A Matter of Priorities

If you get a chance, take a look at the pork in this highway bill.  There's a lot of oinking going on in House Ways and Means Committee member's home states.  But I want to highlight a different aspect of this bill.  Here’s a statement from House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas:

U.S. Congress Approves $286.5 Bln Highway Legislation, Bloomberg: The U.S. Congress approved $286.5 billion for highway and transit projects, ending almost two years of disagreements as President George W. Bush persuaded lawmakers to accept lower spending than they were seeking…. ''The reason this bill was so difficult is there wasn't enough money to deal with the infrastructure needs of this country,'' said House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas, a California Republican…

There’s enough money for massive tax cuts, the elimination of estate taxes, the folly in Iraq and so on, but when it comes to essentials like infrastructure and education, the money is gone. Apparently, it's much more important to give tax cuts to the wealthy than it is to attend to foundations of economic growth such as infrastructure and education.