[ProgressiveEd] Fwd: [rsct] Casualties at Home - Herbert in NY Times
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Subject: [rsct] Casualties at Home - Herbert in NY Times
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=20
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 27, 2003
Casualties at Home
By BOB HERBERT
=20
ASHINGTON - On Tuesday, as President Bush was asking Congress for the=20=
first installment of the hundreds of billions of dollars needed to finance t=
he war in Iraq and its aftermath, the students and teachers at a high school=
within walking distance of the White House were struggling through their da=
ily routine in a building that has no cafeteria, no gymnasium, no student lo=
ckers, not even a fully reliable source of electricity.
A few weeks ago bricks were falling from the facade of the building, w=
hich is more than 100 years old.
As we continue the relentless bombing of Baghdad, which the military t=
ells us is the necessary prelude to saving it, it's fair to ask when the reb=
uilding of essential institutions like the public schools will begin here at=
home. (Don't hold your breath. The money for that sort of thing has complet=
ely evaporated.)
"We actually have rooms where the water comes in when it rains," said=20=
Sheila Mills Harris, the principal of the School Without Walls, an academica=
lly rigorous high school that routinely finishes first or second in the Dist=
rict of Columbia's rankings.
Laura Bush has visited the school, which has won a series of national=20=
honors. But academic honors and a visit by the first lady are, frankly, irre=
levant in an era in which social concerns - such as support for public schoo=
ls and health care, and the need to assist the poor, the hungry and the unem=
ployed - have been forced to the perimeter of public consciousness. Those is=
sues, crucial to our conception of ourselves as a just and humane people, ha=
ve been devalued and shunted aside by an administration that is committed to=
an ill-advised, budget-busting war and a devastating parade of tax cuts for=
the very wealthy.
With our attention riveted on the death and destruction in Iraq, and t=
he continued threat to Americans in the war zone, the other very serious pro=
blems facing the U.S. get short shrift. We knew last fall that the proportio=
n of Americans living in poverty had risen, and that income for middle-class=
households had fallen.
We know that unemployment, especially long-term unemployment, is a big=
problem. And we've known that the states are facing their worst budget cris=
is since the Great Depression, a development that has led, among other thing=
s, to drastic cuts in education aid that are crushing the budgets of local p=
ublic school districts.
These issues aren't even being properly discussed. The Bush administra=
tion sounds the alarm for war and blows the trumpet for tax cuts, and Congre=
ss plunges ahead with the cuts in domestic programs that must inevitably fol=
low. The voices of those who object are effectively silenced by the war prop=
aganda and the fear of seeming unpatriotic.
With attention thus deflected, the administration and its allies in Co=
ngress have come up with one proposal after another to weaken programs that=20=
were designed to help struggling Americans.
In his budget last month the president offered a plan to make it more=20=
difficult for low-income families to obtain government benefits, including t=
ax credits and school lunch assistance. This month, as The Times' Robert Pea=
r reported, the administration proposed changes in the Medicare program that=
would make it more difficult for elderly people, many of them frail, to app=
eal the denial of benefits like home health care and skilled nursing care.
The extent to which the most vulnerable Americans are being targeted i=
s appalling. Billions of dollars in cuts have been proposed for food stamp a=
nd child nutrition programs, and for health care for the poor.
Collectively, these are the largest proposed cuts in history. Even cut=
s for veterans' programs are on the table - in the midst of a war!
The administration is actually fighting two wars - one against Iraq an=
d another against the very idea of a humane and responsive government here a=
t home.
At some point, hopefully sooner rather than later, the war against Ira=
q will end. Americans will then have the opportunity to look around and be s=
tunned by the fix we'll be in. We'll look at the enormous costs of the postw=
ar occupation in Iraq, and at the social and economic dislocation that's occ=
urring here. And we'll look at the disaster that the federal budget has beco=
me. We'll be broke, and we'll ask ourselves, again and again, "What have we=20=
done?" =20
Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company | Privacy Policy =20
Monty Neill, Ed.D.
