Guns or Bread (4/12/2005)

Illinois state representatives have been holding public hearings in their districts on state finances and the budget. Like many states, Illinois is struggling to balance its budget as needs increase, but revenues fall short.

At the hearing I attended, over 30 people, representing employees, seniors, children, small business, local governments, medical services, education, unions, social services, and economic development programs, spoke eloquently about the desperate needs of their constituencies and communities. A shortage of state employees means fewer staff must do more with less, causing serious problems. Corrections officers said attacks on staff and among prisoners have increased and grown more violent. Developmental center staff said that the mentally ill are now housed with the disabled, causing1200 assaults. Underfunding of shelters and counseling means victims of domestic violence and sexual assault are turned away. Lower Medicaid payments strain the services of nursing homes, hospitals, and pharmacies. Vulnerable populations, such as the elderly and children, face a dim future without community care. Infrastructure, economic development, and transportation need support.

But money problems have come home to roost. For the first time, Illinois saw a decline in individual income tax revenue during the recession years of 2002 and 2003. And trying to keep business in the state, Illinois changed the corporate income tax structure, so revenue declined from that source. But, revenue from the state sales tax grew, showing that the recession was driven by job stagnation, not lack of consumer spending.

A state can do only so much, though, because federal policies directly impact states' fiscal health. President Bush's policies have given us several years of recession and, now, looming inflation. Bush says his goal is to spread democracy throughout the world. Tragically, his tactics rely on guns, not diplomacy. So a huge share of our tax dollars is being spent on the Iraq war (over $200 billion and still counting). We blew up the Iraqi infrastructure so now we must rebuild it (and by the way, that included destruction of oil pipe lines, causing higher gas prices here); we must build Iraqi schools and medical clinics; we must steadily heighten security because of growing hostility toward America. Bush's tax cuts for the super rich were supposed to trickle down and create jobs; they haven't. Instead we've lost high-paying jobs to other countries; job growth has made mostly low-paying jobs. The middle and lower classes got trickled on, but not in a good way.

The math is simple. Loss of good-paying jobs and tax cuts for the rich produce less revenue for the government. Less revenue and increased spending for war mean something must be cut somewhere--and that's been services for American families and communities. The Iraq war is draining our human and financial resources, which could be used here to build our infrastructure, provide education and medical care, support small business, and create high-paid jobs. Delaying or ignoring these needs will cause long-term serious problems. Poor education means higher illiteracy rates and difficulty competing in a global economy. Lack of medical care at early intervention stages means people grow sicker, so care costs more. Lack of social services deepens family and community problems; societal stress increases and so does the violence.

Resources are limited so choices must be made. Do you think Bush's war is more important than caring for our citizens and communities? Is this war building a stronger, respected America? How we treat our own people determines our future and, in large part, how the world sees us. Most state budgets are in crisis, but the federal deficit is even worse. What do the voters really want? Taxes spent on guns or on bread, never mind the butter?

- Judith Kohler

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