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September 28, 2005

Hard Questions For The Big Easy

Astonishingly enough, it seems that the country is not quite ready to simply begin paying billions of dollars to folks who have -- in some cases corruptly, in other cases merely negligently -- misspent billions in the past.

Louisiana pols thought this was a golden moment to begin demanding ludicrous sums from the rest of the nation -- $50,000 per resident of Louisiana! -- and further demanding little or no oversight regarding how Louisiana's famously-incorruptible bureaucratic Untouchables would spend it.

I thought they'd get away with it -- heartstrings, all those raped babies, etc. -- but there does seem to be a growing backlash:

Exhibit A is the Louisiana congressional delegation's new request for $250 billion in hurricane reconstruction funds. As a Post editorial pointed out yesterday, this money -- more than $50,000 per Louisiana resident -- would come on top of the $62.3 billion Congress has already appropriated, on top of the charitable donations, on top of the insurance payouts. Among other things, the proposal demands $40 billion of new Army Corps of Engineers spending, 16 times more than the Corps says it needs to protect New Orleans from a Category 5 hurricane. Despite the fact that previous Corps projects drained Louisiana's coastal wetlands, thereby destroying what could have been a natural buffer against at least some of the Rita and Katrina storm surges, the proposal calls for a suspension of environmental reviews. Despite the fact that Louisiana spent hundreds of millions of dollars on water projects that turned out to be unnecessary, or even damaging, the proposal makes it possible to suspend cost-benefit analyses.

Anne Applebaum -- whose poltics I can't easily reduce to a label; she's a kind of liberal/libertarian centrist or something -- then goes on a jihad against porkbarrel spending as a general proposition.

There may be something to this porkbustin' movement yet.

posted by Ace at 11:53 AM

Comments

You can probably imagine my lack of surprise when I saw the naked money-grabbing going on in my beloved home state... the quiet murmuring going on among most of us basically reads like "how come the politicians had to survive?"

Combine that with their feigned shock and outrage over Michael Brown (of whom I am no great fan) calling it more or less like he sees it, and then the great LSU choke on Monday... sheesh. For those who are wondering, the bile between Blanco and Nagin goes back quite a ways, and you'll notice that NOPD chief Eddie Compass resigned less than 24 hours after a meeting with Nagin. He's getting way the hell out of the way before the investigations really dig deep.

On the good news side, however- major props to the folks in Southwest Louisiana (my adopted home stomping grounds after leaving NOLA) for getting 250K+ out of the way of Rita more than 24 hours in advance... they followed the plans that were upgraded after Lili in 2003 and did what New Orleans could not with no fanfare, just efficiency.

As much of a drag as it is to say this, as far as I'm concerned, no money should go to the state until Blanco, Nagin, Landrieu, and yes, even Vitter, are replaced... along with Charlie Melancon (the congressman from the area). I wonder if Honore would want to oversee the funds distribution...

Maybe the Saints can get it together against the Bills this weekend... here's hoping.

tmi3rd

Posted by: tmi3rd on September 28, 2005 12:06 PM

Congress got greedy. The highway bill was bad enough but Katrina relief is taking pork to whole new levels of absurdity. The latest Katrina bill being discussed has money for farmers in North Dakota and flood control for Sacramento.

It's like a teenager who sneaks a shot or two out of the liquor cabinet. You can get away with that as long as you don't get carried away and start draining whole bottles of Chivas.

Posted by: Planet Moron on September 28, 2005 12:42 PM

Appelbaum seems to be a good egg. I always read her stuff precisely because she's so hard to pin down.

And regardless of what her political leanings may be, she wrote an incredible book on the Soviet Gulag that would be more than enough to comfort an unrepetant Cold Warrior's black heart. She earned a mile of slack with me for that book.

Cheers,
Dave at Garfield Ridge

Posted by: Dave at Garfield Ridge on September 28, 2005 12:56 PM

It never makes sense to use taxpayer money to rebuild after natural disasters because it masks the true costs of living in disaster prone areas. If uncle Sam didn't bail everyone out every time then people (and their insurance companies) would make sure that all homes in Florida would be made out of reinforced concrete and all N.O. homes would be above sea level.

Posted by: NathanB on September 28, 2005 01:31 PM

Maybe William Jefferson can kick in some aid. I hear he had some extra cash layin around in the freezer recently.

Listening to him lecture Mike Brown yesterday was like listening to Ted Kennedy lecture someone about temperance.

Posted by: Dave in Texas on September 28, 2005 01:53 PM

Heck, I live in Shreveport. Where do I send my address to get my 50K?

Thanks everybody!

Posted by: KelliPundit on September 28, 2005 02:33 PM

Meet your new looters!

And you think pork-busting is gonna get somewhere?!?

Bwahahahaha.

Posted by: tubino on September 28, 2005 11:52 PM

Meet your new looters!

And you think pork-busting is gonna get somewhere?!?

Bwahahahaha.

