$52 billion more
I am going to go out on a limb here and agree with the eleven members of the house that voted against the $52 billion in relief for the hurricane recovery. I know that I may catch a lot of flack, and I be labeled as an anti-American, blah blah blah, whatever. Those of you who know me well know this is far from the truth, so, if you read this, read it all the way through, understand the logic, and don't jump to conclusions.
Last night a house of representatives member from Arizona (can't recall the name) was on Fox News explaining why he voted against it. The logic was simple enough. He stated that they(congress) are in their offices every week, and that they should do increments of $10 billion, not a big chunk at once. Each week, if necessary, FEMA can come to them and request more money and state the reasons that they need it. By giving them $52 billion at once, the money may be misspent or misappropriated. In an area where money was spent poorly in the past on the levees and flood control, the idea of giving them money incrementally makes perfect sense. Sensenbrenner made the same point when questioned why he voted against the measure.
I know that in a time of disaster that money is a pretty trivial topic, but, let's not get crazy here. The total spent by the feds now is up to $600 per family in the U.S. I know we will spend more on the relief effort, but let's take it day by day, step by step.
Now go ahead and roast if you must, but remember that we need to think clearly throughout the whole recovery process and not piss the money away on stupid things (I also know that this is impossible to do, and politicians and agents in charge of the money out there will have stupid ideas along the way. This is unavoidable.)
posted by Disgruntled Car Salesman @ 7:45 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
I agree but would like to take it a step further. I'm sick of the governement, Republicans and Democrats alike, cutting checks to make up for things. Everything that happens, be it a terrorist attack or a natural disaster, leads to the government satisfying the affected with a check. Where is this money coming from? 'I'm sorry about this; would 50 billion dollars make you feel better?'
Seriously. I guarantee that at least 60% of the money is misappropriated. Also, all of the relief efforts, donations, and assistance won't be calculated into money spent. So.... we pay taxes to go to the relief AND we donate. Hm. Double the damage. Yes, I sympathize. Yes, I have donated. Yes, I support financial relief. Let's just guarantee monetary efficiency - a feat yet to be reached by the governement.
Who are you kidding, government and efficiency don't even belong in the same sentence!
I absolutely agree with you both. It's difficult enough to monitor where the money goes in areas that are reasonably "trustworthy" (and I use that term loosely), but in a state that has clearly misappropriated funds and squandered millions, if not billions of dollars that should have been spent to AVOID this disaster...I say we should liken it to taking our 5 year old to the mall. You may know you are going to spend $100 on clothing, shoes, lunch and a go at the arcade. You don't hand your kid a hundred dollar bill when you get to the arcade and hope there's enough left to do the rest. As long as the current Mayor and Governor are in office - they can't be trusted with all the money at once or we're going to have more of what is coming out now on how businesses were given "loans" after 9/11 who never should have qualified.
Post a Comment
<< Home