I had to turn off the radio tonight. It was just too painful. I was in my truck going home after clearing some drains for a customer and I caught President Bush’s speech in progress. He proposed the creation of a “Gulf Opportunity Zone” in response to the sinking of New Orleans. Freebies, tax cuts, etc. for everybody who will squirm up to New Orleans and suck one of the government tits.
First: nothing in the Constitution authorizes the central government to take money from Memphians and use it to rebuild New Orleans.
Second: government money entails government controls, so the entire project will be subject to federal rules and regulations–a massive increase in the size and scope of government, which entails an equal reduction in personal liberty.
Third: the central government doesn’t have that kind of money. They’re trillions of dollars in debt and continue to overspend at the rate of billions and billions per year.
Memphis is crowded with piled up resources that are trying to find their way to refugees, and we are only one city. This is repeated all across the nation. Let people alone and they will work it out themselves. If an entrepreneur wants to try something in New Orleans, let him use his own money. If he succeeds, let him keep his own money.