Governor Jindal Might Just Say No To Stimulus Bucks
Feb 19, 2009 Political
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has indicated that his state might not take the $4 Billion that it is slated to get under Obama’s Generational Debt Plan. Jindal stated that he would have to review the money and see where it is to go and what strings are attached to accepting it. I imagine he would be more willing to take it if it were designated for infrastructure and not so much if it were designated for welfare.
This is a wise move since the federal government might tie all kinds of conditions to the money or state exactly where it has to be spent. This country was set up with a centralized federal government and (eventually) 50 separate and distinct state governments. The states are supposed to be responsible for a lot of the spending that goes on within their borders. If the feds start handing out money like candy then the states become wards of the federal government which can then attempt to dictate how certain things are done.
It is irresponsible for states to make up their budget deficits off the backs of the taxpayers from other states. People in 49 other states had nothing to do with the failed policies that led to the collapse of California. That state needs to fix its own problems. Forcing us to pay for their problems (or the problems of any other state) does nothing more than enslave taxpayers. A portion of our earnings, the fruits of our labor, is being confiscated from us and given to states that cannot manage a budget.
Bailout money to the states keeps them from being forced to take the tough decisions that need to be made in order to become fiscally sound. Instead of making appropriate cuts in spending and workforce, the states will sit back and give residents more of the same stuff that caused the problem in the first place. Governor O’Malley of Maryland and his Democratic legislature are sitting around salivating at the chance to sink their teeth into the bailout money so they can spend, spend, spend. It is shameful and demonstrates a complete lack of leadership.
While Jindal has indicated that he might not accept the federal money the welfare king Ray Nagin said he will take all the money the state does not want. I guess the hundreds of millions of dollars that were forcefully extracted from taxpayers from other states and sent New Orleans did not quite meet the needs of of Nagin and his cronies. Now he wants 4 billion more to waste on his poverty torn hell hole. It was wrong to send taxpayer money to NO in the first place and it would be a travesty for him to get anything else. However, I would not oppose taking the 4 billion and spending it on construction crews to use bulldozers to fill in NO.
I hope Jindal sticks to his guns and works out his state’s problems without taking the money. It would be refreshing to see a responsible politician for a change, I mean in addition to Sarah Palin.
Palin? That woman that makes the left cringe. The one who they think is dumb? The one who was savagely attacked by the media?
Yep, that is she. Her state of Alaska has enough money squirreled away to weather the economic problems even if they extend for a few years.
There is an interesting thing to see. The governor that the left is so afraid of that they engaged in character assassination has run her state so well that it is in better shape than states run by their wonderful Democrats or the RINO in California. In addition, her state is doing better than New York, Maryland, Kansas, and a number of others who are standing around waiting to put their hands in our pockets.
To be sure, Palin said that her state would take the approximately 1 billion dollars in stimulus money if it were designated for the right things like infrastructure and transportation. She is wary of accepting it for social programs that the state will have to pay for once the money is gone. It is going to be tougher for Palin because the price of oil is down but since the state saved some of the money it made when oil prices were up it is in better shape to ride out the economic storm.
The state currently has $6.6 billion in its constitutional budget reserve fund that it could tap into. A few billion dollars more also is available from other pockets, said Juneau economist Gregg Erickson, a longtime Alaska budget watcher.
Given Alaska’s robust reserves, the state is well-prepared to weather the next two years, Erickson said. As to how long reserves will last after that, there are too many factors involved to say for sure. AP
We will see how well she does in the tough times but she is smarter than liberals give her credit for. She is at least smarter than all the governors who are running in the red.
As an aside, why does California not just spend a bunch of money? It has about 45 billion dollars in debt so it should spend 2 or 3 hundred billion more to get back on sound footing.
After all, that is what Obama is doing to fix the problems in the rest of the country.
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Tags: bailout, irresponsible, jindal, Obama, oil prices, palin, stimulus
George Bush Saved The Gulf Coast
Sep 2, 2008 Opinion
Hurricane Gustav is losing strength by the minute though it will likely stall out and cause flooding in some areas along its path. However, the levees in New Orleans held, for the most part, and though there will no doubt be some flooding, the devastation will be nowhere near what it was during Katrina. This is because of George W. Bush.
Now I know George Bush did not rebuild the levees, he did not drive the evacuation buses and he did not open shelters to house people. In fact, all he did was lead from the top and provide assistance that state governors requested. But since the left blamed him for all the failures that occurred when Katrina hit, it is only fair to give him all the credit for the successes that occurred during this disaster.
It would seem ridiculous to give him ALL the credit when the five Gulf State REPUBLICAN governors worked together to ensure success by planning early and requesting federal assistance in a timely manner. However, since the president was to blame when state and local leaders were woefully inadequate he must be credited with the success when other leaders do their jobs well.
During the 2006 election season and during last week’s Democratic Convention we were reminded about the failures during Katrina. The stories about Americans being abandoned never mentioned the Democrats in charge of Louisiana as part of the problem. We were (and have been since Katrina hit) led to believe that this was a failure of George Bush and his administration.
Now that things went fairly smoothly during Gustav Americans must be reminded of how well the plans worked with REPUBLICAN leadership. America must be informed that George Bush did a great job when he was not hamstrung by a Democratic governor who was afraid to ask for help and too overwhelmed to demonstrate real leadership.
George Bush saved the Gulf Coast. I bet the Democrats who laughed about this disaster approaching are taking a second look. You see, when real leaders are in charge the probability of success increases.
I wonder if the MSM and the Democratic party leadership will acknowledge this amazing feat that President Bush pulled off. I imagine not since they were blaming him this far into Katrina and they have not said one word of praise since Gustav arrived.
The five Gulf Coast Republican Governors all worked well together and coordinated with the federal government. They were not lying in a corner sucking their thumbs like Ray Nagin during Katrina (he did a much better job this time) and they were not on TV crying about the destruction like Blanco did back then. They were leading people to get things done. Thank God Louisiana has Bobby Jindal as its Governor this time around.
I have little use for New Orleans and have been soured since the way people acted about Katrina. Having said that, I am glad that people evacuated and that the levees held. Those who stayed behind did so at their own peril and they are the only ones responsible for their fate. I pray for them and the rest of the Gulf Coast as Gustav exits and Hannah and Ike prepare to make their presence known.
Let us pray that the people down there get things back in shape before the next one hits.
Tags: blanco, Bush, gustav, jindal, katrina, leadership, nagin