The Bankrupting

CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - President George W. Bush will emphasize domestic-spending austerity when he unveils a $2.7 trillion budget on Monday that aims to counter a spendthrift image and rally Republicans in an election year.

The budget for fiscal 2007, which begins October 1, is expected to propose cuts in an array of discretionary programs and $36 billion in cost savings over five years from Medicare, one of the largest U.S. entitlement programs.

Bush vowed in his State of the Union address last week to reduce or eliminate more than 140 programs "that are performing poorly or not fulfilling essential priorities." The cost reductions would total $14 billion, he said.

Fun, that. The President also says that we're well on the way to cutting our deficit, though that isn't happening. And while he's practicing "austerity" at the cost of social programs domestically, he's bankrupting Medicare and other programs, while increasing his war spending. And, of course, demanding that his tax cuts become permanent, insuring that we'll be forever indebted to foreign nation investors [China, South Korea, Japan, etc], while having none of the domestic benefit [health care, social security, education] that would come from having any kind of adequate financing.

But hey. At least we get to support this lovely war.

And the next one.