems? Instead of just waiting for
Bush to vacate the White House, we can vote this November to minimize Republican impact on the state legislature in Trenton,
to reverse the trend of diminishing services like SCHIP and undo the Republican destruction of our economy and society. So
please vote on Tuesday, November 6. And vote Democratic! Sources: http://money.cnn.com/1999/06/28/economy/clinton/ —the people he calls
his base. Not only did these tax cuts switch the federal budget from surpluses to deficits for the foreseeable future, they
shifted the tax burden from wealthy people to middle income people. For most of us even in affluent Morris County, we got
a tax shift, not a tax cut. A study by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities estimated that households with incomes
of over $1 million per year would have an average net gain of $59,637 from the Bush tax cuts. But the middle 20% of households
would end up with a net loss of $228, because of increases in other taxes and loss of services. So for the middle 20% of the
population, the Bush tax cuts were really a tax increase.When the federal government cuts spending, state governments often
have to take up the slack. But we’ve had income tax cuts in New Jersey as well. Back when Christine Todd Whitman was
governor, she had ambitions for greater things. To boost her reputation with the Republican Party nationally, she spearheaded
a 30% cut in state income taxes. According to a recent study published by the nonpartisan New Jersey Policy Perspectives,
Whitman’s tax cuts cost the state at least $14 billion in revenue. But during the time that these tax cuts have been
in effect, the average residential property tax rose by $1886. For more than 90% of households, the income tax cut has been
less than the average increase in property taxes. Furthermore, the lower a household’s income, the more likely it is
that its property tax went up more than its income tax went down. So unless you are very wealthy, beware of Republicans promising
tax cuts. Bush’s tax cuts were only part of the reason for the mess we’re in. At the same time that he was
cutting taxes for his wealthy "base," he was planning to go to war in the Middle East. Keep in mind how strange
this is. When the United States entered World War I, World War II, and the Korean War, the income tax rates for the top tax
brackets were increased. The wealthiest people in the country allowed themselves to be taxed at much higher rates in order
to finance the war. But now we have the wealthiest people demanding a tax cut in wartime. To pay for this tax cut, Congress
has also cut things such as support for higher education. So more and more young people feel that joining the military is
the only way that they would be able to afford to go to college. Back in 1998, Bush’s neoconservative cronies
at the Project for a New American Century wrote to President Clinton, arguing for a war in Iraq. The PNAC neocons wrote
a report in 2000, arguing for a massive military buildup, but noting that the American people would resist it, "absent
some catastrophic and catalyzing event–like a new Pearl Harbor."
We now know that the President ignored warnings in his Presidential Daily Briefing that Osama Bin Laden was determined to
attack inside the United States. How hard would it have been to warn the FAA, so that they could have ordered that all cockpit
doors be locked before takeoff? Instead, we had a catastrophic and catalyzing event that killed over 3000 innocent Americans.
And Bush used the anger that it generated to launch an attack on Iraq, which had nothing whatsoever to do with the events
of September 11 and which had no weapons of mass destruction.So far, the federal government has spent $461 billion on the
Iraq War, and there is no end in sight. According to the National Priorities Project, Morris County’s share of that
comes to $1.6 billion. Then there’s the loss of life: 3830 American servicemen and –women as of October 17, 2007. Tens of thousands of others grievously wounded—blinded, missing limbs, or with brain injuries. And don’t forget the Iraqi casualties. A study published in
the medical journal The Lancet last year estimated over 600,000 excess deaths in Iraq. The death toll among Iraqi civilians
may be as high as 1 million. The medical and psychiatric disabilities afflicting our servicemen and –women and the Iraqi survivors shall continue to haunt us into future. When we need
more funds to provide greater services to our returning soldiers and to protect us from the long-term ramifications of this
unnecessary war, we are headed into economic paralysis. This combination of policies, which has taken the country from surpluses
to massive debts, is fiscal insanity. What can ordinary people do about these problems? Instead of just waiting for
Bush to vacate the White House, we can vote this November to minimize Republican impact on the state legislature in Trenton,
to reverse the trend of diminishing services like SCHIP and undo the Republican destruction of our economy and society. So
please vote on Tuesday, November 6. And vote Democratic! Sources: http://money.cnn.com/1999/06/28/economy/clinton/ –like a new Pearl Harbor."
We now know that the President ignored warnings in his Presidential Daily Briefing that Osama Bin Laden was determined to
attack inside the United States. How hard would it have been to warn the FAA, so that they could have ordered that all cockpit
doors be locked before takeoff? Instead, we had a catastrophic and catalyzing event that killed over 3000 innocent Americans.
And Bush used the anger that it generated to launch an attack on Iraq, which had nothing whatsoever to do with the events
of September 11 and which had no weapons of mass destruction.So far, the federal government has spent $461 billion on the
Iraq War, and there is no end in sight. According to the National Priorities Project, Morris County’s share of that
comes to $1.6 billion. Then there’s the loss of life: 3830 American servicemen and –women as of October 17, 2007. Tens of thousands of others grievously wounded—blinded, missing limbs, or with brain injuries. And don’t forget the Iraqi casualties. A study published in
the medical journal The Lancet last year estimated over 600,000 excess deaths in Iraq. The death toll among Iraqi civilians
may be as high as 1 million. The medical and psychiatric disabilities afflicting our servicemen and –women and the Iraqi survivors shall continue to haunt us into future. When we need
more funds to provide greater services to our returning soldiers and to protect us from the long-term ramifications of this
unnecessary war, we are headed into economic paralysis. This combination of policies, which has taken the country from surpluses
to massive debts, is fiscal insanity. What can ordinary people do about these problems? Instead of just waiting for
Bush to vacate the White House, we can vote this November to minimize Republican impact on the state legislature in Trenton,
to reverse the trend of diminishing services like SCHIP and undo the Republican destruction of our economy and society. So
please vote on Tuesday, November 6. And vote Democratic! Sources: http://money.cnn.com/1999/06/28/economy/clinton/ –women as of October 17, 2007. Tens of thousands
of others grievously wounded—blinded, missing limbs, or with
brain injuries. And don’t forget the Iraqi casualties. A study published in the medical journal The Lancet last year
estimated over 600,000 excess deaths in Iraq. The death toll among Iraqi civilians may be as high as 1 million. The medical
and psychiatric disabilities afflicting our servicemen and –women
and the Iraqi survivors shall continue to haunt us into future. When we need more funds to provide greater services to
our returning soldiers and to protect us from the long-term ramifications of this unnecessary war, we are headed into economic
paralysis. This combination of policies, which has taken the country from surpluses to massive debts, is fiscal insanity. What
can ordinary people do about these problems? Instead of just waiting for Bush to vacate the White House, we can vote this
November to minimize Republican impact on the state legislature in Trenton, to reverse the trend of diminishing services like
SCHIP and undo the Republican destruction of our economy and society. So please vote on Tuesday, November 6. And vote Democratic! Sources: http://money.cnn.com/1999/06/28/economy/clinton/ http://money.cnn.com/1999/06/28/economy/clinton/http://www.cbpp.org/6-2-04tax.htm http://www.cbpp.org/6-2-04tax.htmhttp://www.njpp.org/rpt_worthit.html http://www.njpp.org/rpt_worthit.htmlhttp://www.nationalpriorities.org/Cost-of-War/Cost-of-War-3.html http://www.nationalpriorities.org/Cost-of-War/Cost-of-War-3.htmlhttp://icasualties.org/oif/ http://icasualties.org/oif/http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=17055943&ordinalpos=13&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/04/14/524/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=17055943&ordinalpos=13&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/04/14/524/ http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/04/14/524/
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