"In this place, there's a custom for the funerals of jazz musicians. The funeral procession parades slowly through the streets, followed by a band playing a mournful dirge as it moves to the cemetery. Once the casket has been laid in place, the band breaks into a joyful 'second line' -- symbolizing the triumph of the spirit over death. Tonight the Gulf Coast is still coming through the dirge -- yet we will live to see the second line." These were the closing lines of President Bush's address to the nation this evening, which he gave from Jackson Square in New Orleans. President Bush gave this speech tonight to announce new initiatives regarding the rebuilding of Louisiana.
I was listening to the speech during my drive home, and at first I was a tad concerned about the direction he was taking that part of the country. After his ideas settled in my mind for a while, however, I realized that most of what he's promoting is routed in classic conservatism.
Bush hit the nail on the head when he said, "It is entrepreneurship that creates jobs and opportunity; it is entrepreneurship that helps break the cycle of poverty; and we will take the side of entrepreneurs as they lead the economic revival of the Gulf region." It's this sort of empowerment that will allow the people of New Orleans, who used to rely on welfare and government handouts, to take their future into their own hands, to get jobs, create businesses, and reduce the poverty level. This brand of thinking comes straight from the conservative thinker's handbook, a free market in which small businesses drive the economy. It's an incorrect stereotype (as most are) when people say that Republicans only care about big business. The truth is, they care about BUSINESS. All business, big or small. It's the very definition of capitalism and the economy that spirits democracy and freedom. By people actually working in New Orleans, in theory, the poverty level would lessen or disappear.
The one thing that initially concerned me with Bush's speech was the amount of money the federal government will be spending to rebuild. One thing that the GOP has always prided itself on, since the very beginning, is limited government. That means less spending, less federal involvement, and more freedom for the American people. Of course, this can't always be the case. That's when I realized that no matter what this money is going to be spent. It's in the statutes that we must rebuild after a disaster like this hits... so no matter if there is a Democrat or a Republican in office, the $200 billion is going to be spent. The difference lays in how it's going to be used. It's logical to assume that a Democratic president would probably hand it over as a form of welfare, giving these displaced people money until they can get back on their feet... and of course they wouldn't, they would just live the good life and never get jobs. Bush is taking the classic Republican route by saying, "We'll give you enough money to cover the costs of educating yourself so you can get a job, or the money it will cost to take care of your kids while you are out looking for a job. We'll give you some land if you promise to build a home on it. We'll give you tax breaks if you open a small business. You just have to get up and do it!" Now, I'm just paraphrasing, but this is essentially what he's doing here.
What's happening to Louisiana is a total revamp in terms of how that economy will run. The Democrats, for years, have had their chance to make things work down there. All we got was one of the most crime ridden cities in America. It's time for Republicans to give it a shot. As Rush Limbaugh said today on his radio program (the most listened radio show in the country), "It has been nothing but political opportunism and corruption and a demonstrated failure of ideology and that failure is liberalism." It's proven that conservative economic policy works, and works well. Enterprise zones and tax breaks for businesses is the best way to rebuild, and rebuild quickly. There is a reason America has the best economy in the world, it's because of the spirit of independent capitalism. And I believe that this sort of method is going to work alot faster than government handouts and welfare programs.
My only thoughts right now have to do with the other spending the government is doing right now. Despite Bush's wish to keep his bills "pork-free," senators have loaded up his farm and highway bills with so much spending that they barely resemble their once-lean selves. Every congressmen wants to grab a little cash for their state when it comes to highway repair and construction, and now the plan is so bloated that one might think a Democrat wrote it. Now that the plan to rebuild has been unleashed, I think Congress needs to go back and trim the fat off of these expensive expenditures and put some of that cash elsewhere. Oh, and tap ANWR and build some more refineries (you know, because I always have to throw that in there.)
Bush's speech was quite a home-run tonight, and will hopefully help bring up his sagging approval rating. He acknowledged the fact that government response to the crisis was terrible, and he's taking care not to just rebuild New Orleans, but rebuild it without the poverty that was so evident before. As the former Governor of Louisiana said afterwards on ABC Radio, "The devil's in the details." We'll see what happens to Bush's plan as it gets pushed through Congress.
