Posted on 09/19/2005 8:48:26 AM PDT by West Coast Conservative
(snip)
In Jackson Square, Bush found his voice for the first time since the levees broke. He described the people he had seen on the ground and the recovery work that had already been done. He promised to rebuild the Gulf Coast and re-engineer New Orleans, and added -- wisely, in view of Louisiana's heritage of corruption -- that inspectors general would oversee the spending.
But despite the Great Society tone of his speech, he did not promise another Great Society. He proposed instead a Gulf Opportunity Zone -- presumably, a tax-free status to encourage investment. He called for Worker Recovery Accounts of up to $5,000 for job training, education and childcare. He proposed an Urban Homesteading Act on federal lands.
Bush's liberal critics have been hoping that the Katrina disaster would increase support for big government, and they have a point when they say that there are some things only government must do and that it -- or they: local, state, federal -- must do them well. Bush's proposals use government differently. Like the GI Bill of Rights and the no-down-payment VA home mortgages of Franklin Roosevelt, Bush's Worker Recovery Accounts and Urban Homesteading would help people out, but only those who in turn do something to lift themselves up. And his Opportunity Zone turns on its head the liberal notion that the most effective way to help the poor and helpless is to tax everyone else heavily and hand out money to those in need.
Lower taxes and less bureaucracy, Bush is saying, will enable people in the private sector to build the kind of self-propelling economy that offers everyone a chance out of poverty.
How effective these ideas will be remains to be seen. Some large numbers of evacuees will not return to New Orleans -- many seem to be finding more opportunity than they ever had there in Houston or Dallas. But the response to Katrina does show that it is unwise to place all your reliance on a supposedly all-seeing, all-knowing government.
Government could have performed better than it did this time, but even if it had, the private sector, with the dedication of the nonprofits and the suppleness of a Wal-Mart, would have been necessary to an optimum response. As FDR offered veterans six decades ago, so Bush today is offering not handouts, but a hand up. The GIs then did much better than expected. Perhaps the Gulf Coast and New Orleans victims of Katrina will, too.
Yeah right. This will become this countries, big dig project. But instead of KKenedy leading the charge it will be one of our own.
Rolling out compassionate conservatism, expanding government and handing out a blank check maybe good politics, but its bad policy. Take a well crafted speech and add to it maybe upwards of $200-billion and you get a momentary feel good period. Thankfully, on spending issues there are some fiscal conservatives left in WashDC. Mike Pence, Tom Tancredo, Ron Paul and Lindsey Graham have all spoken out against throwing money around in an effort to rebuild the gulf coast at any cost. They've made some reasonable suggestions how the feds can pay for Katrina relief without busting the bank.
Just curious, what has been the crux of their suggestions?
Small problem: It's all required by law. Much of this has to be rebuilt by law, and by federal responsibility.
Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Wasn't that LBJ's exact definition of Welfare?????
Put a five year Moritorium of Congressional and Senate pay raises.
Kill the National Endowment for the Arts
Hold off on Prescription Heathcare for two years
Scrap Delay's Transportation Bill
Restructure FEMA And you would be off to a good start!
Jack.
Pence wants to hold off on the PDP for a year and take that $40-billion, apply it to Katrina relief. Graham has suggested taking the pork out of the recent hiway bill and enregy bill and apply it to Katrina relief. The hiway bill contains $28-billion in pork. Rush just mentioned the Stafford Act. An abomination. Repeal that stupid law.
Teach them to fish.............don't give them a fish (welfare)!
What did Rush not like about the Stafford Act.
As I recall it sets the order of requests for Fed involvement in a disaster. Is that right?
Also, I heard the Highway bill was far more than 28 billion pork since many of the projects are in the category of "wanted but not necessary."
Time to rescind that bill and start over with Katrina being one of the projects within it that requires funding.
Not hand-outs, a handup. Not a fish, fishing, the vision thing, OK?
And those aren't new taxes on your paystub, they're "payroll premiums".
Federalism, get it? We've got to take from you for the common good . . . I mean . .
Don't pay any attention to that man behind the curtain. (Dammit turd-blossom)
ESSENTIAL ASSISTANCE
Sec. 403. (a) In General. Federal agencies may on the direction of the President, provide assistance essential to meeting immediate threats to life and property resulting from a major disaster, as follows:
(b) Federal Share. The Federal share of assistance under this section shall be not less than 75 percent of the eligible cost of such assistance.
This gets too complicated, and too difficult to measure success. I would rather see a large spending cut.
Delay the drug entitlement in medicare by one year - will save $40 billion.
Cut $40 billion in highway spending pork and $20 billion elsewhere in the budget, cap the Katrina bailout at $100 billion and presto - no negative impact on budget overall.
Repeal Davis-Bacon act too.
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