The U.S. challenges ahead: as Gulf Coast residents start to rebuild their lives after two deadly hurricanes, Americans are asking, "How will we pay for the damage?".* OBJECTIVE Students should understand * President Bush, and the country, face many challenges in helping hurricane victims while also fighting a war in Iraq and trying to reduce the federal deficit. * TEACHING STRATEGY Ask students what sorts of measures should be taken to help the people suffering from the effects of the recent hurricanes. Which of those measures are the federal government's responsibility? Who is responsible for the rest? Where should the money for such efforts come from? * BACKGROUND The devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. hurricanes of last August and September have placed a heavy burden on the government. So far, Congress has approved $62.3 billion in aid, along with $6 billion of temporary tax-relief measures, for the victims of Hurricane Katrina  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism. . Economists expect the total cost
to top $200 billion.* CRITICAL THINKING NOTING DETAILS: What is the chief reason the President and his supporters give for lowering taxes? (to stimulate the economy) MAKING INFERENCES: What is the relationship between taxes and a government's ability to support reconstruction programs or troops at war? (Taxes provide the funds a government spends. A government must make hard choices between how much it taxes and what it can do.) * ACTIVITY BE POLLSTERS: Have students conduct a poll of their schoolmates and/or families, asking about the same issues mentioned in the article. (For example: How should the federal government pay for hurricane recovery? Do you agree or disagree with Verb 1. disagree with - not be very easily digestible; "Spicy food disagrees with some people" hurt - give trouble or pain to; "This exercise will hurt your back" the decision to invade in·vade v. in·vad·ed, in·vad·ing, in·vades v.tr. 1. To enter by force in order to conquer or pillage. 2. Iraq?) Have them total the responses and compare their results to recent professional poll. STANDARDS SOCIAL STUDIES, GRADES 5-8 * Production, distribution, and consumption: How a federal budget deficit can arise from government spending Government spending or government expenditure consists of government purchases, which can be financed by seigniorage, taxes, or government borrowing. It is considered to be one of the major components of gross domestic product. that exceeds government income (taxes). * Civic ideals and practices: How U.S. citizens view the President's handling of the Iraq war Iraq War: see under Persian Gulf Wars. Iraq War or Second Persian Gulf War Brief conflict in 2003 between Iraq and a combined force of troops largely from the U.S. and Great Britain; and a subsequent U.S. and aid for hurricane victims. RESOURCES * Churchill, E. Richard, and Linda Churchill, Understanding Our Economy (J. Weston Walch, 1999). Grades 7-9. * Giesecke, Ernestine, Your Money at Work: Taxes (Heinemann, 2003). Grades 5-7. WEB SITES * "Bush Pledges Nation's Help" cnn.com/2005/POLITICS /09/15/bush.main * Major Political Trends pollingreport.com On August 29, Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, destroying tens of thousands of homes and killing more than one thousand people. Afterward af·ter·ward also af·ter·wards adv. At a later time; subsequently. Adv. 1. afterward - happening at a time subsequent to a reference time; "he apologized subsequently"; "he's going to the store but he'll be back here , President George W. Bush faced harsh criticism and agonizing questions. Why did thousands of residents of New Orleans New Orleans (ôr`lēənz –lənz, ôrlēnz`), city (2006 pop. 187,525), coextensive with Orleans parish, SE La., between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, 107 mi (172 km) by water from the river mouth; founded have to wait in their flooded neighborhoods for days before help arrived? Why were so many sick and elderly people left to die in hospitals and nursing homes? The President took responsibility for the government's failures. "The system at every level of government was not well coordinated and was overwhelmed o·ver·whelm tr.v. o·ver·whelmed, o·ver·whelm·ing, o·ver·whelms 1. To surge over and submerge; engulf: waves overwhelming the rocky shoreline. 2. a. in the first days," he said in a televised speech in New Orleans on September 15. "When the federal government fails to meet such an obligation, I, as President, am responsible for the problem and the solution." It will take several years--and an estimated $200 billion--to rebuild the homes, schools, roads, and bridges that Hurricane Katrina destroyed. Several billion dollars will also be needed to repair the damage caused by Hurricane Rita Hurricane Rita was the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico. Rita caused $11.3 billion in damage on the U.S. Gulf Coast in September 2005. , a less severe storm that struck the Texas-Louisiana coast on September 23. "We will stay as long as it takes to help citizens rebuild their communities and their lives," President Bush promised in that New Orleans speech. "This great city will rise again." How will we pay for such a massive project? Today, the federal deficit is $331 billion. Both liberal and conservative economists are worried about this huge amount. Much of the deficit has been created by tax cuts that the President has instituted, beginning in 2001. He believes that the cuts, which now are temporary, spur economic growth. Bush says that he wants to make the cuts permanent. Many people say that this is a mistake. "[The President] insists on preserving his tax cuts and talks vaguely about budget cuts," noted a recent editorial in the Texas Austin American Statesman. "[He must make] choices about what's important, not pretend that the nation can afford to do everything it wants, regardless of cost." Antiwar an·ti·war adj. Opposed to war or to a particular war: antiwar protests; an antiwar candidate. Protests While overseeing the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast, the President will face other big economic challenges. Since March 2003, Congress has spent more than $200 billion of taxpayers' money to fund the war in Iraq. That war has claimed the lives of nearly 2,000 U.S. soldiers. Last month, more than 100,000 people joined a march in Washington, D.C., to protest the war, which has become increasingly unpopular. Similar rallies have been held throughout the country and around the world. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a USA Today/CNN/ Gallup Poll Gallup Poll Noun a sampling of the views of a representative cross section of the population, usually used to forecast voting [after G H Gallup, statistician] Gallup poll n → released last month, 59 percent of Americans believe that invading in·vade v. in·vad·ed, in·vad·ing, in·vades v.tr. 1. To enter by force in order to conquer or pillage. 2. Iraq was a mistake. Nonetheless, the President says that it is too soon to withdraw troops from the region. Rising gas prices have increased worries about the economy--and contributed to a dip in Bush's approval rating. Right now, his rating hovers around 40 percent--the lowest since the President took office. This could mean an uphill battle Uphill Battle was an metalcore band with elements of grindcore and noisecore. The group was based out of Santa Barbara, California, USA. History Uphill Battle got some recognition releasing their self-titled record on Relapse Records. for him--and his agenda. Words to Know * agenda: an official list or outline of things to be discussed or done. * federal deficit: the difference between how much the federal government spends and how much it receives in taxes. To make up the difference, the government must raise taxes, cut spending, and/or borrow money. * spur: stimulate.
AREA (SQ MI)
FORM OF GOVERNMENT
COUNTRY POPULATION & HEAD
United 3,717,796 Presidential-legislative democracy;
States President George W. Bush
296,500,000
DATE OF LITERACY PER
ORIGIN RATE (%) CAPITA GDP
% OF POP. LIFE
COUNTRY UNDER 15 EXPECTANCY HDI
United 1776 97/97 $40,100
States
21 75/80 0.944
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion