a little perspective
to get some perspective, here are some real-life comparisons about what $87 billion means:
$87 billion is enough to pay the 3.3 million people who have lost jobs under george w. bush $26,363.00 each! the unemployment benefits extension passed by congress at the beginning of this year provides zero benefits to workers who exhausted their regular, state unemployment benefits and cannot find work [source: center on budget and policy priorities].
$87 billion is more than double the total amount the government spends on homeland security. the u.s. spends about $36 billion on homeland security. yet, sen. warren rudman (r- n.h.) wrote, america will fall approximately $98 .4 billion short of meeting critical emergency responder needs for homeland security without a funding increase. [source: council on foreign relations].
$87 billion is 87 times the amount the federal government spends on after school programs. george w. bush proposed a budget that reduces the $1 billion for after-school programs to $600 million cutting off about 475,000 children from the program. [source: the republican dominated house appropriations committee].
$87 billion is more that 10 times what the government spends on all environmental protection. the bush administration requested just $7.6 billion for the entire environmental protection agency. this included a 32 percent cut to water quality grants, a 6 percent reduction in enforcement staff, and a 50 percent cut to land acquisition and conservation. [source: natural resources defense council].
there you go. in black and white. a few million of you will receive this letter. please share the above with at least a half-dozen people today and tomorrow. i, like you, do not want to see another approval rating over 50 percent.
yours,
michael moore
filmmaker