As Super Citizens, We’ll Be Watching Federal Budget Decisions

We cannot afford more devastating cuts to vital services. We know this, but we need to make sure our voices are heard loud and clear by the Super Committee.

We know that the most vulnerable people in our society have already suffered the most in the current economic climate. The middle class continues to struggle, and our lawmakers on Capitol Hill seem to have no problem preserving tax breaks for big corporations and the wealthiest Americans. The House Appropriations Bill for 2012, drafted by Republican House leaders, protects tax breaks for the top 1% and ignores the other 99% of us. Some specific provisions include:

• $13.5 billion in tax breaks on dividend income for wealthy investors (Bush tax cuts)
• $4.6 billion in tax breaks over 10 years for corporate jet owners
• $4.1 billion in tax breaks for oil and gas corporations
• $3.6 billion cut from Pell Grant funding, increasing the amount of debt students have after attending college
• $2.2 billion cut from federal job-training programs
• $1.3 billion cut from Low Income Energy Assistance Programs.

In FY 2011, critical programs have already faced these cuts:

• $1 billion cut from drinking water infrastructure projects
• $1 billion cut from Community Health Centers
• $500 million cut from WIC, which aids food and nutrition needs of children from low-income families
• Almost $3 billion cut from high-speed rail funds and highway construction projects.

Source: Center for American Progress