Priorities and Values

The Katrina disaster exposed the consequences of real poverty in America, and the racial component that too often goes with it.

So how do the Republicans respond?

First, in what can only be considered a early political Christmas present to Democrats, they spent the days after the hurricane sending e-mails seeking support to ... no, not to help the hurricane victims, but instead to permanently repeal the estate tax, which, of course, would be a boon to their wealthy supporters.

Then, the President issued an executive order under the Davis-Bacon Act to allow contractors rebuilding Katrina -- and receiving tens of millions of taxpayer dollars -- to pay below the prevailing wage.

Then, after early estimates show the cost to the federal government to rebuild the Gulf Coast region at easily $200 million, amid calls to rescind the tax cuts given to the top 1% of Americans (who, incidentally, were among those who were able to evacuate New Orleans and then hire private security companies to protect their estates during the aftermath, while the poor huddled in the Superdome and the Convention Center), the Bush Administration rejects the concept of ANY tax increases to pay for the increased spending.

Instead, the Administration says that there will have to be cuts of unnecessary spending to pay for the reconstruction.

My first reaction to this news: Gingrich Budget Shutdown in 1995. Clinton's amazing 1995-96 comeback was fueled by his ability to show voters that he cared more about their values in the budget, by protecting the Medicare, Medicaid and the environment, from the cruel Gingrich proposed budget cuts.

But then I thought, wait, Democrats couldn't get that lucky twice.

Then I see a headline today that the Republicans are looking to cut Medicare in order to pay for the reconstruction. So I want to get this straight: we've had a terrible natural disaster that has disproportionately affected the most vunerable in our society and the Republican's way to pay for fixing it is to put even more burden on our most vunerable?

Wow. That's a campaign issue that even the Democrats might not be able to screw up.
- posted by Joshua @ 11:09 AM