Surely even Bush doesn't believe what he says

So Katrina was one of the worst natural disasters to hit the US ever. Also, one of the most expensive. Helping people recover from this is one of the purposes of government — it falls under that "promote the general welfare" clause. So, how are we going to pay for it? From taxes, of course. That's where the government's funding comes from. So, what does Bush say?

President Bush on Friday ruled out raising taxes to pay for Gulf Coast reconstruction, saying other government spending must be cut. "You bet it will cost money, but I'm confident we can handle it," he said.

Excuse me, but "other spending must be cut"? Has this administration, and this Congress, given any indication that they can do anything other than spend more, and cut taxes? And one way or another, their record deficits will be paid for from taxes, either now, or later, when grownups are back in charge. But Bush tried to be reassuring about that, too:

"It's going to cost whatever it's going to cost, and we're going to be wise about the money we spend," Bush said a day after laying out an expensive plan for rebuilding New Orleans and the Gulf Coast without spelling out how he would pay for it.

Any government that gives multi-billion dollar no-bid contracts to their cronies is, prima facie, emphatically not "wise about the money we spend".

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