Out of Their Minds: November

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FEMA Fallout

Does a River of Tax Money Run Through It?

By David M. Drucker

In the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the corridors of power in Washington are abuzz with divergent opinions on how to handle the massive rebuilding task along the Gulf Coast.
    With taxpayers from Syracuse to Sacramento on the hook, policy makers and politicians on the right side of the political spectrum are talking tax incentives, tax cuts and a suspension of federal labor regulations to rebuild New Orleans and the critical energy and transportation infrastructure running through it.
    Those left of center are concerned that President George W. Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress will use this natural disaster as an excuse to push through conservative policies typically untenable to voters. Fears center on policies such as rolling back environmental-quality regulations to ostensibly lower gas prices, and eliminating the competitive bidding process for companies contracting with the federal government — supposedly to speed up the rebuilding efforts — but more likely to make life easier for corporations.
    As Congress began debating how federal tax dollars should be spent and how much of Bush’s rebuilding plan to approve, Prosper put the same questions to two Washington-based think tanks on either side of the fence to hear what they are advocating.
    Taxpayers For Common Sense and the Democratic Leadership Council are both involved in formulating many of the ideas and proposals that will eventually make their way to lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Sacramento’s representatives could end up choosing from these ideas.
Continued...

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