President Has Budget Priorities Mixed Up

Re “Both Sides Fault Bush’s Budget Plan,” Feb. 3: For the second year in a row, President Bush is submitting a budget with no allotment for the costs of the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns. Since we don’t know exactly what those costs will be, he reasons, let’s just budget 0.

Hmm. I’m sure that’s just how the rest do it. When faced with a large yet indefinite expense, we just budget 0, right? No, if we ran our households the way Bush is running the country, we’d all be bankrupt pretty quick.

Like a teenager with a charge card, he’s running up a massive debt, perhaps thinking that someday a responsible adult will come along and pay it off (the next president?).

Will someone please pry the nation’s charge card out of that guy’s hand?

Joseph George

Pomona

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Two headlines, shown side by side on Feb. 3, prove just what’s wrong with the government’s priorities: “Education Programs Face the Ax” and “More Money Urged to Foster Abstinence.” These two proposals need to be reversed. Numerous studies have shown that when you educate people they are more responsible reproductively. I’m sure this includes some abstinence, and they marry later, but they do marry. This backward thinking is appalling and only hurts those who need help the most.

Linda Linham

Santa Monica