Budget & Economy

Budget & Economy

The federal budget is a statement about priorities. Congressman Kucinich thinks that the federal government’s priorities are misplaced. For example, Congressman Kucinich believes the budget for veterans is inadequate, while major defense contractors are reaping massive profits from the excessive defense budget.

The federal budget, over $3 trillion a year, has enormous influence over our lives and the economy. The federal budget establishes how much money the federal government spends on education, healthcare, housing, veterans’ needs, and other critical programs that help people in need. Each of these areas competes with the costs of a growing deficit, defense spending, and the funds for the war in Iraq. To find the appropriate balance, budget priorities should support programs that help people in the greatest need. These programs include:

-Building enough schools and hiring enough teachers to create the 18-student classrooms that are ideal for learning;

-Affordable prescription drugs for everybody, with 100% government help to lower the price of prescription drugs, and 80% direct assistance for those on Medicare;

-Guaranteeing that state and local election officials have enough polling booths to record accurately the votes of every American so our government reflects the will of the electorate;

-Increasing the nation’s stock of quality affordable housing and develop programs to help homeowners who are facing foreclosure; and

-Creating a more efficient government by cutting the most wasteful area of the most wasteful department in government--the super-expensive, prone to cost-overrun weapons procurement area of the Department of Defense.