Galveston 1900 storm ping
I sent this in to my local paper yesterday, sort of has some relevance:
Another Step to Socialism
As I watch and read reports of the ongoing Katrina disaster, I keep hearing one word that disturbs me. Politicians, pundits and officials keep speaking about what “we” need to do: “We” need to rebuild, “we” need to provide, “we” need to contribute….
On September 8, 1900 the city of Galveston, TX was destroyed by a hurricane. One in seven people died, and over half the buildings were demolished. The citizens of Galveston rebuilt their city themselves. “We” didn’t do it for them. They sold bonds and raised the money. They built a seawall. They raised the entire city upwards of twelve feet. The citizens pitched in and helped each other out rather than wait for “we” to come do it for them. Of course, this was before the Federal Income Tax.
Recently the Federal Government approved a $286 billion transportation bill. Since Louisiana doesn’t have representation on the proper committees, the few tens of millions that, arguably, may have saved New Orleans were not available. Instead states like Alaska, which does have the proper representation, gets hundreds of millions for seemingly useless projects. I suspect that Louisiana’s tax contribution to this one bill, or any other similar appropriations bills in recent decades, if left within the State would have contributed to upgrading hurricane preparations. Likewise Alabama and Mississippi could have done the same.
The saddest part of this system is that the main purpose of these “pork” projects is not the project itself, but instead they are meant to help insure the re-election of the politicians from the affected State or District. So now Washington takes our money, and the state or local government must go hat in hand and beg for some of it back. Unfortunately, true benefit does not rank as high as political benefit, thus the $231 million dollar bridge to Nowhere, Alaska.
This is not the Republic that Jefferson, Franklin, Adams and the rest envisioned.
It is time to return Washington to it’s Constitutionally limited functions, and end the slide into Federal Socialism no matter how benevolent it may appear on the surface. The Constitution strictly limits the role of the Federal Government, reserving most powers for the States and the people themselves. It is long past time that we insist that we get those powers back where they belong.