Bush social programs

Reflecting the transformation in the attitude of the American ruling elite over the past several decades, no Democrat supports anything like the social programs and public works projects that they once backed as a means of containing class tensions. What would a real policy directed at social inequality look like? It would require first of all a complete restructuring of the tax code, including not only a repeal of the recent tax cuts for the rich, but a massive increase in taxes on accumulated wealth, along with sharp reductions in taxes for working people.

Revenue from the wealthy elite would be used to fund social programs and decent-paying jobs to those who have seen their jobs destroyed by the hurricane, as well as those who were unemployed before the hurricane struck. The federal minimum wage, which has remained stagnant for eight years and which, in real terms, is at its lowest level in decades, would be sharply increased.

This would be bound up with a vast extension of social programs, to provide quality living standards and medical care for everyone. Measures such as cutting spending on social infrastructure and social programs, promoting privatization and deregulation, and tax cuts for the wealthy led to the conditions of neglect, poverty and ill-preparedness that made the hurricane so devastating.

Far from rethinking this policy or altering it in any way, the Bush administration is pledging to continue and deepen it. Menu Search. Latest Profile. Contact About. The Program prepares students in the Master of International Affairs and Master of International Policy degree programs for professional careers in government and the nongovernmental sector in the cyber arena. Cyber Security Website. The Economic Statecraft Program is a novel effort that seeks to analyze economic statecraft, bring together academics across the world, and serve as a linkage between policymakers and academia.

It is led by Dr. William J. Economic Statecraft Website. But many in the scientific community and in the Democratic Party staunchly opposed his limits on scientific research. The discussion of stem cell research continued for the rest of his administration, with Bush vetoing two bills intended to overturn his decision in and During his campaign, Bush promised a major tax cut that he hoped would stimulate the economy. According to his economic advisers, such tax cuts would give people and businesses more money that they could reinvest, which, the President hoped, would cause economic growth and, over the long term, actually increase the taxable income of the American people.

In February , for instance, Bush spoke in favor of tax cuts as a way to create jobs and stimulate the economy. Opponents of such economic thinking argued that any tax windfalls for the wealthy would not be spent on reinvestment but on frivolous luxuries and risky speculative ventures.

It doubled the child tax credit, incentivized more retirement savings, and phased out federal estate taxes. All income brackets received a tax cut, including new rebates for taxes paid in Republicans in Congress moved quickly to support the bill. Even this compromise was a major victory for the President and his economic vision.

The tax cut, however, was not accompanied by a reduction in government spending. As a result, was the last time the government had a surplus for the foreseeable future. Budget deficits soared as tax revenue declined but entitlements increased, discretionary spending grew, and the country began to fight wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Using the political capital gained from Republican victories in the midterm elections, Bush pushed for a second round of tax cuts.

He believed that this would further stimulate the economy. Democrats believed that these actions were not attempts to bolster the economy, but an attempt to eliminate taxes on investment income and force a reduction in the size of government.

The package passed narrowly after Vice President Cheney broke the Senate deadlock. Federal taxes on dividends and capital gains reached their lowest level since World War II. Bush was able to pass another modest tax cut in , but it was not nearly as expansive as he desired. Meanwhile, the economy grew sporadically. In October , the stock market topped 14,, up from approximately 8, in Unemployment declined from 6.

Despite these signs of progress, the United States budget remained unbalanced, and a major economic catastrophe loomed in the final months of the Bush administration. Bush had successfully reformed the Texas education system with an emphasis on standards and testing. As President, he wanted to implement such initiatives across the nation. At the Republican National Convention in , Bush proclaimed that the United States had engaged in the "the soft bigotry of low expectations" by expecting lower performances from minority and underprivileged children.

The No Child Left Behind Act expanded federal funding for education, allowed more freedom for localities to spend federal funds, set federal standards for school achievement, and encouraged more freedom of choice between private and public schools.

The act also mandated that percent of U. Schools that failed to meet the standards were offered help. But if they continued to fail to make the established goals, they would be penalized. Congress overwhelmingly passed the plan with bipartisan support, including leadership from liberal stalwart, Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts. President Bush signed the act into law on January 8, The program was controversial because of its high standards, reliance on testing, cost, and the weakening of local autonomy, a staple of the U.

By the time Bush had left office, fourth-grade reading and math scores and eighth-grade math scores had reached their highest levels in history. He called for increased ownership of houses, businesses, retirement accounts, and health insurance. He wanted people to be able to make more decisions for themselves about their health plans while controlling some of the costs of health care. Bush argued that Medicare, the government program to provide health insurance for people over 65 years old or disabled, was outdated and heading toward bankruptcy.

His ideas for reform included an option for prescription drug benefits that would only be delivered through private insurance plans. Senior citizens who desired the new benefit would have to purchase private insurance plans from private companies. Bush hoped that this proposal would increase competition and allow market forces to regulate the health care system.

The bill was viewed as a quasi-victory for Bush. Beginning in and focusing most seriously after the reelection, President Bush pursued the partial privatization of the Social Security system, which provides benefits to disabled, unemployed, and retired people. The popular program, a response to the Great Depression, began in a vastly different time when retirements and lives were shorter and there were more workers per retiree to pick up the tab.

By the early s, projections indicated that entitlements, including Social Security, would constitute 70 percent of the federal budget by Social Security expenses would soon exceed the amount being paid into the system, which would drive the system into debt and eventual bankruptcy.

Many in Washington wanted to reform the system to make it sustainable for the long term, but what form those changes were to take was the subject of great disagreement. Bush called for a fundamental reform that allowed younger workers to divert a portion of their payroll taxes, which funded Social Security, into private savings accounts. Democrats vowed to block any discussion of Social Security reform until Bush removed private accounts from the table.

Bush spent any political capital he had received from reelection on this losing cause.