Need help drafting a letter

[mikelewis]

Senator Reid sent me an E-mail asking for a letter to the editor about the budget. Unfortunately, my letter would sound like it was written by either Beavis or Butt-head - I'm not sure which.

A little help on what his talking points refer to. He says that
"It chooses loopholes that let big businesses get away with avoiding taxes over aid to family farmers and rural communities."
How does it do this?

I like this part " a ³birth tax² of $36,000 on every child that is born."
A Birth Tax?, they're learnin. How does he arrive at this figure of $36,000?

Please help me dissect this information so I can craft an appropriate letter to my editor and just for shits and giggles, my Senators as well. They're both repubes so it'll get used as toilet paper but at least they'll know how to find me when they start the democratic cleansing of America.

Here's the e-mail -

Subject: Choices



Dear Friend,

Last week, I asked you to sign our Social Security pledge ­ almost 55,000 of you joined Senate Democrats in signing that pledge. Now a pressing issue has come to the floor of the United States Senate, and I need your help getting the word out.

This week Senate Republicans are bringing George Bush¹s budget to the floor.

This bill is nothing short of immoral and we need to fight it. I ask all of you on this list to write a letter to the editor of your local paper and get the facts out in your community.

Republican¹s have a White House PR machine with a budget of more than $3 million ­ Senate Democrats have you. I have provided some talking points below to help you get started.

Once you¹ve sent your letter to the editor, let us know about it by visiting:

http://democrats.senate.gov/submit.html

Our budget comes down to moral choices -- the Bush budget chooses tax giveaways for corporations over college loans for kids. It chooses loopholes that let big businesses get away with avoiding taxes over aid to family farmers and rural communities; the companies that dodge their responsibilities by setting up fake headquarters in Bermuda over the partnership that is helping small businesses create manufacturing jobs here at home.

Just look at this budget¹s effect on our homeland security. It targets firefighter assistance and cuts those grants by 31 percent ­ below the amount from last year. And when it comes to the COPS program ­ so important in protecting America from terrorism­ the budget has good news and bad news. The good news is that they are not trying to eliminate the COPS program. The bad news is that they are cutting it by 96 percent. Kind of makes you wonder why they decided to leave that four percent there. Maybe we¹re supposed to be grateful.

We need a budget that prepares our nation for the economy of the future. But President Bush¹s budget saddles our economy and the next generation with an even greater burden of debt .These Republican policies that have added trillions to the debt ­ in effect, a ³birth tax² of $36,000 on every child that is born.

The Bush budget doesn't count the future costs of the war in Iraq. It doesn't count the nearly $5 trillion his Social Security plan costs. And it doesn't count the full cost of his tax cuts. When this Bush budget gets placed in the Library of Congress, it ought to get filed under fiction.

These choices aren¹t based on the kinds of values you and I believe in. America has a moral compass -- Washington Republicans are just reading it upside down.

Working for a budget that lives by America¹s morals instead of mocking them, won¹t be easy. The Washington Republicans will fight us every step of the way. I need your help. Use the talking points below and write a letter to the editor of your local paper letting your community know how George Bush¹s Budget doesn¹t live by your values.

Once you write your letter let me know about it:

http://democrats.senate.gov/submit.html

Thank you,

Harry Reid


KEY POINT: Unfortunately, the Senate GOP Budget Resolution closely tracks President Bush¹s budget proposal. Like the President¹s budget, it increases deficits and debt, leaves out large costs, includes more deficit-financed tax cuts, and focuses on the wrong priorities for the American people.

Makes Deficits Worse, Not Better. Deficits would not be cut in half under this resolution. When omitted costs are factored in, such as AMT reform, realistic ongoing war costs, and the Social Security surplus being spent on tax cuts and other things, we see that operating deficits will remain above $500 billion and reach $569 billion in 2010. The resolution would worsen our nation¹s fiscal outlook at the worst possible time, right before the baby boom generation retires.

Leaves Out Large Costs, Hiding Real Budget Outlook. Like the President¹s budget, the Senate GOP Budget Resolution leaves out large costs ­ making the deficit numbers look better than the reality. Both plans leave out the cost of AMT reform ­ the old millionaires tax that is increasingly becoming a middle-class tax trap. And both plans fail to provide a realistic longer-term level of funding for military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the ongoing war on terrorism. The President has requested another $82 billion in supplemental funds for 2005, but included nothing in his budget for 2006 and beyond. The Senate GOP Budget Resolution appropriately included a $50 billion reserve fund for these operations for 2006, but far more is likely to be needed. CBO estimates that ongoing military operations could cost $383 billion over the 2006 to 2015 period.

Deficits Primarily Caused by Drop in Revenues. It is important to remember that the deficits have primarily been caused by the drop in revenues, not by increased spending. Last year, revenues as a percent of GDP fell to the lowest level since 1959. Spending as a share of the economy is still down from the levels it reached in the 1980's.

Calls for More Deficit-Financed Tax Cuts. Despite record deficits, the Senate GOP Budget Resolution provides reconciliation protection for another $70 billion in deficit-financed tax cuts over five years. Specifically, the resolution calls for extending the tax cuts on dividends and capital gains.
These tax cuts would provide millionaires with an average annual tax break of $35,000.

Debt Would Continue to Soar Under Resolution. The deficits are leading to an explosion in our nation¹s debt. When President Bush took office, it was projected that virtually all publicly held debt would be paid off by 2008.
If we adopt the policies in the Senate GOP Budget Resolution, plus reform AMT and fund ongoing war costs, publicly held debt will climb to $5.9 trillion by 2008.

Focuses on the Wrong Priorities. Like the President¹s budget, the resolution would provide more deficit-financed tax cuts, while at the same time calling for damaging cuts in key priorities of the American people.
For example, the resolution would cut $4.8 billion from more than 48 education programs. To put that in perspective, the cost of the President¹s tax cuts for those making more than $1 million in 2006 is $32 billion.

We can do better. We need to a budget plan that puts us back on a path of fiscal responsibility, stops the raid on the Social Security trust fund, and focuses on the right priorities for the American people.

[Robbien]

1. Well

when he says "It chooses loopholes that let big businesses get away with avoiding taxes over aid to family farmers and rural communities", it means the budget gives credits to companies doing business offshore and reduces the farm subsidy credits. Since I do not favor either credit and want both reduced, that would not be a issue I would put in a LTTE.

For your LTTE, pick just one issue in the budget proposal which you feel strongly about and write one or two paragraphs about it. Keep it short and to the point.