Katrina, the Middle-Class Scylla and Charybdis

With two contributors here from Louisiana and one with strong ties; Katrina money, the red tape tape concerning it, the national misconception about Louisianians, and the general health of the Gulf Coast states are points of contention.

A little personal history, prior to Katrina hitting, my family and I evacuated to Georgia from Gulfport, Mississippi, my former residence. Due to the requirements of my job I had to return to Gulfport almost immediately. Leaving my family in Alabama, probably the hardest thing I ever had to do.

I have been several places around the world which were war torn and I can tell you, the state of the Gulf Coast was like nothing I have ever seen before. The amount of devastation, carnage, and broken lives was surreal and indescribable, especially witnessing it first hand and on the deck.

When the national coverage started, I was shocked to see what was happening in my birthplace of New Orleans. And the rumors, ranging from civilians shooting at helicopters that were trying to rescue them, to snipers shooting drug addicts that were attempting to pillage local hospitals for pharmaceuticals, to armed posses of New Orleanian residents roaming the streets looking to kill or capture looters and lawbreakers. Most are true in one fashion or another.

What was hardly covered was the kindness and the human compassion that was extended from stranger to stranger. Bonds of friendship that would have otherwise not formed if it were not for Katrina. The faith based and community groups who showed up to help rebuild and the military, for its incredible first response. None of this garners ratings.

All we have been privy to, thanks to the media, is welfare rats whining and wanting their FEMA checks, abuses by our local officials, the "Chocolate City," looting, a corrupt police force, and Spike Lee's ignorant movie which only assisted in propagating the media myths. Some of this is wholeheartedly true and other facets are a representation of a small minority, not the real story in its entirety. What was not reported, as often is the case, was the suffering of the middle American in this embattled region. I am here to tell you first hand, they're in the majority, not those you see on the television or read about in print.

These people are just like you; middle to average incomes, homeowners, 2.5 kids, a dog, they pay their taxes, they work, and they suffer because of partisan politics and games. Are they stupid for living where they do? Let me ask you this, are they any less stupid than someone who lives in California, close to the San Andres fault, the Mid-West in tornado alley, or the North East being subjected to blistering weather and snow storms? My humble opine is no, they aren't stupid. This is their home, it is what they know and love. A place full of rich heritage, decent people, and a fantastic culture. Something worth conserving.

Why do I bring this up? It was a comment by OP, on another post, and an article from MSNBC, that I just read that inspired this.

OP made the point, through an unofficial source (Whatever that means.) about Jindal being afraid of inciting political warfare with the WH and Congress by not accepting stimulus money and how that might effect the release of Katrina money. Funds which have already been set aside for the residents of the Gulf Coast and they have yet to receive. Keep in mind, there is plenty of money to go around, but accessing it is the problem as pointed out in this August 2007, article in Reason magazine. This problem still persists.

The whole point is not to gather support for the people affected by Katrina, your mind is already made up one way or another. This is about political noise generated by the government, which gets nothing accomplished, and the media sensationalism over the topic du jour. The truth and reality always walk the middle line, and not in the moderate sense either.

This applies to this particular blog, we do ride the right side of things because we are right wingers. Nevertheless, we are Americans first, and the atrocity of government mismanagement coupled with the vile displays of media sensationalism is what drives the fight here. The Katrina episode showed why our system is broken, it exemplified the hand out mentality of those who are not deserving and the taking away from those who rightfully are, the declination of an over-sized government bureaucracy which is still failing, and an abysmal dereliction to report the truth. Even with this evidence, our elected officials, supposed greatest minds, and media titans still continue dragging us down this hole.

Remember, we have them outnumbered almost 1,000-to-1 and our votes do count. If they continue with their malfeasance and treachery, vote them out on their collective asses. Get involved, stay informed, and do something. We may not always enjoy having these choices and freedoms, so exercise them and don't take them for granted. In other words, be an American.

