Immoral budget

Budgets are statements of moral values. Tragically, the recently passed budget virtually shouts that Congress is morally bankrupt. Balancing the budget is important, yes. But how it is balanced is the issue.

Congress voted, by a narrow margin, to cut funding of medicaid and reduce benefits. That is in spite of a spike in the numbers of those needing those services after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. And it flies in the face of the escalating costs of medical care.

The costs of balancing the budget in light of the deficit and of the Iraq War are disproportionately harming the poor as programs that keep their plight from being totally desperate. As a Christian, I know that Jesus wants us to look out for the "least of these," his brothers. Yet this budget takes a huge step backward, at the expense of those who can least afford cuts.

When adequate care is not provided, often the patient waits until they are desperate. Then they go to the emergency room or some other acute care facility. This shifts the burden of paying for health care from a very large taxpayer pool to a smaller pool (local resients). That effectively means higher local taxes. Such a policy is decpetive, and hurts taxpayers far more than if Congress had enacted a modest raise in taxes.

We need to insist that Congress revisits the budget to make sure it shows the fairness and compassion America has always had for those at the bottom. This new "conservative" approach to governing is far from the conservative ideal which didn't keep us from our traditional caring for one another, extending a hand up where needed and sharing the burden. (Shared burdens are lighter.) The budget is not conservative, not compassionate, not Christian, and certainly does not promote the general welfare.