Executive Director
FairTest
342 Broadway
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-864-4810 fax 617-497-2224
[email protected]
http://www.fairtest.org
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<TD vAlign=3Dtop align=3Dleft><IMG alt=3D"The New York Times" hspace=3D0=
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<H5>March 27, 2003</H5><NYT_HEADLINE version=3D"1.0" type=3D" ">
<H2>Casualties at Home</H2></NYT_HEADLINE><NYT_BYLINE version=3D"1.0"=20=
type=3D" "><FONT size=3D-1><STRONG>By BOB=20
HERBERT</STRONG></FONT><BR><BR></NYT_BYLINE>
<TABLE cellSpacing=3D0 cellPadding=3D0 align=3Dright border=3D0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><NYT_TEXT>
<P><IMG alt=3DW src=3D"http://graphics7.nytimes.com/images/dropcap/w.g=
if" align=3Dleft border=3D0>ASHINGTON =97 On Tuesday, as President B=
ush was asking=20
Congress for the first installment of the hundreds of billions of doll=
ars=20
needed to finance the war in Iraq and its aftermath, the students and=20
teachers at a high school within walking distance of the White House w=
ere=20
struggling through their daily routine in a building that has no=20
cafeteria, no gymnasium, no student lockers, not even a fully reliable=
=20
source of electricity.</P>
<P>A few weeks ago bricks were falling from the facade of the building=
,=20
which is more than 100 years old.</P>
<P>As we continue the relentless bombing of Baghdad, which the militar=
y=20
tells us is the necessary prelude to saving it, it's fair to ask when=20=
the=20
rebuilding of essential institutions like the public schools will begi=
n=20
here at home. (Don't hold your breath. The money for that sort of thin=
g=20
has completely evaporated.)</P>
<P>"We actually have rooms where the water comes in when it rains," sa=
id=20
Sheila Mills Harris, the principal of the School Without Walls, an=20
academically rigorous high school that routinely finishes first or sec=
ond=20
in the District of Columbia's rankings.</P>
<P>Laura Bush has visited the school, which has won a series of nation=
al=20
honors. But academic honors and a visit by the first lady are, frankly=
,=20
irrelevant in an era in which social concerns =97 such as support for=20=
public=20
schools and health care, and the need to assist the poor, the hungry a=
nd=20
the unemployed =97 have been forced to the perimeter of public=20
consciousness. Those issues, crucial to our conception of ourselves as=
a=20
just and humane people, have been devalued and shunted aside by an=20
administration that is committed to an ill-advised, budget-busting war=
and=20
a devastating parade of tax cuts for the very wealthy.</P>
<P>With our attention riveted on the death and destruction in Iraq, an=
d=20
the continued threat to Americans in the war zone, the other very seri=
ous=20
problems facing the U.S. get short shrift. We knew last fall that the=20
proportion of Americans living in poverty had risen, and that income f=
or=20
middle-class households had fallen.</P>
<P>We know that unemployment, especially long-term unemployment, is a=20=
big=20
problem. And we've known that the states are facing their worst budget=
=20
crisis since the Great Depression, a development that has led, among o=
ther=20
things, to drastic cuts in education aid that are crushing the budgets=
of=20
local public school districts.</P>
<P>These issues aren't even being properly discussed. The Bush=20
administration sounds the alarm for war and blows the trumpet for tax=20
cuts, and Congress plunges ahead with the cuts in domestic programs th=
at=20
must inevitably follow. The voices of those who object are effectively=
=20
silenced by the war propaganda and the fear of seeming unpatriotic.</P=
>
<P>With attention thus deflected, the administration and its allies in=
=20
Congress have come up with one proposal after another to weaken progra=
ms=20
that were designed to help struggling Americans.</P>
<P>In his budget last month the president offered a plan to make it mo=
re=20
difficult for low-income families to obtain government benefits, inclu=
ding=20
tax credits and school lunch assistance. This month, as The Times' Rob=
ert=20
Pear reported, the administration proposed changes in the Medicare pro=
gram=20
that would make it more difficult for elderly people, many of them fra=
il,=20
to appeal the denial of benefits like home health care and skilled nur=
sing=20
care.</P>
<P>The extent to which the most vulnerable Americans are being targete=
d is=20
appalling. Billions of dollars in cuts have been proposed for food sta=
mp=20
and child nutrition programs, and for health care for the poor.</P>
<P>Collectively, these are the largest proposed cuts in history. Even=20=
cuts=20
for veterans' programs are on the table =97 in the midst of a war!</P>
<P>The administration is actually fighting two wars =97 one against Ir=
aq and=20
another against the very idea of a humane and responsive government he=
re=20
at home.</P>
<P>At some point, hopefully sooner rather than later, the war against=20=
Iraq=20
will end. Americans will then have the opportunity to look around and=20=
be=20
stunned by the fix we'll be in. We'll look at the enormous costs of th=
e=20
postwar occupation in Iraq, and at the social and economic dislocation=
=20
that's occurring here. And we'll look at the disaster that the federal=
=20
budget has become. We'll be broke, and we'll ask ourselves, again and=20
again, "What have we done?" </P></NYT_TEXT><BR>
<CENTER><NYT_COPYRIGHT><FONT face=3Darial,helvetica,sans-serif color=3D=
#000099 size=3D1><A href=3D"http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membe=
rcenter/help/copyright.html">Copyright=20
2003</A> <A href=3D"http://www.nytco.com/">The New York Times=20
Company</A><FONT size=3D2> | </FONT><A href=3D"http://www.nyti=
mes.com/ref/membercenter/help/privacy.html">Privacy=20
Policy</A></FONT> </NYT_COPYRIGHT></CENTER></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><=
!-- removed reference to Bottom7 which was not in setup tag --></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial>Monty Neill, Ed.D.<BR>Executive=20
Director<BR>FairTest<BR>342 Broadway<BR>Cambridge, MA=20
02139<BR>617-864-4810 fax 617-497-2224<BR><A href=3D"mai=
lto:[email protected]">[email protected]</A><BR><A href=3D"http://www.fa=
irtest.org">http://www.fairtest.org</A></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>
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