WHEREAS:

President George Bush proposes a Fiscal Year 1990 budget for "Building a Better America" that calls for $1.8 billion in new Medicare payroll taxes on state and local government employees who were hired before March 31, 1986 — $900 million will have to be paid by public employees and $900 million by state and local governments; and

WHEREAS:

Not only are state and local employees singled out for new taxes, despite the President's campaign promises, the services they provide would be seriously threatened with a freeze cutting nearly $11 billion from a whole array of programs such as school lunch, hazardous waste cleanup, women and infant children, operating grants for public housing, vocational education; and

WHEREAS:

At the same time the President claims America has "more will than wallet", and cannot spend the money necessary for the homeless, education, health care and infrastructure, he proposes a $25,000 per year capital gains tax cut for the richest Americans that would add at least $7 billion a year to the federal deficit. To make matters worse, he also wants new tax breaks for the oil and gas industry; and

WHEREAS:

Although President Bush called for a "flexible freeze" during the campaign, he now asks Congress to "freeze" the defense budget with a generous inflation allowance and a cut of only $500 million, he proposes slashing all the rest of domestic spending below the rate of inflation, a cut of nearly $21 billion; and

WHEREAS:

The President proposes to meet America's child care crisis with a tax credit that would help only the very poorest Americans earning below $8,000 in 1990 and would do nothing at all for the majority of working parents and their children, nor would it do anything to bring about properly staffed, quality child care.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:

That AFSCME call upon President Bush and the Congress to make the promises of his February 9th Budget Address a reality, instead of a deceptive guise for devastating budget cuts in education, health, infrastructure and other programs critical to American families and our economic future; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:

That AFSCME, together with governors, mayors, friends in the religions, public interest and other advocacy groups oppose the Bush budget cuts and instead ask the Congress to cut the deficit and raise the funds necessary for vital new spending by fair taxation of wealthy corporations and individuals and real cuts in the Pentagon budget.