When Republicans say they want to pay for Katrina reconstruction with "off-sets" (spending cuts) they are lying. They want to pay for it by borrowing. (The cuts they do recommend will come at the expense of the working and middle classes.)
Don't believe me? Try this…give the Republican the "Honest Republican Test." Ask him SPECIFICALLY which programs he'd cut. And the total savings has to equal the needed spending …in this case the cost of Katrina reconstruction.
Some members of Congress say it could cost $200 billion, and nobody at the White House was denying the figure, which would exceed the costs of the Iraq war.
Source: "Katrina recovery costs to raise deficit" - money.cnn.com - September 16, 2005


What we should watch for as this drama unfolds:
  1. Spending cuts in programs that keep the desperately poor (including many of the hurricane victims) from becoming destitute. What you won't hear from Republicans are proposals to offset the relief spending by rescending tax cuts that benefit the idle rich.
  2. Similar offsets (of ANY kind) to pay for the occupation of Iraq.


Former Florida Senator Connie Mack, the chairman of the president's tax-reform panel talks about cutting the mortgage deduction, paying for Katrina and being financed by the Chinese.

Q: Can you tell us about the report the tax-reform panel will be filing on Nov. 1? [T]he U.S. government has to get money from somewhere. As a two-term former Republican senator from Florida, where do you suggest we get money from?
A. What money?
Q: The money to run this country.
A. We'll borrow it.
Q: I never understand where all this money comes from. When the president says we need another $200 billion for Katrina repairs, does he just go and borrow it from the Saudis?
A. In a sense, we do. Maybe the Chinese.
Q: Is that fair to our children? If we keep borrowing at this level, won't the Arabs or the Chinese eventually own this country?
A. I am not worried about that.
Source: "Taxing Issues" - NY Times - Interview by DEBORAH SOLOMON - October 23, 2005


Setting up a politically charged floor fight next week, the Senate Budget Committee on Wednesday approved by a party-line vote a... Package [that] includes ... a $10 billion cut for Medicare and Medicaid. Democrats are uniformly opposed, saying that the cuts are harsh and that they will in some cases fall hardest on those displaced by the storms.

House committees advanced their own plans intended to identify $50 billion in savings, with panels approving proposals to cut money to enforce child support, to tighten eligibility for foster care aid and to raise premiums for employers who contribute to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. On Thursday, the House Agriculture Committee is to consider reducing spending on food stamps by more than $1 billion.
Source: "Bush Says 'Push the Envelope' on Cutbacks" - By CARL HULSE - NY Times - October 27, 2005




Read what others have said about this statement here.
Use the section at the bottom of the screen to submit your own comment.
Comments Contributor Date Submitted
Fine. Don't borrow I don't care. Just let those butt wipes rot in that swamp thay now call a home. BlueMax
 9/26/2005
Wow Max! Is the area that you live in immune from natural disaster? What if YOU were the "butt-wipe" whose life was destroyed by circumstances beyond your control?

Is this an example of "compassionate conservatism?"		 Webmaster
SpinShield		 10/2/2005
Typical woman. You're just sooooooo compassionate. Blue Max
 10/19/2005
We established last month that Webmaster is a man. I guess BlueMax has memory problems. Linda
Denton		 10/21/2005

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