According to the latest data from the Census Bureau, in the first two years of the Bush administration, the number of uninsured Americans increased by more than 9 percent, to 43.6 million.

A family of four now shares more than $93,080 in federal debt responsibility, and this figure is projected to rise dramatically.

In his current budget proposal, President Bush is advocating making all those tax cuts to the rich permanent, costing our country another one trillion dollars. President Bush has already committed $166 billion to the destruction and rebuilding of Iraq. To put that into perspective, the total appropriation for fiscal year 2003 for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of State was less than $166 billion.

And now Bush is asking for yet another $50 billion for Iraq.

More than 530 U.S. soldiers are dead. More than 100,000 will remain in Iraq for the next four to six years, even after the United States “leaves” Iraq.

Does this sound like our country is headed in the right direction?

Brad Lucht

Kansas City Mo.