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The Stimulus Package: Fear Mongering and Crisis Propagation, the Liberal Way

This attempt at breaking down the stimulus from the beginning to the end will not be an easy undertaking, since I am not economist. However, neither is President Obama, he is a lawyer. Nevertheless, there is ample information from sound sources to help the average tax payer understand exactly what the government is asking of them and the other possibilities for economic stimulus. This first addition is a challenge to the government's claim that we are in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Also, this will show how they are propagating fear in order to push their agenda onto the American people.

As far as this blog is concerned, free markets and economics are inexorably connected to the liberty and prosperity of every individual American. This is not to say humankind is free due to capitalism, just that if used properly, it can be the engine of that freedom. Mankind is unarguably born with certain unalienable rights that are derived from Higher, not from monetary, fiscal, or economic policy.

However, despots, tyrants, dictators, and megalomaniacs have learned throughout the years that by manipulating these economic systems they can attain a greater accumulation of power over their citizenry. Infringing on, if not taking away these freedoms, all in the name of the State. Thereby, creating an atmosphere of dependency on the government for even the most basic daily needs.

Even as far back as October, then Senator Obama, was stirring fears that this was the greatest economic downfall since the Great Depression. Recently, even his toadies and acolytes have been echoing the same sentiments. All for the sake of spreading fear and generating hopes that they have the only answers to end this crisis.

Now, only a fool would say, with a straight face, we aren't in hard times and things aren't going to get harder. But the egregious claims and fear mongering of the Obama administration fall apart once you look at history.

According to the Bureau of Labor, from 1930-41 the unemployment rate never dropped below 8.9% and actually went as high as 24.9%. When the recession deepened in circa 1981-82, unemployment sat at well over 10%. We are presently at 7.4%, althoughthis number will undoubtedly get higher, it still remains to be seen whether it tops either of these benchmarks.

As far as GDP, from 1929-1933 there was a major constriction, to put it mildly. The GDP output of the United States in 1929 was $865.2 billion and in 1933 it sat at $635.3 billion, this represents a -29.3% decline in the gross domestic product of the US in a 4 year period. It was not until 1936 when the GDP reached $866.6 billion, did the economy finally overcome the 1929 tally. This represents real growth of only $1.4 billion over a 7 year period. Furthermore, this still does not address the rampant inflation or unemployment most Americans still faced.

In 1981 the GDP sat at $5,291.7 trillion, then in 1982 after a major contraction brought on by the recession it was lowered to $5,189.3 trillion, meaning a decline of -1.9%.

Looking at the breakdown of each quarter in FY 2008 you gain a comparison between them and the previous recessions. In FY 2008 we had 1st quarter growth of .9% (Final Report), 2nd quarter growth was 2.8% (Final Report), the 3rd quarter sat at -.03% (Preliminary Report), and finally 4th quarter results were a -3.8% loss (Advanced Report). Totaling up the BEA's quarterly reports for FY 2008 results in a net loss of -1.3%. The recession of 1981-82 still sets higher in losses by +.6% and there is no contest between the losses that were incurred during the Great Depression years which totaled -29.3%. The best year for declines in GDP, during this time, was actually 1933, when there was a loss, ironically, of -1.3%.

How interesting that once you crunch the numbers you see quite a different picture than what the administration is selling. Quite simply, they are misrepresenting the facts in order to perpetuate fear and panic to gain public support for their expensive and expansive government project. Again this is not to say things are not bad or they will not get worse, this is simply where we are at right now. We have one recession, 27 years ago which was actually worse, yet no one was running around talking about spending our way into oblivion. Quite to the contrary, then President Reagan used tax cuts to stimulate the economy. He brought about huge gains for the American people by creating 20 million new quality jobs under his administration, ushering an era of prosperity and hope that lasted for a little over 15 years.

Please note, the figures presented here are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Read them for yourself, don't take my word for it.

Important sites:

Read the Stimulus

No Stimulus.com

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