How do we Fund the Relief Effort? a.k.a. What Happened to the Surplus?

I have an article on this subject and I want to post it all, with no link. So, shoot me. This might get moved to the Katrina forum. If so, sue me.

A Dangerous And Deafening Silence
David Sirota
September 16, 2005

As silence sets in over a Gulf Coast devastated by Hurricane Katrina, it is also setting in among both political parties in Washington. Sure, there is a lot of finger-pointing from Republicans at Louisiana state officials. And there is chest-thumping from Democrats about our government's slow response. But that is all pantomime compared to the silence on taxes—the real issue that is not only at the heart of the recent disaster, but at the heart of many of America's most pressing problems.

Our country spent the '90s building up a projected $5 trillion surplus as a rainy-day fund. But when it came time to prepare for the rainiest day of them all, the money we had socked away was, instead, used to pay for trillions of dollars of tax cuts—tax cuts that Americans have never wanted to supercede other pressing priorities. Here are the facts.
San Francisco Chronicle

I'm not in favor of raising taxes, but I am in favor of balancing the books, and balancing the burden. This needs to be accomplished soon by whomever in Washington has the gumption to attend to the real issues that affect us all. Not the issues that affect the special interests we are being sold out to, not the lobbyists that are buying the votes, but the issues that affect the one thing that truly makes this country great; the people.


[edit on 17-9-2005 by DontTreadOnMe]

Bush Government is like a teen with a brand new check book spend, spend, spend, but let somebody else do the balancing.

The new projected funds to help with the reconstruction of NO, is supposed to come not from increase in taxes but on domestic cuts.

Can somebody remind the president that he already cut into the domestic agenda to finance the Iraqi and Afghanistan war?

What else is he going to get the money from?

Domestic cuts are the ones that make the NO area become the disaster problem that is now.

Can somebody take away the Check book from Mr. Bush, he is going to bankrupt the nation.

I remember clearly how badly I wanted to throw something at my TV during the presidential debates every time Bush said Democrats want to raise your taxes.

The truth is that the average American wants the mega rich to pay their fair share.

I'm not even talking about those making over $250,000 per year,
I'm talking about people who have so much more money than anyone could ever possibly need.

Bush is not talking about raising your taxes, he's taking about the government
raising THEIR taxes.

Imagine the difference it would make if the Elite were forced to pay
35% of their total annual earnings like everyone else reporting their "wages"

To pay for southern reconstruction; President Bush will eliminate all funding for the states thus forcing the states to raise taxes on their citizens to maintain their infrastructure. If you live in sparcely populated state it could be grim.

I predict however Texas and Montana will receive funding being deemed as important for the security of the nation.

Whaaa you got it right.

Onces the federal government cut into the states, you are right the state will be on their own to come out with money to support everything that is going to put a burden into the state to raise taxes.

Who is the ones that will be affected?

The struggling American work force.

Four years of cuts has already put the nation in a precarious situation, by the time this president leaves the White House we are going to be bankrupt.

If NO seems poor now wait until the cuts starts to take toll on the struggling tax payers.

All it would take is one more major incident and we are in deep cow pies.

Katrina has already revealed our Achilles heel to those who might want to kick us while we're down.

If we are attacked, the countries holding our debt may lose confidence and then we're in even worse trouble.

Asian investors could crush our economy without so much as lighting up a firecracker.