FUNDING CUTS SHUT DOWN COUNTY LIBRARY

The 15 public libraries serving nearly 200,000 residents of Jackson County, Ore., are scheduled to close their doors April 7. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the rural county "lost $7 million in federal funding this year-nearly 80 percent of the system's budget."
The newspaper says the library system closure will be the nation's largest and that it is directly related to Congress' failure to reauthorize a $400 million annual subsidy to 41 states to help rural counties prop up their local economies.

CONGRESS TAKES ON CONTRACTING OUT

Spending on no-bid contracts has more than doubled under the Bush administration, and if Rep. Henry Waxman, chair of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, has his way, the practice will effectively cease and desist.
In March, Rep. Waxman, a California Democrat, introduced legislation that would require agencies to limit the use of abuse-prone contracts, increase transparency and accountability in federal contracting and mandate that agencies devote more money to contract oversight, planning and administration.
For more information about the Accountability in Contracting Act, H.R. 1362, visit www.oversight.house.gov .

TAXING TIMES FOR MOST AMERICANS

Robert McIntyre, director of Citizens for Tax Justice, gave Congress a tongue-lashing in March.
His message: The tax cuts enacted since President Bush took office have had major, detrimental effects on the fairness of the federal tax system-not to mention the government's ability to pay for essential public services.
Under the Bush administration, federal income tax revenues "have been at or near their lowest levels as a share of [gross domestic product] in 55 years," McIntyre noted.
"Because the tax cuts have been paid for with borrowed money, the vast majority of Americans are much worse off than if the tax cuts had never been adopted," he said.
"The cost of this borrowing binge will ultimately come out of taxpayers' pockets, either through spending cuts or future tax hikes."
The wealthiest 1 percent of taxpayers have disproportionately benefited from the Bush administration's so-called tax relief, netting an average annual tax savings of $52,000, McIntyre said.
According to the IRS, 132.2 million individual income tax returns were filed for 2004, the most recent year for which data has been compiled. Of those 132 million-plus returns, average adjusted gross income was $51,342.