Corrupt? Inept? Throw them $50B

In the avalanche of stupidity surrounding Katrina, you have the conservatives arguing that the inept and currupt democrats screwed things up (state, local and senate officials) and the liberals arguing that it is GW's fault by way of FEMA. I believe that I am safe in saying that the general consensus is that there are an awful lot of stupid or corrupt people that exasperated the problem.

So, what is the response of Congress and GW? Send them a blank check for $50 Billion dollars! No oversight, no supervision. "Here you go, boys and girls ... you did such a good job in the past that we thoroughly trust that you will put this money to good use!". In addition, somewhere along the line (I believe it is the federal employees involved in the disaster relief) the limits on how much a government official can slap on government credit cards without authorization has been raised to $250k.

Mark my words, this is going to be the worst boondoggle in the history of this country, ranking right up there with Teddy Kennedy's "Big Dig" in Boston.

The latest is that the few congress-people that had the cojones to stand up to this are being treated very harshly by the libs and press (So I am assuming the standouts were all Republicans). Their argument is that since Congress will be in session the entire time, there is no good reason to do this in one big pop. Congress can easily dole out the funding in an ongoing basis $5-$10B at a pop, providing at least the illusion of oversight. As a taxpayer who can reasonably be expecting to pay somewhere between $3000-$10000 for this before it is over, I don't think it is too much for me to ask that these guys keep an eye on what is going on.

Of course, several individuals are already stepping forward to vie for the top spot as the poster children for stupid - subcategory: wasteful spending. One report has the mayor already talking about a huge boondoggle he is going to throw with all of the city employees, something about taking them to some tropical island (I was not listening too closely, so don't quote me on this). The Lord knows he and his crew really deserve a reward after the outstanding job they did. Hopefully he can call the governor and get her to go too since she is at least 75% responsible for the outstanding job they did.

In a related entry, FOX News reported that those $2000 debit cards are definitely taking a bite out of the need for some very serious, life-sustaining supplies ... apparently they were used to charge the purchase of a couple of $800 Versace handbags. Again, the Lord knows that if you only have a few possessions remaining after a terrible tragedy, it is critical that you find an $800 purse to keep them in!