Who pays for Irene?

Dave Ross Commentary – Listen: Who pays for Irene?

Irene turned out to be a pretty bad storm after all. Most people seem to agree on that. And FEMA’s done a good job so far; most people seem to agree on that.

The question now is who pays, and where does the money come from?

People do NOT agree on that:

“We will find the money, but those monies are not unlimited,”

Eric Cantor, House Majority leader, and Beancounter-In-Chief, says the rules for emergency spending are the same as for anything else — same rules as in the typical American household:

“Just like any family would operate when it’s struck with disaster. It finds the money it needs to to take care of a sick loved one or what have you, and then goes without trying to buy a new car, or put an addition on the house,” says Cantor.

Earlier this year, the Republicans who run the House passed a bill to CUT back loans that help automakers build energy efficient cars as a way to raise money for emergencies like Irene. But in the Senate, Democrats are still in control — and they think higher mileage cars are too important.

Maybe watching chunks of Vermont float away will change their minds.

But if not, FEMA would have to get the money from other emergency programs which would mean taking it from the survivors of the tornado that obliterated Joplin, Missouri. Or from the Katrina recovery.

“Yes, we’re going to find the money. We’re just going to need to make sure that there are savings elsewhere to continue to do so,” says Cantor.

That should be a fun debate.

Or we could do it the way health insurance companies handle certain patients. Maybe as a country we’ll reluctantly decide that Vermont has just gotten to expensive and just drop their coverage.

Subscribe to The Dave Ross Commentary podcast