A new analysis by the National Priorities Project shows that President George W. Bush's proposed 2009 fiscal year budget would cut federal funding for social programs in Michigan. The budget request for $3 trillion dollars includes substantial cuts to social programs. Overall, domestic programs for the needy and families would be cut, while funding for the military and tax cuts for the wealthy would increase.

The budget includes an additional $70 billion in spending for the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, an amount that is requested in addition to the $102.4 already requested for this year. The $70 billion number is only a partial amount of the funding that will be needed if the government decides to keep troops in Iraq. An additional funding request for the two wars will be made by the Bush administration in the spring. The Iraq War alone has cost $522 billion since it began. The non-war military budget would increase by 5% under Bush's request and would total $542 billion.

In Michigan and states across the country, various social programs would be impacted by the proposed cuts. Child Care and Block Development Grants would be cut by 2.1%, Community Development Block Grants by 60%, Improving Teacher Quality State Grants by 5.4%, the Low-Income Heating Energy Assistance Program by 15.9%, Social Services Block Grants by 30.9%, and Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers by 2.2%. The cuts clearly show that Bush is prioritizing continued wars over human needs.

While programs for the needy are being cut, the proposed budget would make Bush's 2001 and 2003 tax cuts permanent. For the most part, the benefits of those tax cuts were directed towards the wealthy. The National Priorities Project cites an analysis from the Center on Budget and Policy Studies to conclude that "the wealthiest 1 percent would receive 31 percent of the windfall over the next 10 years, the top 20 percent would receive 74 percent, and those in the lowest 60 percent of households would receive only 12 percent."

Finally, the combination of military spending and tax cuts will contribute towards an estimated deficit of $407 billion in 2009.