If we ever needed proof that those who currently run the country are determined to create an economic aristocracy, comparing these two articles is it.
Applying Brakes to Benefits Gets Wide GOP Backing
Administration officials and Congressional aides said Mr. Bush would also seek cuts in housing assistance for low-income families, freezes or slight increases in most domestic programs, and larger increases for domestic security. The spending plan for 2006, like the appropriations enacted for this year, would give priority to military operations and domestic security over social welfare programs.
The new chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Judd Gregg, Republican of New Hampshire, said he and other fiscal conservatives wanted to establish "enforcement mechanisms" to "put the brakes on the growth of entitlements," which pay benefits to millions of Americans according to formulas set by law.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/09/politics/09budget1.html?th=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1105278776-/E
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They purposely create a mess and then use it to cut even more from those who can least afford to lose what little hold they have on a decent life. And what do they do to fix it.
Mayday! Payday! Hit the Silk!
An amiable, dedicated manager with a decidedly mixed track record as chief executive, Mr. Gifford, 62, has managed to survive strategic misfires, one bungled merger and another merger that kept him in the top ranks of the bank but no longer in control.
For his ministrations, Mr. Gifford is promised a $16.36 million cash payment, up to an additional $8.67 million in "incentive payments" for work done over the last 13 months and $3.1 million a year for life. If he dies before his wife, she will receive $2.3 million a year, also for life.
That's not all. The bank guarantees him $50,000 a year in consulting fees, 120 hours of free flight time a year on the company's jet, and an office and a secretary, according to federal securities filings. All of this is on top of $38.4 million in company stock that he has accrued over his 38-year career.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/09/business/yourmoney/09gold.html?th
"My name is George Bush, and I approve this message."