Government Spending

Thoughts on government spending

Hurricane Katrina – “We’re from the Government and We’re Here to Help!”

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The other day I heard about a little-known charitable organization that’s been helping Hurricane Katrina victims in New Orleans rebuild their homes. The Saint Bernard Project uses volunteer labor and donated money to rebuild homes damaged or destroyed in August of 2005 by the hurricane.

This kind of private charity is still necessary, nearly seven years after the storm, because the hundred billion dollars the federal government spent on Katrina relief was mostly wasted or stolen, and some ten thousand New Orleans families still haven’t been able to rebuild their shattered homes.
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Government Spending and the “Bill Clinton Surplus”

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During this election year, politicians and journalists are talking a great deal about the federal deficit, and what should be done to reduce it. Liberals claim that there’s a need for “revenue improvements,” a euphemistic way of saying tax rate increases. Conservatives and libertarians tend to suggest cuts in the rate of government spending.

A glance at recent history shows that the conservatives and libertarians stand on firmer ground.
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Does the Government Need More Revenue?

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So I’ve been thinking about this issue of our poor, cash-starved federal government. The press has done a fantastic job of making ordinary Americans believe that the government needs “revenue increases” to balance the budget. The biased coverage has led  many Americans to believe that tax increases must be part of any rational attempt to balance the budget.
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