Letter: Bush is pushing tax cut voters do not want

Friday, March 2, 2001 | 8:47 a.m.

The majority of voters did not support George W. Bush, so why is he going ahead with his big tax cut as if he received a mandate to do so?

Voters want to pay down the national debt, while protecting Social Security and Medicare, and they want needed programs to be financed.

The interest on this debt consumes 11 percent of the $1.77 trillion federal budget. We have this monster debt draining away our tax dollars, and the U.S. voters want it stopped. If we go back into deficit spending because of this tax cut, it will cost us even more.

The president and his party claim that if the surplus is left in Washington, D.C., it will be spent. True, but after the debt payment is made, the public has other needs, such as repairing bridges before they collapse.

If you eat fish, do so at your own risk, because there aren't enough inspectors checking this product. Also, the airport systems need to be upgraded, and the IRS needs to replace its antique computer system.

Now President Bush wants to cut money going to all the federal departments, making these and other problems worse. Even the military is not safe from his ax, in spite of a budget surplus.

It doesn't make sense.

I would rather have safe bridges and safe food than get a tax cut, and a majority of voters would agree if they were asked about it. This tax cut will drastically cut the income of the federal government, and it may be good politics to do so, but in the long run, all of us will lose.

JANICE M. HERR