The news is reporting that the Louisiana senators will be asking for $250 billion dollars to rebuild that state's gulf coast. Did they post this figure because this is the estimated figure that has been floating around, or has anyone actually put a pencil to the numbers to see what it will take? I admit as well that President Bush's "whatever it takes" does not exactly inspire confidence, either.
We must all realize that there is damage that we cannot even see yet. In such a situation as this, it is reasonable to assume that the estimate may not even come close to what the actual cost is going to be. My only point in asking the question is that, as I cannot even count to a "billion", I do know that this is a lot of money over a long period of time. Are we going to actually aim to spend that much, or is this what will actually be required?
I know that the final figure could be more based on needs and the unforeseen but if it is put into such a spending bill as this, who will account for the money? Who will report to Congress? Whose feet will be held to the fire to be sure that the best possible solutions will be employed? And once this money is allocated, does this then mean that the entire amount MUST be spent?
Our government has become so used to throwing money at a problem - and after a hurricane is not the time to be chintzy, I know - that they do not seem to consider that this money has to be watched and counted; they also do not seem to care. It's good political "eye-wash" to say that "we will stop at nothing to {insert your favorite political cause}. This is how it works in the political spectrum. We are at a critical time, however, that we cannot afford to spend "whatever it takes" nor can we cut corners. With such a huge undertaking as this especially in wartime, someone has to answer these questions. Who will it be?
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