When wars overwhelm welfare

摘要

Budget numbers often seem dull and confusing. But they can test the promises of political leaders against financial realities. Government budgetary spending, which underpins national policies, indicates a nation's true priorities. The US Bush Administration reveals its aims in its 5-year budget plan. Totalling US$2.7 trillion for 2007 alone, the plan augurs grave effects on the nation's health and international well-being, and adds over $1 trillion to the $5 trillion national debt. These priorities are misplaced because they are creating vulnerabilities for the US. The effects include its decline in world opinion, limits on its ability to address major global issues such as global warming, growing US wealth gaps and poverty, a weakening of science and education, and massive foreign debt, increasingly held by volatile nations such as China. Within this brief space, I focus on health and welfare.