Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has declared that any disaster recovery relief funds for the earthquake this week in his state and the Northeast, and now the upcoming Hurricane Irene, will have to be funded by cuts in spending elsewhere!
Isn’t this pretty? The intervention of Nature, which has become so prevalent this calendar year, should lead to punishment of the less fortunate, who are more likely anyway to be victims of the natural disasters! So add insult to injury is the way Cantor sees it, and that deserves the outrage of the American people! How mean, nasty and hard hearted can a politician be? But realize Cantor represents the viewpoint of many conservative and Tea Party Republicans who care not a bit about human beings, unless they happen to be rich!
When one looks at the total cost of natural disasters this year, it is absolutely astounding, and will grow dramatically due to the recent earthquake and Hurricane Irene. Trying to imagine the total cost, in the midst of the Great Recession, is mind boggling!
These natural disasters include:
The Great Blizzard in the center and eastern part off the nation in late January and early February, cost about $2 billion
Five periods of massive tornado activity in the Midwest and Southeast,, four sets of dates in April and one in late May, with the first three costing $6 billion and 47 deaths total, and the last two costing $16 billion and the unbelievable total of 504 deaths, so a total of $22 billion and 551 deaths overall
The Southern Plains-Southwest Drought, heat waves, and wildfires, costing so far a total of $5 billion
Mississippi River and Upper Midwest flooding, costing a total of $6 billion
So the amount in total BEFORE the earthquake and the upcoming Hurricane Irene, and other likely landfall hurricanes later on this fall, is an unbelievable $35 billion!
With the fear that Hurricane Irene could cost as much as earlier devastating hurricanes, including Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and the likelihood of more earthquake activity or volcanic activity, as well as other hurricanes, one has to wonder how America will survive the onslaught of nature if we are being told there will be no raising of taxes to deal with what God has wrought!
This is an ultimate test of what government is all about, and whether we all have to be in this together, and to pay more taxes to promote economic recovery, not just the middle class, but also the wealthy! This will be a battle worth fighting when Congress comes back after Labor Day!