Will Irene aid be politicized?
Washington DC is buzzing about House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va) who argued in a Fox News interview that tropical storm Irene aid should be paid for with cuts to other parts of the Federal government.
“Yes, we are going to find the money. We are just going to have to make sure there are savings elsewhere to continue to do so,” Cantor told Fox. “Just like any family would operate when it’s struck with disaster, it finds the money to take care of a sick loved one or what have you, and then goes without trying to buy a new car or [putting] an addition onto the house.”
Democrats pounced, noting that Cantor has eagerly sought quick and unfettered aid for Virginia in the past when that state was struck by natural disasters.
Tags: irene
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I agree! And there’s a very obvious part of the federal governments budget that we can cut from an redirect it to the Irene rebuild. It’s the BILLIONS PER MONTH we throw down those two rat holes in the Middle East called Iraq and Afghanistan.
We’re potentially going to have another congressional standoff over FEMA funding over probably around a billion dollars. And the insanity of it all will be that by the time they settle the argument (I’m guessing about a month), we’ll have spent another 6-8 billion on our decades long military escapade. If this isn’t an indication of how completely “in another world” and free from scrutiny and oversight the military/industrial/congressional complex is, I don’t know what is. And yet I’ve yet to read or hear of one politician, media pundit, blogger, etc. even mention this craziness.
If an emergency, does a family refuse to use a credit card or get a loan from a bank to rebuild its home or feed its children or does it act more responsibly than Eric Cantor?
Cantor is an idiot and hyprocrite. Where was he when Bush started two wars and ran up the deficit? Why didn’t the same policy apply to Bush, especially his tax cuts? And oh yeah, I almost forgot, Cheney said our costs for the Irag war would be limited and easily paid back by Iraq oil. We still haven’t recovered from eight years of major Republican mistakes. Why does anyone listen to these know-nothing conservatives who will run our economy off the cliff?
as usual, what krugman said:
personally, i think cantor’s hypocrisy bit is pretty bad too, but krugman is absolutey right about the primary issue here.
The short answer is yes, it will be politicized. Everything is in this country.
I do wonder how many people who have been arguing for smaller government and lower taxes now have their hands out. That too is as American as apple pie, which will cost more because of the damage to farms.
Yes, isn’t it interesting all the conservative North Country politicians, including Betty Little, who rail about less government and lower spending now are looking to the government for support and dollars to help repair flood damage. I conclude they support smaller government and less government spending only if it doesn’t affect their interests. And that seems a rather selfish attitude.
Will it be politicized? Will the sun rise in the east? You should take comfort in those things that are certainties.