Passing the Buck or Defeating Terror?

In a radio address to the nation, President Bush urged a major reduction in government spending on entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. President Bush threatened with the possibility of major tax increases for future generations and immediate cuts in benefits. All in all, Mr. Bush wants the federal government to spend 70 Billion dollars less on these programs in the next fiscal year.

The President also asked Congress to pass a Line-item veto, which would allow the President to veto certain provisions of a spending bill. The Supreme Court has ruled this unconstitutional during the Clinton administration (Governors are still given this right).

President Bush seems determined to balance the federal budget, just as he promised in his State of the Union address. Fiscal responsibility is a tenet of the Republican Party, and President Bush feels a great responsibility to curb massive government spending (even if it comes at the expense of social programs).

The budget that President Bush is proposing also included 245 billion dollars for the next two years for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Add that to the 400 billion dollars that the wars have cost already.

If generation next is saddled with massive budget deficits, debt, and higher taxes, it won’t be because of entitlement programs. It will be because President Bush has made history by doing the unthinkable: fighting two wars and lowering taxes. The President has said repeatedly that he doesn’t spend time thinking about his legacy. If Iraq continues to cost hundreds of billions of dollars per year, entitlement programs may be sacrificed right when current high school students are looking in the mailbox for their Social Security checks.