This resource was written by Jane Midgley and produced by the Women's Budget Project of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, in conjunction with Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Feminist Majority Foundation, Women's Actions for New Directions (WAND), and National Welfare Rights Union. [for contact info., see Budget Resources & Links]

Our elected representatives are attempting to balance the budget on the backs of women, people of color, and children. Only 10% of the elected officials making crucial decisions about the use of our tax money are women, yet they comprise 52% of the population. It is in the interest of all women to understand the budgetary challenges we are facing, unite to hold back further erosion of our society, and push for a new set of values and priorities.

Politicians have failed to address adequately the real problems facing the country: unemployment; expanding poverty: greater economic insecurity for most Americans; racism; environmental poisoning; violence; lack of access to health care for millions of Americans; a crumbling infrastructure; increasing corporate greed; a bloated military bureaucracy; and short-sighted foreign policy. We have been told, however, that our urgent problems are reducing the deficit and getting control of welfare mothers. Immigrants, families of color, and particularly single African-American mothers, are being singled out for attack to justify cutting or dismantling vital social programs.

The focus on the deficit and the sexist and racist attacks on poor women and children are smokescreens for the real dynamic in national budget politics: using the federal budget to continue a giant transfer of wealth from low-income, middle class and working people to the wealthy and corporations that went into high gear in the early 80s.

The national debt "crisis" was created through government policy that gave huge tax breaks to the rich and corporations, subsidized the military industry to the tune of $4 trillion, starved programs for low-income Americans and refused to make adequate investments in civilian jobs and education. These policies have eroded the economic viability of most women and increased the stress in their lives. Most of the community and family work women do is vital to the US economy but is not paid or included in official GDP statistics. Politicians rely on women to be the silent shock absorbers as they cut public services and programs.