A
Little Perspective
By Michael Moore
If you can't get through this list without wanting to
throw up, I'll understand. But pass it around anyway.
This is the nail in the Iraq War's coffin for any sane, thinking
individual, regardless of their political stripe. (Thanks to Tom
Paine.com and the Center for American Progress.)
To get some perspective, here are some real-life
comparisons about what $87 billion means:
$87 Billion is more than the combined total of all
State budget deficits in the United
States. The Bush administration proposed absolutely zero funds to help
states deal with these deficits, despite the fact that their tax cuts
drove down state revenues. [Source: Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities].
$87 Billion is enough to pay the 3.3 million people
who have lost jobs under George W. Bush $26,363.00 each! The
unemployment benefits extension passed by Congress at the beginning of
this year provides zero benefits to workers who exhausted their regular,
state unemployment benefits and cannot find work [Source: Center on
Budget and Policy
Priorities].
$87 Billion is more than double the total amount the
government spends on Homeland Security. The U.S. spends about $36
billion on homeland security. Yet, Sen. Warren Rudman (R- N.H.) wrote,
America will fall approximately $98 .4 billion short of meeting critical
emergency responder needs for homeland security without a funding
increase.
[Source: Council on Foreign Relations].
$87 Billion is 87 times the amount the Federal
Government spends on After School Programs. George W. Bush proposed a
budget that reduces the $1 billion for after-school programs to $600
million cutting off about 475,000 children from the program. [Source:
The Republican-dominated House Appropriations Committee].
$87 Billion is more that 10 times what the Government
spends on all environmental Protection. The Bush administration
requested just $7.6 billion for the entire Environmental Protection
Agency. This included a 32 percent cut to water quality grants, a
6 percent reduction in enforcement staff, and a 50 percent cut to
land acquisition and
conservation. [Source: Natural Resources Defense
Council].
There you go. In black and white. A few million of
you will receive this letter. Please share the above with at least a
half-dozen people today and tomorrow. I, like you, do not want to see
another approval rating over 50 percent.
Yours,
Michael Moore
Filmmaker
Never be afraid to be happy
