Hailing private charity as the way to help those most in need, Bush signed two executive orders January 29 aimed at what the New York Times described as "throw[ing] open the doors of government to religious and community groups as part of a broad effort to refashion the way government delivers social services." The president established a White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, as well as centers in the Department of Justice, Education, Labor, Heath and Human Services, and Housing and Urban Development, to further work with religious and other private charity organizations.

In order to direct to private charities tax dollars that would normally come into the federal treasury, Bush outlined a series of tax deductions for contributions to charitable groups. He also announced new federal grants to support organizations--particularly religious ones--that work with the prison system. "When we see social needs in America," stated Bush, "my administration will look first to faith-based programs and community groups, which have proven their power to save and change lives."

This move is part of a long-running bipartisan effort to undercut government entitlements, including Social Security. Bush proposes that individuals be allowed to retain a portion of their Social Security taxes to invest in stocks and bonds. His plan would slash $1 trillion from Social Security and put that amount into individual private accounts

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan urged Congress at the end of January to consider steps to privatize part of the Social Security system, saying that setting up private Social Security accounts was not only inevitable but essential. Congressman Robert Matsui from California, alarmed by Greenspan's initiative, said in response to his testimony and huge tax cut proposals, "What he's done...is created a situation where we'll have benefit cuts in Social Security."

Senator Judd Gregg, a Republican from New Hampshire, and John B. Breaux, Democratic Senator from Louisiana, proposed January 30 to establish a bipartisan commission to "recommend ways to overhaul the Social Security system," according to the Times. Both support setting up private investment accounts within the Social Security system.  
 
Separation of church and state
The idea of giving federal funds to religious groups has run into some opposition on constitutional grounds. Joseph Conn, a spokesman for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, responded, "This is going to be an all-out battle. A lot of people see this as one of the biggest violations of church-state separation that we've seen in American history."

The American Civil Liberties Union issued a sharply-worded rejection of the plan, calling it a "faith-based prescription for discrimination." Together with the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the ACLU pointed out that "because religious organizations are exempt from many civil rights laws, they are allowed to discriminate on the basis of their religious beliefs and teachings about race, religion, sexual orientation, gender and pregnancy status." The statement notes, "Under the Bush initiative, there are no restrictions on how religious organizations incorporate their beliefs in the delivery of social services."

The administration's proposals are based on significantly expanding the "charitable choice" provisions of the 1996 law promoted by former U.S. president William Clinton that drastically cut welfare programs, including Aid to Families with Dependent Children. This "charity" provision opened the door for religious groups to compete for government contracts and funding.

Since going into effect, several lawsuits have been filed against states over the discriminatory treatment from these church-based charity organizations. Texas, for example, gave $8,000 to the Jobs Partnership of Washington County, which required participants to study scripture and, as the program described, "to find employment through a relationship with Jesus Christ."

The American Jewish Congress and the Texas Civil Rights Project have filed a suit in federal court charging that the Jobs Partnership bought Bibles for its students. According to the Times, "A third of the program's students said they had been pressured to join a church or change their beliefs."

Another case in Kentucky was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church and State against the Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children, which receives financing from the state. The suit is in response to the firing of one of the group's counselors after a picture of her at a gay rights parade appeared in a photography exhibit at a county fair.  
 
Education plan
Claiming that his proposals would "transform the federal role in education," Bush announced a series of measures on January 23 that take aim at the 36-year-old Title I program, which provides some $8 billion to aid the nation's poorest and "lowest-achieving" students.

Under this plan, any "failing schools" that are part of the Title I program that did not improve after three years would have the federal funds available to them cut. Instead, a taxpayer-financed voucher worth around $1,500 annually would be given to the families of these students, to be used either to attend a private school, another public school, or to hire a tutor. An annual test of students from third through eighth trade would provide the basis for measuring results.

Bush says he will enforce a law already in effect that allows the president to withhold federal money that states use to hire employees to administer the Title I program. Currently the federal government funds just 7 percent of the public education budget.

A January 24 New York Times article pointed to the devastating impact that Bush's voucher plan would have on New York's public schools. "With nearly 10 percent of new York's 1,100 public schools classified by the state as failing, the city could lose tens of millions of dollars in federal education aid," it stated.

Jack Jennings of the Center for Education Policy spoke out both against the voucher aspect of Bush's plan and a proposal to allow parents to deduct up to $5,000 of their yearly income to pay the educational expenses of each of their children attending private elementary and secondary schools. "The real action to aid private schools will be in the tax route," he said.

Senator Joseph Lieberman, the former Democratic Party candidate for vice president, hailed Bush's charity proposals. Appearing with him at an after-school program run by a former police officer in Washington, D.C., Lieberman said that he and the president were "of like minds" on expanding federal support to private charitable groups. Lieberman, with backing from both Democrats and Republicans in Congress, has also put forward an education plan similar to Bush's, except that instead of projecting vouchers he calls for shutting down "low-performing schools" and opening more charter schools.

Meanwhile, Bush has outlined a tax plan that would give hefty breaks to wealthy families and individuals, including a proposal for an across-the-board cut in income tax rates. The reductions in the tax rate are structured so that those in higher income brackets receive the biggest tax breaks. The president's tax scheme calls for a $1.6 trillion tax cut over 10 years that would also eliminate the gift and estate taxes. This would give a whopping $236 billion to the wealthiest 2 percent in the United States. The measure also opens up loopholes that would provide the rich with various ways to reduce or eliminate other taxes. "With the estate tax gone," the New York Times noted, "the wealthy would be encouraged instead to create trusts on which little or no tax would be owed." In some states opulent families could avoid paying taxes on their wealth indefinitely. Bush has already received bipartisan support for his tax proposal, in which he projects inheritance taxes to be phased out by 2009. Democrat Zell Miller and Republican Phillip Gramm introduced legislation into the Senate that nearly matches Bush's tax plan. "We're joining together in a crusade to see this tax cut is passed in its totality," crowed Gramm. Federal Reserve chairman Greenspan also gave a nod to the tax plan.
 
 
Related article:
Social security, not charity  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home