Slowly, the Republicans are starting to see the light.  In a recent article at RightMarch.com, a notorious right-wing response to the MoveOn.org site, they published an alert that calls for the cancellation of the many pork-barrel projects recently passed by this administration.  They point out that Congressman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) noted, "Congress must also use its head. At this critical time, we need to exercise sound fiscal judgment and ensure that we do not end up bankrupting our children and grandchildren."  Rep. Hensarling said, "When so many lives have been shattered and relief is so critical, Congress cannot continue to fund projects like the $800,000 outhouse, $1.2 million for Panda research, or the $1 million indoor rainforest in Iowa," ...  "The fundamental question is who should tighten their belt to pay for this damage, American families or the federal government?"

But then the article goes on make the claim, "There are only three ways to pay for the emergency supplemental appropriation passed by Congress to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina: raise taxes, increase the national debt or tighten the belt of the federal government."  Then they assert, "By refusing to offset this spending, Congress is simply taking the most politically expedient path by adding to our already staggering debt and passing the buck to future generations. At a time when Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security are growing out of control, refusing to offset even one penny of this bill with lower priority spending is unacceptable."   Aside from the phony argument that Social Security is part of the problem, this right-wing rag almost has it right.

Yes, In an effort to get its CAFTA bill passed, this administration bribed Congressmen and Senators with pork-barrel projects in return for a yes vote on CAFTA.  Our own Congressman Tom Price, a few weeks ago, boasted how many such projects he brought home to Cobb County in the $25( Highway Bill.  So Hensarling is right to have introduced an amendment to the Katrina bill which would have forced Congress to cut back a lot of pork to pay for the emergency assistance. His amendment would have offset nearly $52 billion in hurricane emergency spending with funding from lower priority programs (such as in the highway bill) over five years. But Congressmen wouldn't pass the amendment.  The political pork was just too delicious to pass up.

But again, the right uses the bankrupt frame that taxes are an affliction to make it seem that the ONLY solution is to cut back on pork and programs.  While I agree that cutting back on the pork will help to rebuild New Orleans and support the victims, the article ignores the more lucrative option to remove the tax loopholes already granted to corporations and the wealthy. By framing one of the solutions as “rais(ing) taxes,” they would have us believe this would produce an additional burden (tax as an affliction) on working Americans. However, if the loopholes created by the triple tax-loophole bills of the Bush Administration were reversed, billions for relief for New Orleans would be released. In addition, corporations would no longer be rewarded by shipping American jobs overseas and sheltering profits in offshore accounts.

At this time when we need shared public sacrifice to rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf coast, the administration wants to make the tax-loopholes for the rich permanent and add on the repeal of the inheritance tax that benefits only the wealthiest among us (estates worth more than $2M.)

I think the cry should be, “Cut the pork and eliminate tax loopholes for the wealthy” so we all pay our fair share of our dues to support America. Taxes are what we pay to be citizens of this great country. They are an investment that pays dividends; not an affliction.