| WASHINGTON
- September 24 - As Congress begins debate on President Bush's latest request for funding his occupation and rebuilding of Iraq, TomPaine.com, in its New York Times op-ed page advertisement today, asks three questions that are on American minds: How much is $87,000,000,000? Where are we going to find that kind of cash? And if we need revenue, why not look at the most obvious place -- the president's generous tax cuts for the least needy Americans?
American's were clearly impressed by the amount requested by President Bush. Lists comparing what else the nation might do with $87 billion have popped up everywhere. TomPaine.com's "Op Ad" notes that $87 billion is twice as much as we invest in homeland security, and twice what we're spending on unemployment benefits. It's eight times our investment in Pell grants for college students, and 87 times what we invest in after-school programs for children.
The Op Ad contrasts those needs against tax breaks the President and Congress have passed that primarily benefit the wealthiest Americans: the dividend and capital gains tax cuts will cost us $148 billion over ten years; reducing the tax rate for the richest Americans is costing us $20 billion annually.
"Eighty-seven billion dollars is a lot of money compared to what we spend on meeting real needs here at home," says TomPaine.com Editor John Moyers. "But it's less than five percent of the Bush tax cuts, most of which benefit the wealthiest Americans. If we need revenue, we must roll back the Bush tax breaks for the rich."
To view the ad, visit this link. For the package of accompanying stories visit the Web site at http://www.tompaine.com
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