President Clinton wants President Bush to push for tax hikes to pay for Hurricane Katrina recovery spending. President Bush is presumably content to expand deficits to pay for the increased spending. Conservatives want Congress and President Bush to offset spending increases with spending cuts--or better yet, not to make the massive Hurricane Katrina expenditures at alll and cut additional spending while they're at it.

Party conservative Tom DeLay says there is nothing left to cut. Movement conservatives disagree. Michelle Malkin points to the $3 million federal subsidy for the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation, which seeks to bring baseball to poor children. RedState objects to $7.1 million for a Georgia museum on infantry. The new Porkbusters site lists scores of local projects funded by federal pork starting with Alaska's $315,000,000 "bridge to nowhere" and concluding with West Virginia's "$200,000 for streetscape improvements in Berkeley Springs." The Porkbusters site is a work in progress, so I encourage readers to add pork projects that you are aware of to their list. My own addition to the very long list compiled by Porkbusters is the $23 million allocated to relocate a government building to allow the Washington Nationals the space to build their new stadium. A multimillion-dollar pork project in the city where I live--who would have thought it?

I will point out some immense contradictions in this post.

Dan, you just don’t get it. You somberly note that a “$3 million federal subsidy” to “bring baseball to poor children” exists. What, poor people can’t enjoy America’s past time? So what if this comes on the dime of taxpayers? Baseball players make lots of money.

Next, you bemoan “$7.1 million for a Georgia museum on infantry.” Infantry rhymes with infant, as any astute reader will note. Conservatives like you can get their panties in a bunch over abortion, but not about other things.

You complain about a bridge to nowhere, as if only places somewhere deserve to have bridges built to them. All this talk about busting pork leads one to believe you don’t consider any of this palatable, yet I’d bet my socks you’ve enjoyed a strip of bacon more than once.

Have ya'll ever been up to Berkeley Springs? Them streets is downright uggglly!

Actually, I've seen what they're doing with the money up in Berkeley County, and it's to expand Route 9, which will actually make the area more accessible to Marylanders and Virginians who are moving there in droves due to being priced out of the more expensive housing markets in their states (I can vouch for that). More people means more money means more taxes means more jobs means more people with a nice roof over their heads, etc. I can't argue with that one.

HOWEVER..WTF(!) is a Marmet Lock?

I heard about Alaska's $315,000,000.00 bridge to nowhere. Just think if some of this money had been spent on the New Orleans levee system we might not have the mess we currently have. If the country is to survive, I think the government and the citizens who voted these people into office had better rearrange their priorities.

Lets agree on the facts first.

o Like it or not there will be Hurricane Katrina expenditures and it will be a big number.
o Liberals, Conservative, Democrats and Republicans will talk a great game but bottom line there will be little if any pork cut. What pork is cut won’t amount to much.

Most conservatives will say “Cut back on waste”. Is it possible to find anyone who is against cutting waste? Are we actually wasting 100s of billions if so lets put someone in jail. Also let’s identify and expose the wasters.

It all comes down to a choice: Either go further in the hole with the federal deficit or rescind the tax cuts (refuse to continue to give back money we don’t and really never had).
With the deficit – It’s pay me now or pay me double or triple later.

What’s it gonna be conservative patriots?

Rc: You're argument is very similar to the conservative argument, except yours is more short-term.

you say: Get real, Congress is gonna spend this money. Thus, we must face reality eventually and RAISE TAXES to pay for everything we want to spend.

we say: Get real--there is no limit to what Congress could spend. Thus, we must face reality eventually and STOP SPENDING so much darn money. We might as well do it now.

In the long run, Rc, wouldn't you AT SOME THRESHOLD choose less spending and lower taxes, over a little more spending and higher taxes?

I certainly choose less spending. But face facts Katrina relief is a done deal. How are we paying for it? Your act as if you have a choice. We don't! Our only choice is how do we pay for it. Do we pay for our spending or do our children and grandchildren pay.

You think "we" have any choice in the matter? I had no choice in Congress spending the money and I have no choice in how it is paid. How exactly do we have a choice about how to pay for it again? I think I missed that plebiscite or referendum.

RC: Even if we assume that Congress will spend this money, Congress has a choice between three options, (a) your option of raising taxes, (b) my option of cutting spending, (c) neither (a) nor (b), which will happen-- we'll pay for it by borrowing and printing more money.

Why do you pretend that we have choices (a) and (c), but not (b)? (b) will have to be chosen SOME DAY, if we are to be at all responsible. Why do you pretend it's not on the table now?

Skeptic:
It appears obvious, There will be no spending cut thus it is not a choice.
You say raising taxes. Failing to give a tax cut is not raising taxes. I don't understand why is a tax cut so important. We have expenses. Shouldn't they be paid before giving away the receipts. If they cut expenses that is ok. But you need to acknowledge it ain't happening

It’s simple: tax cuts are not the problem. Overspending is. As long as our government continues to not act fiscally responsible, they will never have enough money. And going to the well with new taxes will never be the solution either.

Historically, tax cuts have always given the economy a bounce. But, with my apologies to drunken sailors everywhere, if the government doesn’t stop spending like one, that bounce will be absorbed by the huge and ever growing deficits that threaten to bankrupt our country.

"But you need to acknowledge it ain't happening." -RC The only reason it [spending cuts] ain't hapning now is because people like you won't face facts: it is the only responsible move in the long run.

You fellows are right tax cuts aren't the problem. Over spending is the problem. Now that we know what is and isn't the problem. What is the solution? It isn't to say tax cuts aren't the problem. We are overspent already. Could repealing the tax cuts be the solution or even part of the solution? Or is that forever off the table?

The point is, RC, that taxes increases may be justified in situations in which we actually MUST spend a crap load of money on stuff, but taxes are already this high to pay for for unnecessary, and often downright prodigal pet projects. Letting Congress raise taxes is just a way in which they pretend to be fiscally responsible, but in fact give them excuse to spend evenmore money on unnecessary and silly projects.

If a wife spends $1000 a week on flowers decorating the house, she doesn't have right to ask her husband to work 50 rather than 45 hours per week to pay for emergency house repairs. Any appeal from her about "fiscal responsiblity" should be ridiculed.

I dunno...how do you tell a 1,000 pound gorilla who’s just stolen your banana not to eat it all?

It's really a question of expecting honesty and responsibility from our public officials and holding them responsible for their actions. The legitimate answer would be to vote those who don't do the business of the people they represent out of office.

Realistic? Easier said, than done.

Unfortunately we lost control of the flower buying wife (elected officials) years ago. So when the home needs fixing you can’t very well say “Sorry I won’t fix that hole in the roof, you should have thought of that yesterday when you purchased those darn flowers”
We can’t all get wet! The roof must be fixed.
Maybe we should fix the roof then divorce the wife.

Here come the secessionists...

Probably doesn't matter anyway. With the braintrust that has been running this country for the last thirty years or so, we're on a track to becoming a bankrupt, third world country.

Self serving corrupt pols are killing us.