GOP budget plan raises U.S. debt

To the editor:

Something is happening that affects everyone living in the United States. Unfortunately, it is being done behind our backs, and few will ever even know about it until it happens.

Republicans are pushing through a federal budget before critics and the media can even point out the huge problems involved such as program cuts and corporate giveaways.

The Republican budget explodes the deficit, adding more than $400 billion to our national debt. According to the bipartisan Congressional Budget Office, the deficit is due mostly to the large tax-cut legislation and government spending in Iraq.

The budget set forth by the Republicans is giving the wealthiest Americans permanent tax breaks and cutting programs for the middle class and the poor. That only means that many of the families right here in our area are going to be suffering the most.

The budget will also hurt Medicaid and other health-care programs that cannot stand to be hurt any more than they already are. This will primarily cause pain and problems for senior citizens and the working poor. But the Republican budget does not stop there. It is also planning cuts in education costs that will drastically hurt Pell grants and No Child Left Behind.

For our sake and for the generations to come, this must be stopped.

AMY BOLLINGER, Jackson