Guns Or Butter

• Hunger in the U.S. increased 24% in 1999-2003, affecting 3.9 million households and 9.6 million individuals, according to the U.S. Department ofAgriculture. Food "insecurity" also increased, affecting 13 million households (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 12/20/04).

• More than 51 million people rely on Medicaid fortheir health care, and over 43 million did not have health insurance for the entire year in 200 (Families USA, 2004).

• The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program budget, at a time of sharply rising fuel prices, can only serve 17% of the 30 million eligible households (Coalition on Human Needs, 11/24/04).

• One billion children around the world lack the shelter, water, sanitation, schooling, health care, and food needed for successful development (UNICEF Annual Report, 12/9/04).

• In sub-Saharan Africa, the HIV/AIDS pandemic has already left 12 million orphans, and continuing high death rates among young adults may cause the labor forces in the worst affected countries to contract 30% to 40% by 2015.

• 150,000 African children die each month from preventable and treatable malaria (Jeffery Sachs, Washington Post, 1/17/05).

• The U.S. ranks last among 22 developed countries in the amount of overseas development assistance it provides as a percentage of GDP (0.15%) (Washington Post, 1/15/05).

• If the developed world increased its development aid to just 0.5% of GDP, millions of lives could be saved from preventable and treatable diseases; the number of people experiencing extreme poverty around the world could be cut in half. This would cost the U.S. about $60 billion per year, less than it is now spending on the war in Iraq each year and a fraction of what it spends on its military (Jeffery Sachs, Washington Post, 1/17/05).

Compiled in the Friends Committe on National Legislation's February 2005 Washington Newsletter.

Changes made in the Housing Voucher Program have amounted to over $1.66 billion in cuts. Could it be a coincidence that an equal amount of $1.6 billion was added to the homeland security budget, and an almost matching amount of $1.2 billion was added to the army's Comanche helicopter program at just the same time the HUD budget was cut?

Posted by Eddie Tews at March 10, 2005 04:10 PM