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One of the most infuriating aspects of this White House has been their hypocritical
pattern of politicizing events while self-righteously wagging fingers at anyone
else, warning them not to do the same. The Heritage Foundation was responsible for the portion of Pres. Bush’s
New Orleans ‘save my presidency’ speech regarding a Gulf Opportunity Zone. It
mentioned several favorite conservative Christmas wish items: vouchers for
private schools, relaxing regulations such as prevailing wages on contracts, in
addition to environmental safeguards. And the big prize: a flat tax imposed on
the GOP version of utopia, a military-patrolled deregulated corporate republic.
For example, what was the first executive action the President took
after Katrina? He immediately waved the wage requirements for federal contracts
in the Davis-Bacon Act. This was done before all the evacuees had been moved
out. Now he’s proposing “nearly $500 million in federal funding to help displaced
private school students from the Gulf Coast enroll in private schools elsewhere
in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The proposal, fleshing out a goal President Bush had
announced in a speech to the nation Thursday night, would amount to the largest
federal school voucher program ever, if enacted.” As to housing the displaced, some of you may know that some shelters
have been set up in remote campgrounds, that although well-intentioned may
function more like internment camps than facilities where people can interact
with agencies and job opportunities. Another concern is the $500 million
already spent on mobile homes and RVs to be set up in “Katrina towns”. Isn’t
one of the lessons of disasters that mobile homes don’t fare well in hurricanes
and tornados? Already, fiscal conservatives, editorials and what’s left of the
“opposition party” are screaming about the lack of details and the tendency to
throw money at a problem. According to the latest NYT/CBS poll, 90% of people surveyed, “including a majority of Republicans,
said they would disapprove of cutting expenditures on domestic programs, like
education and health care, to continue paying for the Iraq war.” So there is a
economic rebellion brewing, despite rosy rhetoric from the podium. The best idea I’ve heard yet: sell reconstruction bonds instead
of sending the deficit into Mar’s orbit, further shaking up our bankers in China
and Japan. As long as the POTUS
keeps insisting that we can do ‘whatever it takes’ in Iraq, and “whatever it
takes” rebuilding the Gulf Coast and still extend his tax cuts for the wealthy,
one has to wonder what secret deals or funny money is going to make that work.
Bush never had much luck in business himself and got friendly bailouts and “do-overs”.
But we need sound policy, not Bushification. This is an Alamo moment in US politics, drawing a line in the sand. The
GOP will dominate the debate by virtue of their control over Congress,
literally shutting out Democrats as they do on other controversial legislation.
Some are ideologically driven to impose principles under the guise of
reconstruction that they haven’t succeeded in legislating. Progressives and
everyone who opposes further abuses of democratic balance of power needs to resist
political opportunism instead of real opportunity. If Karl Rove is the de facto
“czar” of this effort, the Gulf Coast recovery will officially launch a
Republic of Halliburton with Grover Norquist officiating. - KwC Sources: Americans worry about
the $5 Billion per month spending in Iraq as
other debt accumulates http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/17/politics/17poll.html Analysts discuss
Bush’s speech/plans to rebuild Gulf coast region: Heritage vs Brookings, Green Local First vs
Wal Martization http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/weather/july-dec05/rebuild_9-16.html Brooks
and Oliphant: Bush between a rock and a hard place Best idea I’ve heard yet: sell reconstruction bonds http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/political_wrap/july-dec05/bo_9-16.html Bush proposes private
school vouchers http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/16/AR2005091601723.html Economists, housing
experts question proposals http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/15/AR2005091502664.html? Separate but equal?
Schooling of evacuees provokes debate http://online.wsj.com/public/article/0,,SB112666498176540100-DQgawuLyt4mP5qjjI_nsJlY369A_20060914,00.html?mod=blogs WaPo ED Mind the Money. “However
the federal spending is paid for, the government must put in place a strong
structure to oversee the effort. This is important not only to guard against
fraud but to make certain that the money goes where it is most needed and is
spent in a way that makes most sense, rather than where the loudest political
clamor arises or where the administration's ideological predispositions
dictate. There are already some worrisome signs. Instead of creating trailer
towns of Katrina evacuees, for example, why not expand the federal government's voucher program -- a program the administration has
repeatedly tried to cut -- to take advantage of the large numbers of vacant
rental units? There are
serious questions about whether Mr. Bush's proposed Gulf Opportunity Zone,
which would grant tax breaks for business investment in equipment and buildings
in the affected areas, would merely subsidize investment that would have
happened anyway or draw it from elsewhere.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/16/AR2005091601634.html |
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