Posted by: tubino on September 29, 2005 12:03 AM


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Louisiana pols thought this was a golden moment to begin demanding ludicrous sums from the rest of the nation -- $50,000 per resident of Louisiana! -- and further demanding little or no oversight regarding how Louisiana's famously-incorruptible bureaucratic Untouchables would spend it. I thought they'd get away with it -- heartstrings, all those raped babies, etc. -- but there does seem to be a growing backlash: Exhibit A is the Louisiana congressional delegation's new request for $250 billion in hurricane reconstruction funds. As a Post editorial pointed out yesterday, this money -- more than $50,000 per Louisiana resident -- would come on top of the $62.3 billion Congress has already appropriated, on top of the charitable donations, on top of the insurance payouts. Among other things, the proposal demands $40 billion of new Army Corps of Engineers spending, 16 times more than the Corps says it needs to protect New Orleans from a Category 5 hurricane. Despite the fact that previous Corps projects drained Louisiana's coastal wetlands, thereby destroying what could have been a natural buffer against at least some of the Rita and Katrina storm surges, the proposal calls for a suspension of environmental reviews. Despite the fact that Louisiana spent hundreds of millions of dollars on water projects that turned out to be unnecessary, or even damaging, the proposal makes it possible to suspend cost-benefit analyses. Anne Applebaum -- whose poltics I can't easily reduce to a label; she's a kind of liberal/libertarian centrist or something -- then goes on a jihad against porkbarrel spending as a general proposition. There may be something to this porkbustin' movement yet. posted by Ace at 11:53 AM Comments You can probably imagine my lack of surprise when I saw the naked money-grabbing going on in my beloved home state... the quiet murmuring going on among most of us basically reads like "how come the politicians had to survive?" Combine that with their feigned shock and outrage over Michael Brown (of whom I am no great fan) calling it more or less like he sees it, and then the great LSU choke on Monday... sheesh. For those who are wondering, the bile between Blanco and Nagin goes back quite a ways, and you'll notice that NOPD chief Eddie Compass resigned less than 24 hours after a meeting with Nagin. He's getting way the hell out of the way before the investigations really dig deep. On the good news side, however- major props to the folks in Southwest Louisiana (my adopted home stomping grounds after leaving NOLA) for getting 250K+ out of the way of Rita more than 24 hours in advance... they followed the plans that were upgraded after Lili in 2003 and did what New Orleans could not with no fanfare, just efficiency. As much of a drag as it is to say this, as far as I'm concerned, no money should go to the state until Blanco, Nagin, Landrieu, and yes, even Vitter, are replaced... along with Charlie Melancon (the congressman from the area). I wonder if Honore would want to oversee the funds distribution... Maybe the Saints can get it together against the Bills this weekend... here's hoping. tmi3rd Posted by: tmi3rd on September 28, 2005 12:06 PM Congress got greedy. The highway bill was bad enough but Katrina relief is taking pork to whole new levels of absurdity. The latest Katrina bill being discussed has money for farmers in North Dakota and flood control for Sacramento. It's like a teenager who sneaks a shot or two out of the liquor cabinet. You can get away with that as long as you don't get carried away and start draining whole bottles of Chivas. Posted by: Planet Moron on September 28, 2005 12:42 PM Appelbaum seems to be a good egg. I always read her stuff precisely because she's so hard to pin down. And regardless of what her political leanings may be, she wrote an incredible book on the Soviet Gulag that would be more than enough to comfort an unrepetant Cold Warrior's black heart. She earned a mile of slack with me for that book. Cheers, Dave at Garfield Ridge Posted by: Dave at Garfield Ridge on September 28, 2005 12:56 PM It never makes sense to use taxpayer money to rebuild after natural disasters because it masks the true costs of living in disaster prone areas. If uncle Sam didn't bail everyone out every time then people (and their insurance companies) would make sure that all homes in Florida would be made out of reinforced concrete and all N.O. homes would be above sea level. Posted by: NathanB on September 28, 2005 01:31 PM Maybe William Jefferson can kick in some aid. I hear he had some extra cash layin around in the freezer recently. Listening to him lecture Mike Brown yesterday was like listening to Ted Kennedy lecture someone about temperance. Posted by: Dave in Texas on September 28, 2005 01:53 PM Heck, I live in Shreveport. Where do I send my address to get my 50K? Thanks everybody! Posted by: KelliPundit on September 28, 2005 02:33 PM Meet your new looters! And you think pork-busting is gonna get somewhere?!? Bwahahahaha. Posted by: tubino on September 28, 2005 11:52 PM Meet your new looters! And you think pork-busting is gonna get somewhere?!? Bwahahahaha. Posted by: tubino on September 29, 2005 12:03 AM Post a comment Name: Email Address: URL: Comments: Remember info?	Now Available! The Deplorable Gourmet A Horde-sourced Cookbook [All profits go to charity] Top Headlines Paul Sperry @paulsperry_ NEW: Just heard something extraordinary from a former White House official who worked with former National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster in Trump45's NSC: "McMaster had weekly phone calls with George Soros. 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