ALBUQUERQUE-New Mexico
Voices for Children, a child advocacy group, expressed opposition to President
Bush's 2008 budget. The opposition came in response to a detailed analysis of
the budget released by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities today. The budget
would weaken a broad range of government services - from education to child care
to heating assistance - while extending tax cuts that benefit the very wealthy
and saddle future generations with large debts.
"Many
of the programs affected by the budget cuts - like adult basic education - are
instrumental in helping low-income working families raise themselves and their
children out of poverty," said Gerry Bradley, Research Director for NM Voices.
Here's
what just a few of the president's proposed budget cuts would mean to New Mexico:
- A
loss of $76.2 million for elementary and secondary education during the five-year
period of 2008 to 2012 (adjusted for inflation)
- A
loss of $9.2 million for Head Start during the five-year period of 2008 to 2012
(adjusted for inflation)
- A loss of $34.3 million
in vocational and adult education during the five-year period of 2008 to 2012
(adjusted for inflation)
- In 2008 alone, 10,600 New
Mexicans would lose their Low Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP), which helps
them pay their heating bills
- In 2008 alone, 16,400
elderly New Mexicans would lose their Commodity Supplement Food Program (CSFP)
assistance, which helps them put food on the table
"People
forget that cuts to programs benefiting the elderly often directly affect children,
as a growing number of grandparents are the primary caregivers of their grandchildren,"
Bradley said. New Mexico ranks 11th in the nation in the percentage of grandparents
who live with and are responsible for their grandchildren, according to the US
Census.
"This budget is also a recipe for greater
financial inequality, despite the president's acknowledgment of this fast-growing
problem," Bradley added. Under the president's budget, the average millionaire
will receive $162,000 in 2012 alone, while funding cuts could harm millions of
low- and moderate-income families.
The whole report
is posted here: http://www.cbpp.org/2-21-07bud.pdf;
the summary here: http://www.cbpp.org/2-21-07bud.htm;
and the state-by-state tables here: http://www.cbpp.org/2-21-07bud-tables.pdf.
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New
Mexico Voices for Children is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization advocating
for policies to improve the health and well-being of New Mexico's children, families
and communities.
2340 Alamo SE,
Suite 120, Albuquerque, NM 87106; 505-244-9505 (p); www.nmvoices.org
