of values and budgets

Here's the letter I sent my Congressman, Randy Cunningham, earlier this week. I was prodded into action by a note on the proposed U.S. budge from the good folks at Sojourners.

Mr. Cunningham:

As a voter and a person of faith, I call on you to look carefully at the effects President Bush's budget will have on Americans living in poverty—especially those who have fallen into poverty in this new century.

This budget proposes to cut programs that are lifelines for low-income people while raising discretionary military spending and normalizing tax cuts that benefit people whose wealth makes them immune to all the most hideous illnesses and dangers. With over 30 million of my countrymen—and yours—living below the poverty line, these budget priorities are an outrage to the values I learned to love in this country.

I'm afraid this budget is anti-family and anti-values. What kind of Poverty Impact Statement would objective leaders give a budget that serves the rich and hurts the poor? This is your moment to stand for a broader, deeper America, Mr. Cunningham. I urge you to step up.

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I wonder if things like this make any difference…