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September 19, 2005
Notes from Ferdy - Your Government at Work
In the wake of the Katrina disaster, it is important to understand the role of money in the run up to the failed evacuation.
Nine months ago, three Louisiana officials were indicted for obstructing a probe into their use of money earmarked for flood control. It also turns out that government grants for creating an evacuation plan were instead used to plan construction for a bridge. Now we learn that Louisiana officials are unsure how to guarantee that the current aid coming into the state doesn't disappear in a sea of graft and kickbacks. We have also learned that environmental concerns held up projects to improve the floodgates.
Conservatives see this as proof of their contention that government cannot be trusted to spend money wisely; however, that misses the root cause of the whole problem, which is campaign finance reform.
If the whole point of campaign finance reform is to keep the bad money out of politics, then focusing on campaign contributions is completely wrong-headed. When you donate $2000 to some senator's campaign, you know for sure it's going to be spent on getting him elected; however, when you pay taxes, the money disappears into a black pit that an army of auditors can't penetrate. (Death and taxes are often reckoned to be similar because we have no idea what happens when we die, either.)
Obviously the correct solution to government waste is to put limits on taxes, not campaign contributions.
But, you ask, how do we rescue people from catastrophe without all that tax cash?
It's important to note that the American public has been mind-bogglingly generous in recent years. Consider the following evacuation plan: have the mayor of New Orleans go on television and ask for bus drivers to come volunteer and help get the poor out of the city before the hurricane hits. Having seen the public's response to Katrina's aftermath, is there any doubt about the result? Consider also: unlike a boat, a bus has ample room for video cameras and security guards. In other words, under my plan, Sean Penn would not have become a laughingstock and his wife wouldn't be so upset.
If the government didn't have billions of dollars to spend on emergency management, it wouldn't have the option of pretending that a multi-million-dollar bridge-building plan is a good way to plan for an evacuation. And of course, there would be no need for bridge-building companies to circumvent campaign finance laws in order to insure they get a piece of the federally-subsidized pork pie once building begins.
So call your Congressman now and tell him that instead of campaign finance reform, we need tax reform. Let politicians focus on what they're best at-- campaigning-- and let the American people do the work that needs to be done.
It makes a lot more sense than what we're doing now.
Respectfully submitted,
Ferdinand T. Cat
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You have more confidence than I do with what happens to campaign contributions. Ever hear of "war chests?"
I agree with you though on limiting taxes...and need to get my paws on a copy of the Neil Boortz book.
See you on the high ground!
MajorDad1984
Posted by: MajorDad1984 at September 19, 2005 6:33 PM
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