The Republicans are doing everything that the can to portray the Obama stimulus plan as the ultimate in irresponsible budget-busting maneuver, which must give them trouble keeping a straight face given their complicity in George W. Bush converting Clinton’s $2 trillion surplus into a $10 trillion deficit.
Barbour–whose voice always sounds like the old cartoon blowhard character "Foghorn Leghorn"– contended that once the federal UC extension ran out in three years, people would expect the state to pick up the burden–as if no further federal action would be forthcoming if unemployment continues at present levels (or higher) for the next three years. Misssippi’ ranked dead last (50th) in family income in the
Barbour called the potential for
As for Lousiiana, it is still far from recovered after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the deplorable federal response while George W. Bush stay on vacation.
It will be fascinating to watch if these Southern governors can get away with turning down federal funds (which is itself unusual, given the South’s success in grabbing a huge share of government contracts and federal assistance) without triggering a united revolt from jobless white and African-American citizens. Politics in both those states has tended to be highly reclaimed, with whites overwhelmingly voting for reactionary Republicans (admittedly, many Southern Democrats are barely better) at the expense of their most basic economic interests.
But if Jindal and Barbour persist with their attack upon the unemployed, things are so dire that the possibility of a new multi-racial populist movement may no longer be just idle pipe-dreaming by the Left.
UPDATE: Sen. Charles Schumer (D-New York), is doing something constructive instead of his customary role of safeguarding tax breaks for hedge-fund executivesWall Street: he has pointed out that the stimulus legislation requires governors to accept every element of the package, or lose it all.
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