Talking about the federal budget

NETWORK, a national Catholic social justice lobby, has an interesting blog here, including this entry titled How to Talk About the Federal Budget. Here is an excerpt:

With the 2010 election, a new wave of fiscally conservative members of Congress have entered Washington, bringing with them a desire to make drastic cuts to programs that help marginalized people. It is important that people of faith respond.

Talking about the budget can seem intimidating. The process of funding the government is complicated, and most people do not have the time or the energy to learn about the intricacies of the tax code or appropriations process. But the good news is: you don’t have to! As people of faith, we believe that our values should frame the debate, and our government should care for the common good.

A moral response to this budget crisis prioritizes programs that provide for those who are poor and vulnerable, because our country’s future is dependent on the posterity of our entire nation, not just the wealthy.

There are two ways to decrease the federal debt: reduce spending and increase revenue. In order to keep our communities strong, we need to do both responsibly.

Over the last ten years, our national debt has doubled due to reckless tax cuts for wealthy Americans and corporations, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As we deal with trillion dollar deficits today, we need solutions that address the problems, not solutions driven by ideology.