There isn’t much that’s been left unsaid about President Bush’s new economic plan, a misbegotten mixture of giveaways to the rich and pittances to working families that barely addresses the economy’s pressing need for stimulus and jobs.

Last Tuesday, the day that the president unveiled his $674 billion plan in a speech in Chicago, the Mortgage Bankers Association of America announced that home foreclosures had reached an all-time high during the third quarter of 2002. Yet the president’s plan does little to help folks feeling squeezed by this economy; fully half the benefits would go to the top 1% of income earners — one-fourth, in fact, to those who make $1 million a year or more.

On that same Tuesday, the Commerce Department announced that factory orders had declined for the third quarter in a row, a sign that folks aren’t buying manufactured goods. Yet the president’s plan does little to put spending money in consumers’ hands; only about one-sixth of the plan is directed toward such stimulus.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

But the president knows all this. He doesn’t need us to tell him what his plan does and doesn’t do.

What he does need is a reminder of why it matters. And nobody has said that better this week than Rabbi David Saperstein of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. Saperstein responded to the president’s speech with a quote from the president’s beloved Bible, commanding us (in Deuteronomy 15:7) to “open our hands to the poor and the needy among us.”

America is in need. The president’s plan doesn’t help.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount