Fiscal Conservatism is Dead

After 9/11 the Dunce in Chief felt a need to push through tax cuts for the fat cats. This was despite the clear need for spending on national security to protect the country from future disasters. The result of this folly was clear for all to see in the Gulf Coast the last few weeks. Now faced with not only the post-Katrina rebuilding effort, but also fixing the national security and emergency preparedness that was criminally short changed the first time, Bush still refuses to come up with a payment plan. Those tax cuts will be made permanent, plunging the country to dangerous levels of deficit.

Obvious questions come to mind. Will a lack of funding leave our disaster preparedness look even worse than it does today? Will the rebuilding effort leave the people of the Gulf Coast living in double-wides for ever as a result of non-existent or unimaginative urban planning.

The US can't afford more debt. It also can't afford to skimp on the challenges ahead.