“We recognize that it’s a very high number,” said Senator Mary L. Landrieu, Democrat of Louisiana. “But I guess part of introducing this package and doing it unified in our delegation is to say this is an unprecedented natural disaster, a national tragedy. And it’s going to take an unprecedented response.
Now I’m not precisely sure if there is a precedent for such a spending schematic, but I’d certainly be interested to see whether or not the federal response to Hurricane Andrew was similar in size and scope.
$250 billion. If the argument could be made that this money was being spend (a) entirely on infrastructure, (b) stayed out of the hands of corrupt Louisiana officials, and (c) was more cost effective than a private market-oriented response, then I might be persuaded. But something in the back of my mind tells me the price tag for Katrina relief efforts is somehow being very closely correlated to efforts in Iraq by shrewd politicians.
According to the latest CIA Fact Book, the population of the United States is 295,734,134 people. Every American – man, woman, and child – will be expected to cough up $845.35. For a household of five, that’s $4,226.75.
$4,226.75 per family. Is it worth it?