The Disaster After the Disaster

As a hawkish Libertarian, I often find myself on economic matters to be far to the right of most people. Strangely enough, I believe that government should be limited to its functions laid out within the Constitution, and nothing more. The tone of the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Federalist Papers is generally in agreement with that concept.

There are a number of things that I admire about the President, but his plan for the recovery of the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina is a disaster in its own right. Will the Gulf Coast be rebuilt? Certainly. Will New Orleans once again become a tourist destination that feels and behaves like a third-world country, with presumably less corrupt police? Sure. Will the same problems arise, with no real solutions offered? Maybe.

If any of you Republicans are laboring under the notion that Bush is a free-trade capitalist, let that speech he gave last week put that idea to bed. When the chips are down and the political waters are getting hot, where does Bush look for solutions? The blank check of the taxpayer. He talks a good game when it comes to self-reliance and free-market capitalism, but once again we see that actions are louder than words.

Of course, government does have a role in this recovery. Ensuring security and rebuilding infrastructure certainly qualify. Throwing money at the human and property problems with no overall plan is no solution at all. Why are we not at least taking the time to study other bold ideas? Recently in the Wall Street Journal, someone suggested that the city be rebuilt with the idea of flooding it intentionally, making New Orleans the new American Venice. Surely the Corps of Engineers would have a much easier time dealing with the water if that were the case. Some say the Gulf Coast would be rebuilt far faster than the government could ever do if it were made into a true free-enterprise zone, like an American Hong Kong… People of ability from all over the world would flock to the area to stake out their fortunes, and New Orleans would become a major world player.

Bush’s and by extension America’s knee-jerk reaction to this recovery is a real disappointment. Republicans can really ‘walk the walk’ when it comes to terrorism, but on any number of other issues, they are paper tigers. By the way, was that Bush on TV last week, or was that LBJ? No, it must have been FDR with the New New Deal…

(cross-posted on Framptonia)