Conservative thought, post-Katrina

I’ve been watching the usual shows and reading the usual op-ed pieces. Let me see if I understand conservative thought in the post-Katrina world.



Power should be devolved to state and local governments because the federal government is a huge, lumbering, hide-bound bureaucracy incapable of effectively serving the American people. The blame for the poor response to Hurricane Katrina lies squarely with the governments of the state of Louisiana and the city of New Orleans, who delayed too long in handing over responsibility to the federal government. The heroic efforts of churches, businesses and private citizens during the hurricane shows that the private sector can respond much more effectively to disasters than the federal government. The federal government has launched a full-scale effort to respond quickly to Hurricane Rita so as to avoid the catastrophic loss of life that followed Katrina. Big lumbering bureaucracies like FEMA are inherently incapable of responding quickly in a crisis. The U.S. military is the organization best suited to respond to natural disasters because of its size and experience in mobilizing resources. In this era of tight budgets, we cannot afford to spend millions to upgrade levees to protect New Orleans from the unlikely event of a major hurricane. It is critical to our national security to spend billions on a missile defense to protect us from a nuclear attack by North Korea. The federal government will spend $200 billion dollars to rebuild New Orleans. This money grows on trees that line the Potomac river; taxes will not need to be increased to pay for this new spending. It’s ridiculous to think that spending on the war in Iraq has in any way impaired our ability to pay for reconstruction of New Orleans. We will have to offset the expenditures on reconstruction of New Orleans by delaying the implementation of Medicare prescription drug coverage and imposing an across-the-board federal spending freeze. Government is not the solution to our problems, government is the problem. The spirit of private enterprise is the heart and soul of America, and the key to rebuilding New Orleans. Businesses will not invest in rebuilding New Orleans unless they receive massive tax breaks and government subsidies. The federal government will spend whatever it takes to fund the rebuilding effort; it will cost what it costs. The government will suspend the Davis-Bacon act so that the government can save money by paying workers less than the prevailing union wage that they would otherwise be entitled to. Workers, unlike business, need no subsidies or tax breaks to induce them to participate in the rebuilding effort.



In the post 9/11 era, now more than ever we need George W. Bush as president to keep us safe.



I think I have it now.