Bend over! ... The impact of Bush taxcuts on America's working class

[Bozita]

A shocking Detroit News series.

 About this series 
To pay for federal tax cuts, many programs that served the working poor were reduced or eliminated as the deficit grew. This report shows that the amount of money millions of Americans now pay for services ranging from child care to housing is greater than the amount they saved through the tax cuts.

Sunday, Sept. 26: Hundreds of thousands of people across the nation who qualify for assistance are on waiting lists or get turned away when they apply for help with child care, meals and utility bills.

Monday, Sept. 27: A housing program that replaces dilapidated buildings has been cut, rent subsidies frozen and a public housing crime prevention program eliminated, leaving thousands of poor living in squalor, unsafe conditions or homeless.

Tuesday, Sept. 28: Even as the country lost jobs during the past two years, $600 million was cut from job-training programs designed to provide skills for the unskilled or unemployed. Federal financial aid grants have been frozen even as tuition has spiked at U.S. colleges.

Here are the articles and links for Tuesday:

DETROIT -- Michigan has lost 241,000 more jobs than it created since the country went into recession in March 2001 -- the worst job deficit of any state in the nation. 09/28/04
http://www.detnews.com/2004/specialreport/0409/28/a01-286728.htm

Older Workers
Low-income seniors struggle for jobs
DETROIT -- Routine bills were piling so high that Marilyn Williams borrowed $30,000 against her home to help get them under control. 09/28/04
http://www.detnews.com/2004/specialreport/0409/28/a08-286508.htm

Education
College aid fails to keep pace with tuition hikes
Tommy Tseng is the first in his family to attend college. 09/28/04
http://www.detnews.com/2004/specialreport/0409/28/a09-286519.htm

Tax Benefit
Dividend tax break costs Treasury $125 billion
DETROIT -- It is a tax cut worth enough to triple the spending on low-income energy assistance through 2008. 09/28/04
http://www.detnews.com/2004/specialreport/0409/28/a09-286527.htm

more, lots more...

[Ilsa]

1. We're becoming a Third World Country.

Our infrastructure is in disrepair, our schools are a mess, and the disparity between rich and poor continues to grow, along with disillusionment and hopelessness. And people wonder IF we will have terror attacks here? It's simply a latter of when. And I think it is likely to come from our own citizenry.

[SteppingRazor]

2. I agree

And I even agree we could see violent reaction to continued Bush policies. Ah well. Maybe Marx was right. Overthrow of the industrial bourgeosie, struggle of the urban proletariat, and all that. Start handing out the torches and pitchforks!

[ladjf]

6. "torches and pitchfork" won't be effective.

I'm not sure what would be.

[Skittles]

3. the results of the Contract on America

republican legacy

[ladjf]

5. You have said a lot in a very few words. Good work!

[Bozita]

4. Here are the Monday articles

Front page, above the fold:
http://www.detnews.com/specialreports/2004/taxes/index....

Monday, September 27, 2004

Report:Tax Cut Impact

Home rehab cutbacks leave poor in shambles
BOSTON -- A panic-stricken Maribel Colon rushed her daughter Kyara to the emergency room after the 2-year-old kept tugging her ear and crying uncontrollably. 09/27/04
http://www.detnews.com/2004/specialreport/0409/27/a01-2...

Tax Breaks
Estate-tax loss will punch hole in budget
At a time when the Bush administration is pinching pennies with federal programs for the poor, it has turned its back on $13 billion. 09/27/04
http://www.detnews.com/2004/specialreport/0409/27/a06-2...

Horse owners can write off $100,000
It's a tax deduction most Americans know little about and few but the wealthy use -- the horse write-off. 09/27/04
http://www.detnews.com/2004/specialreport/0409/27/a06-2..
.
Subsidized Apartments
Thousands wait for years to get help with rent
NEW BEDFORD, Mass. -- It is the arithmetic that works against Melissa Manning. 09/27/04
http://www.detnews.com/2004/specialreport/0409/27/a07-2...

Crime
Highly touted crime-fighting tool axed
NEW ORLEANS -- Sylvia Hall knows firsthand just how dangerous housing projects can be. 09/27/04
http://www.detnews.com/2004/specialreport/0409/27/a07-2...

more, lots more...

[Bozita]

7. Sunday's Detroit News headline: "Working poor suffer under Bush tax cuts"

Detroit News, frontpage headline, above the fold.

Absolutely devastating picture of life in Bush's new America from one of America's most right-wing newspapers.

http://www.detnews.com/specialreports/2004/taxes/index....

Working poor suffer under Bush tax cuts
DETROIT -- The Bush administration and Congress have scaled back programs that aid the poor to help pay for $600 billion in tax breaks that went primarily to those who earn more than $288,800 a year. 09/26/04
http://www.detnews.com/2004/specialreport/0409/26/a01-2...

Child Care
Pinch blocks rise from poverty
MOBILE, Ala. -- National Guard reservist Kimberly Shaw was called up for combat duty in February 2003 as the U.S. military prepared to invade Iraq. 09/26/04
http://www.detnews.com/2004/specialreport/0409/26/a01-2...

Hunger
Meals on Wheels pares back from hot food to frozen
DETROIT -- In Detroit, shut-in seniors on the waiting list for federally subsidized hot meals face a harsh reality: They won't get help unless someone currently in the program drops out or dies. 09/26/04
http://www.detnews.com/2004/specialreport/0409/26/a15-2...

Utility Help
Poor juggle bills as heat aid dries up
DETROIT -- There are more than 16,000 low-income Detroiters currently without electricity because they couldn't pay their bills. 09/26/04
http://www.detnews.com/2004/specialreport/0409/26/a15-2...

more, lots more ...