Jim Hightower

Jim Hightower, getting serious thumb-bruises by thumbing through the federal budget, trying to see if there aren't some more things we can cut, rather than raise working people's taxes.

How about this one? It's a payout to George Steinbrenner -- the shipbuilding mogul and boss of the New York Yankees. To settle a contract claim, Congress is giving $58 million to George -- which is 20-MILLION MORE THAN HE ASKED FOR, and which the Navy says he's not even owed. But it seems a couple of key committee chairs got nice campaign checks from George and . . . well, next thing you know -- Shazaam! -- $58 million moved from our pockets to his. Shall we cut George? Yeah.

And do we need this? Tucked inside the defense department's massive budget is $6 million for next year's World Cup soccer games. Hmmm. Spies? Exploding soccer balls for the Iraqi team? Let's cut this too, OK?

And Sen. Bob Dole's favorite charity: $127 million to Campbell Soup, and other food giants to advertise their products in foreign lands. I bet these very-profitable firms could pay for their own foreign ads, don't you? Let's let 'em.

These tricks are everywhere in the budget. 58-million here, 127-million there . . . and pretty soon you're talking real money. Your money and mine.

This is Jim Hightower saying . . . I know commonsense is a total stranger to Congress, so let's speak to them slowly and plainly: Do not raise our taxes a single dime, until you've cut out all of this other stuff.