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House Majority Leader,Eric Cantor, ( R, Va.) has an uncanny sense of timing. Right in the middle of Hurricane Irene ( while my electricity was off and my basement filling with water) he evidently re-iterated his " let them eat cake" position first taken after tornadoes devastated Joplin, Missouri in May.
To wit:
“If there is support for a supplemental, it would be accompanied by support for having pay-fors to that supplemental,” Mr. Cantor, Virginia Republican, told reporters at the Capitol. The term “pay-fors” is used by lawmakers to signal cuts or tax increases used to pay for new spending."
That was what Cantor had to say in May about Joplin. Just as Hurricane Irene was making her way up the East Coast Cantor opened is mouth again on Fox News to say that disaster relief for victims of last week's earthquake( the epicenter of which was in his home district) and Hurricane Irene should only be available if offset by cuts in other programs.
This is a good idea in theory, but only if it comes out of the pockets of people or organizations that can afford it. How do I know that the offsets he has in mind are not the pentagon, or corporate tax breaks, or a special temporary disaster tax for the very rich, or a national gas tax-- all of which would be fine.
But I bet Cantor has in mind cutting early childhood education, or food stamps or medicare or something involving powerless people who can't fight back. GOP bailouts seem to be for bankers and corporations only.
I notice Cantor has shut his mouth in the last day or so. Maybe folks in his district who were hit hard by the earthquake complained, or maybe somebody clued him in to what happened to Marie Antoinette when she under-estimated " the little people."
Update: as of an hour ago, Cantor seems to have gotten the message and has clarified his position and walked it back a bit, as per this great TPM post
4 comments:
What is it with these @#$()#U*) people??? I'm not looking for extraordinary handouts, but hey -- Communications in my little corner of the Hudson Valley are still pretty minimal -- the public library finally reopened today, so I'm trying to catch up on email. The local community college is closed for the whole week. The road from town to my little lane, where some 15 trees came down, has been cleared, sort of, but the people doing the work are freelance scavengers with chain saws and pickup trucks who are taking the wood to heat their homes this winter. There's been no sign of any repair crews, and any sense of urgency about getting people hooked up again is completely lacking. I've been driving around the back roads, looking for a pay phone and internet connection, and there's remarkably little activity. You'd think Central Hudson and the town, county, and state crews would be working night and day to get us powered up, but I haven't seen any evidence of this. Criminy! I'm hauling water up from the swamp to flush my toilet, fer crine out loud!
I'm hoping you have power now, Mary and I hope you have got a regular internet connection somehow-- Good Night Irene is what I say.
Those look like some expensive suits Mr Cantor wears. Maybe having re-examined his position he will recommend offsetting the rebuild costs with cuts to his & his colleagues expense accounts....
Yes, a family will cut down on expenses AND probably try to find another source of income, eg second job, sell some asset, etc.
No one likes taxes but they are necessary. What is wrong with these people? Are they trying to bring down our democracy by stonewalling?
Bravo Packrat for exposing Cantor's ineptitude.
French Ann
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