Heritage Foundation Is Against Federal Funds For Snow Removal
FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is paid for using U.S. taxpayer money. It exists to give aid to the victims of disasters, which are things that aren’t predictable. In any given year we know there will probably be unforseen events like hurricanes, earthquakes, floods and blizzards but we don’t know where or when. Agencies like FEMA exist to give help when these disasters strike.
The Heritage Foundation, who supported the unfunded Iraq War, thinks the federal deficit is too high to help Delaware with snow removal. We should just suck it up:
Given the federal budget deficits, FEMA can’t afford to cover 75% of the costs of state snow removal either. It is high time for this federalization of routine events to come to a halt and for states to plan and budget for what are known events every year.
Heritage repeats the Republican mantra that wars and defense spending is free but helping the American people costs too much money. When I see Republicans talk about cutting defense spending and paying for war spending then maybe I’ll believe that they aren’t just Budget Peacocks.
Tags: FEMA, Heritage Foundation
State snow removal this year — especially for the Mid-Atlantic states affected — is far from routine. The hint, Heritage? Record breaking snowfall ≠ routine. By Definition.
Exactly Cassandra. How could Delaware budget for two huge snowstorms withing a week?
The funny part is, of course, that the Heritage Foundation is a charity case — it couldn’t come close to paying for itself without a rich, wingnut angel (I believe it’s Richard Mellon Scaife, IIRC).
One more thing — weather events are expected to become more intense, more frequent and somewhat more unpredictable as climate change continues unchecked. If Heritage wants local governments to start thinking long term about planning and budgeting for managing those consequences, that is a real conversation to have.
But I think that they’d have to admit that Climate Change — is real and is manmade enough so that human intervention may actually have some impact.
I don’t gather that they are suggesting that state and local taxes should be raised. Rather, all taxes should be cut and magical unicorns will descend from heaven and remove the snow. That’s conservative budgeting.
BTW – So what is the betting line for when the State of Emergency is going to be lifted?
I suugested noon for the lifting of the SOE yesterday.
Since the Christiana Mall changed it’s opening time from noon today to 2 PM, I’m guessing that the driving ban will be lifted around noon today, but I was wrong yesterday, so who knows 🙂
I just heard the SOE might be lifted by 4:00PM or, then again, by midnight, depending on how the plowing goes. I heard that streets like Milltown Rd are still a real mess. The problem has been drifting. It’s still pretty windy out here in Hockessin.
Our plow guy showed up early this morning, got about one quarter of the way up the driveway, and his truck broke. I imagine there’s a lot of equipment fatigue with the back-to-back storms.
I also heard from a friend who has a small contracting business that he’s been swamped with calls to go clear snow off people’s roofs. He’s so happy for the work.
This is one of the services taxes pay for: Snow Removal and Snow salting. If you cut taxes, you cut services. Plain and simple. So each and every conservative alive cannot ever complain about snow removal, ever. If you want it cleared quickly, pay for it with raised taxes.
What I find interesting is that there seem to be certain employers (Banks, retail) that are requiring their workers to come in. How can the Malls (Christiana and Concord) open if there is still a driving ban/SOE in effect. Earlier this morning Sussex County put out a call asking for farm machinery to help with the plowing down there.
Horsey and Joseph companies have been contracted by the county. The call for farmers (we’re talking the really big rigs)was specifically to assist emergency responders.
http://www.wboc.com/global/story.asp?s=11967135
Farmers have been out, three giant rigs plowed the road I live on last night. I thought you were driving one of them, Mark.
No…I can barely drive myself crazy, let alone a big rig like that 🙂
The heritage foundation has a consistant dogma that permiates there thinking, they have no concern what so every for other peoples problems, they belive that human beings must fend for themselves so the people they represent [the rich] do not have to pay taxes, their minions have made their money and if you have not, to bad for you, that,s why they oppose health care reform, snow removal or any other endevor that would benefit the general population, it,s never necessary to wait for their opinion on anything they are and always will be the let them eat cakers.
what’s even greater is the quick action governors now take to declare a state of emergency. wooohoooo use those federal tax dollars.
Spending money on snow removal is no big deal, the lose of commerce and the tax dollars that are not generated are probably a wash, and this does not occur that often, 1995-96 was the last time we were hit that hard, allmost all 50 states are financially strapped due to plunging tax revenues anyway, so this is a smart use of federal funds.