Christian leaders have been looking over the Bush budget and are finding a document that lacks moral vision. The president has proposed making permanent tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and cutting programs for the poor that pay for health care and affordable housing. Other programs that benefit low-income Americans are also adversely impacted by the president’s proposals. Visit the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities for a full look at the budget impact.
The Rev. Jim Wallis issued a statement on the budget that read in part:
The cost of the deficit is increasingly borne by the poor. The budget projects a record $427 billion deficit, and a promise to make tax cuts benefiting the wealthiest permanent. Religious communities spoke clearly in the past years about the perils of a domestic policy based primarily on tax cuts for the rich, program cuts for low-income people, and an expectation of faith-based charity. We must speak clearly now about a budget lacking moral vision. A budget that scapegoats the poor and fattens the rich, that asks for sacrifice mostly from those who can least afford it, is a moral outrage.
The United Church of Christ Justice and Peace Ministries reports that:
The President released a $2.5 trillion budget on Monday, February 7, which gives a significant boost to military spending while cutting discretionary spending by one percent. Congress will be left to consider measures to reduce funding for nearly 15O programs that serve the nation's most vulnerable populations, including Medicaid, Food Stamps and Title IV-E Foster Care.
Sojourners is asking people of faith to send messages to Congress alerting them that Christians will not support a budget that helps the wealthy at the expense of the poor. “These budget priorities would cause the prophets to rise up in righteous indignation, as should we. Our nation deserves better vision,” writes Wallis.
