While all of America’s attention is turned toward the war in Iraq, some alarming things are happening on Capitol Hill. The Student Government Association at Saint Louis University is allocating funds to student groups for next year, and the budget process is also under way in the House and Senate. What is being done there is not too pretty.

Despite the Repub-licans’ former claims to being the fiscally conservative party, what is being pushed by the Republican White House and Republican-controlled Congress is the height of fiscal irresponsibility. While just three years ago the government’s budget experienced a surplus of almost $240 billion, we now are facing a budget deficit of $300 billion, without factoring in the costs of war. When war costs are factored in, this year’s deficit might go as high as $400 billion. How on earth did we go from a large surplus to a much larger deficit in only three years?

Sure, the bad economy is one factor in the out-of-control government deficits. But another key factor is the policies of the Bush administration. First there was the $1.4 trillion tax cut that was aimed mostly at the rich, and now the president is pushing another $726 billion in tax cuts, also mostly aimed toward helping the well-to-do.

Does anyone remember that we have to pay for this war we started? How can the government justify tax cuts at a time when our national resources are strained already? So, since the Bush administration wants to cut the taxes of the rich and we still need to find a way to pay for stuff around here, something has got to go. And no, corporate welfare is not one of those things.

So who is going to suffer? Well, perhaps most shockingly, veterans. With all this talk of supporting our troops, it seems that the government is all talk and no action when it comes to actually supporting the troops who have fought in the past. The recently passed House budget gives the rich $1.4 trillion in tax cuts while mandating that billions are cut from various social programs, including veterans’ benefits.

But that is not all. Other cuts include cuts to programs such as food stamps, school lunches, health care for the disabled and poor and student loans (yes–that’s right–for those of you who need loans to afford higher education, the future looks even bleaker). So, in order to subsidize a tax cut to the rich we need to take away from children, the poor, veterans and the disabled. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I always learned that the rich are supposed to sacrifice some of their wealth to help the poor and needy, not the other way around.

As if this current picture is not bad enough, let’s fast-forward to the hazy future. The baby boomers are about to start the first big wave of retirements in the upcoming years. This will put a larger-than-ever strain on Social Security and Medicare, causing costs to skyrocket and the deficit to grow even larger. So what will happen then? Although running small deficits can make economic sense, the deficits being predicted (from non-partisan sources like the Congressional Budget Office) are so large as to inhibit economic growth. Large government borrowing affects the economy in ways that would lower levels of home buying, spending and investment. In addition, it could drive down the value of the dollar and could lead to lower wages, less jobs and a sluggish economy.

When this all happens, many of us here at SLU today are going to feel the brunt of it. We will be trying to buy homes, save money for our children’s educations, get jobs and maintain economic security. But the irresponsible economics being promoted by the Bush administration will make that all the more difficult. And things will be much worse for the poor and needy. This is why even many Republicans are horrified by the economic policies being pushed by the White House.

I am not anti-rich people. After all, my parents would be more than happy to benefit from these tax-cuts, since they would be some of the people helped by them. However, personal benefit aside, it is still completely irresponsible. Even with moderately optimistic forecasts about our future economic growth, the current budget policies being pushed will require either a very large tax increase (which we will be paying with lower incomes than people possess now) or a significant cut in government programs.

Either way, the future does not look bright. In between watching reports of the war, take some time and learn about what your elected representatives are doing on Capitol Hill. After all, their budget policies are going to directly affect our future. We cannot afford (financially and morally) to be unconcerned.

Lubna Alam is a senior studying history.