The Bush administration claims it is “providing the necessary funding for the Gulf Coast” by committing $110 billion. The Times Picayune recently looked at the facts…
First, the money was divided
among the five Gulf Coast states and covers damage from
Katrina, Rita and Wilma, which hit south Florida. The LRA
figures that Louisiana’s share of that was about $59
billion, but even that is misleading.About $18 billion came in the form of disaster relief,
which includes the kind of post-crisis assistance —
health care, evacuee assistance, business loans — the
federal government routinely extends in a major crisis. An
additional $14.7 billion was in payouts from the National
Flood Insurance Program, for which Louisiana policyholders
had paid premiums.By the LRA’s calculations, the state has received
$26.4 billion in genuine federal help, including money to
rebuild levees, homes, schools and community infrastructure.
According to the article Louisiana alone “sustained upwards of $100 billion in losses” from the ’05 hurricanes.
Bush has not met the needs of Louisiana but his touting of the $110 billion figure continues to obfuscate that fact. It’s a heckuva PR job and they shouldn’t be allowed to get away with it. Unfortunately, thus far they have.
Just heard from a returning Habitat for Humanity volunteer that the budget for Americorps is being cut from 26 million to 11 million. He said without Americorps what is there in volunteer effort would stall bigtime.
It’s all a numbers game – just like the VA budget (http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/02/13/vets.budget.ap/index.html?section=cnn_latest). These guys couldn’t give a rat’s ass if they tried – it’s all just politics to them, and hiding the ball just long enough to get past the next news cycle or the next election.
And liberals, the ones who want to help people get back on their feet (whether soldiers or Gulf Coast residents): we’re the pussies?
What a country.
not unlike their sleight of hand last month with cancer rates and funding statistics, despite the fact that this administration has slashed research funding.