Dear Editor:
If we were able to go back a few years and stop President Bush from repealing the estate tax and enacting his tax cuts (that are skewed to the rich), not only would we NOT have such a large budget deficit, but we would actualy have a $20 billion budget SURPLUS!
The math goes as such:
The federal budget for 2005 is projected to be $2.50 trillion. The federal government brings in $2.08 trillion in revenue. This gap creates a $0.42 trillion ($420 billion) deficit in money the government spends and how much it actually takes in through taxes.
The estate tax brought in $0.05 trillion ($50 billion) in revenue. The Congressional Budget Office projected that the Bush tax cuts would deprive the government of $3.9 trillion over 10 years. Consequently, the Bush tax cuts will cost the nation $0.39 trillion ($390 billion) in revenue this year. For 2005, the government is NOT receiving $440 billion in revenue because of the repeal of the estate tax and the tax cuts.
Therefore, if you add the $440 billion to the $420 billion deficit that we WOULD have had, the United States would have a $20 billion surplus.
The federal government (especially the White House) is following an economic policy in which they try to get out of a hole by destroying their shovels and digging deeper with their hands.
P.S. If we were running a surplus maybe we wouldn't have had to take away 300,000 low-income families' food stamps!
Tom Noble Sophomore, SPA
Dear Editor:
Reading the Monday cover story made me angry. Again the university has made a decision that seriously affects a good number of students, and has done so without regard for the student's needs or feelings.
Back when I was an undergrad, the administration tried to pull something like this when it announced that Hughes Hall would be turned into an Honors dorm. We protested loudly enough to stop the plan. But this is a far worse case; instead of displacing students from a dorm, the school is displacing them from the university. Even if cutting the teams was necessary (which it isn't), there are many other options available to the administration.
This route, with the lack of any forewarning to the students affected, is the most irresponsible and inconsiderate path they could have chosen. I don't even really like golf or tennis, but this is a s***ty way of treating people. Everyone involved in the decision should be embarassed, and AU should make its outrage loud and clear.
Brian Morreale Third Year, WCL
