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Do or Do Not
by adam at 12:27 AM on September 17, 2005
I saw a survey today on CNN.com (not linkable - check out today's QuickVote on the main page), and I wish I could say I was surprised. Let's be clear about this: our country is out of money. We are borrowing money from lots of foreign countries (China, for instance) just to keep our government and military running. Despite the promises of politicians, there is not enough money to rebuild New Orleans. The incredibly wasteful practices of FEMA and the likely no-bid contracts to friends of friends of the administration probably won't help keep the costs down, either.
So if the government is going to participate in the rebuilding process, and it looks like there's not really a choice there, then it will need more money. And since the government is not a for-profit entity, that money must come from taxes. If you don't think that the government should raise taxes to pay for this stuff, then you either think that the money should come from cancelling other government programs (I'm curious about suggestions) or that New Orleans should not be rebuilt. We can't have it both ways.
comments (6)
Actually, i can think of a useless bridge project in Alaska that'll cover .1% of the rebuilding costs. Maybe there really is $200B worth of pork in the federal budget. Any other examples?
by Adam at September 17, 2005 4:25 AM
I have often said that if I were elected prez, my first order of business would be to have each goverment employee come into the oval office and answer me one question. Well, two really. 1) What is the essential function of your job? 2) What disaster would befall us if we let you go today?
Remember how catastrophic it was when the goverment shut down during the Clinton administration? No?
by anna at September 17, 2005 11:00 AM
Hmm... I think they changed the QuickVote on me. I got something else.
Anyway, is the country really running out of money? And also, the U.S. doesn't "borrow" money from other countries the way you and I borrow money. We don't go to China and borrow money directly. This stuff is all done through government bonds and treasury bills. Investors (foreign or otherwise) don't have to buy... they do so because they think it's a good investment and don't have expectations that the U.S. govt will default on the debt. I just think "borrowing money" gets a bad rap, but debt-management is just as important as asset-management.
by Anonymous at September 17, 2005 11:06 AM
Also, hasn't the U.S. always "borrowed" money? Whether bonds to Chinese businesses today or war bonds to U.S. citizens during WWII, this is something that has gone on for quite a long time. Its not a great way to run a country (or a life), but it is a common way. And its not like if the U.S. defaults on these loans someone is going to come along and repossess Nebraska.
by mg at September 18, 2005 8:20 AM
Actually nothing ever becomes of it. Some alarmists say it's a Ponzi scheme but it never collapses on anybody. Plus, when they start taking about trillions of dollars it is jsut too mind-boggling to even consider.
by anna at September 19, 2005 8:54 AM
Rita, Rita.... Meter Maid...
by lockheed at September 22, 2005 10:52 AM