President Bush’s 2008 budget released yesterday offers solutions for America’s needy that dramatically differ from those offered last week by many witnesses at hearings before two House committees.

The Ways and Means and the Education and Health committees were looking into the supposed insecurity of America’s middle class. The hearings focused on the need for government-provided health care and child care, employer-provided paid sick leave and family leave, and the need for increased unionization. The major question, voiced by Maryland’s Rep. John Sarbanes of the Education and Health Committee to Yale professor Jacob Hacker, was how much more does the government have to spend to remove insecurity from the middle class.

With the growth of America’s gross domestic product at a high 3.4% last year, unemployment at 4.6%, and real after-tax incomes almost 3% higher than a year ago, it’s not clear that much of the middle class is insecure. Spending by the middle fifth of families was 11% higher than 20 years ago, and 34% of American families earned above $75,000, in inflation-adjusted dollars, compared to just 22% 20 years earlier. And the president’s budget shows the deficit has shrunk to 1.9% of gross domestic product. Although there are always people in our society who need support, most Americans can make better decisions for themselves than can the government.

President Bush’s 2008 budget shows how Americans can be helped in a variety of areas without raising taxes and while keeping nondefense discretionary spending low, by making greater use of individual choice. This stands in stark contrast to Capitol Hill proposals involving increased government spending and requirements for employers to provide benefits. Such proposals tend to either lower valuable take-home pay, or reduce employment, or both.

Take taxes, for instance. President Bush’s new budget continues to press Congress to make the tax cuts permanent, thereby enabling Americans to keep more of their own money. There’s no better way to get rich than keeping your own money — just ask the Europeans, whose after-tax incomes are a fraction of ours.

Then, consider health care. President Bush’s proposal to exempt $15,000 from income and payroll taxes in order to purchase health care is nothing short of revolutionary. At a stroke, this plan would cover all uninsured income-earners — those without jobs would generally be covered by Medicaid — and give them a choice of doctors and a choice of health care plans. Unlike proposals for single-payer government health care, this would not increase the budget deficit.

According to American Enterprise Institute resident fellow and polling expert Karlyn Bowman, health care is the one major cause of economic concern for Americans. Cutting the tie between health insurance and employment would solve this insecurity because health insurance would be portable, like other forms of insurance. You never hear people saying “I’m losing my job so I’m losing my auto insurance,” or “I’m changing jobs, how will I get home insurance.” That’s because these other forms of insurance are not provided through the employer.

The president’s education proposals are another example of using choice to improve Americans’ lives. The president’s budget contains $300 million for two new education scholarship programs that would give low-income families enrolled in low-performing schools the same opt-out choices as wealthier families.

Schools that did not meet their achievement goals for five years would be required to offer Promise Scholarships to low-income students. Parents could use these scholarships, worth approximately $4,000, for tuition, books, and transportation to private schools or other public schools, or even to hire private tutors.

The president also proposes expanding the highly successful D.C. Opportunity Scholarships program to offer such scholarships in other parts of America. State and local governments, as well as private organizations, would be eligible to apply to set up scholarship programs. Currently, 1,802 Washington, D.C., children are enrolled on scholarships for the current academic year, with the scholarships, valued at about $7,000 a child, provided through a mix of privately donated and federal funds.

Educational choice isn’t just for children. The president’s budget renews his call for reorganizing worker-training programs by spending $3.4 billion on Career Advancement Accounts for adults. Workers would have $3,000 a year, with a maximum of $6,000 over two years, to purchase training. This would give workers more choice over what to learn and where to train. Pilot projects are already ongoing in Indiana, Pennsylvania, Wyoming, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, and Ohio.

Presidential budgets are mainly policy documents, with many aptly termed “Dead on Arrival.” This one is no exception, especially with the opposing party controlling Congress. But it’s worth noting that ensuring the security of Americans does not have to rely on expanded government spending programs. Individual choice works too.

Ms. Furchtgott-Roth, former chief economist at the U.S. Department of Labor, is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and director of Hudson’s Center for Employment Policy.