Well, Kat, the "official" line on the avg. $400 per family check/cheque was
that we (the average American compulsive over-spender) would toss that check
back into the economic river as fast as we could get it out of our mailboxes
and into the bank.  That was supposed to "kick-start" the economy and put
Mr. Bush into a favorable light as the president who gave back some of the
tax dollars we all complain about having to pay.  Isn't that a pretty fair
assessment of the administration's logic?  Trouble is, I don't know of a
soul who thought this was a good idea.  I know no one who thought the check
they're supposed to get this summer (Btw, haven't got mine yet. Have you?)
was worth the kick in the knees it gave to an already unsteady economic
recovery.  Now, the recovery has stopped and we're back to deficit spending
again (to be fair, though, our economic slowdown started before the
election--it just didn't become apparent until GWB was already in office).

The thing that irks me is the robust tax breaks he's giving to the
super-wealthy, while the middle class carries the burden of the sour
economy.  If you think that's a Republican/Democrat issue, think again.  The
old-money Republicans and elitist new-money Democrats will ALWAYS take care
of their own first.  The rich got richer and the poor got poorer just as
fast during Clinton's eight years as they did during the Reagan/Bush years.
Both get free rides on the backs of the working middle class.

As far as the entitlement and social welfare programs go, Kat, I don't
really see efficiency or sense in most of them regardless if they are
administered at the national, state or local level.  Head Start was a rose
in a garden of weeds.

Kyle

-----Original Message-----
From: Kat [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Monday, July 21, 2003 7:53 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: History redux; was RE: Quiz About 9/11


We are operating at a deficit that is the biggest in many years. I'm not
happy with that at all.

And we have tax cuts?  How, pray tell, are we going to pay for all those
services?  I'm mainly afraid that essential social welfare programs are
going to get cut even more and so are educational programs.  Our
children are suffering.

Kat