After we thought lessons would have been learned from
Katrina, it seems some were sleeping during class. Today the image of traffic
jams filled the airwaves as cars were bumper to bumper on a highway only half
full leaving town. It wasn’t until hours later that Texas Governor Rick Perry
decided to reverse flow of south bound lanes on the highways so more vehicles
could make their mass exodus from Rita.
Tonight on Scarborough Country, Joe Scarborough talked
about his time in Congress ten years ago when all the Gulf States sat down and
developed a plan. One key component of that plan was reversing the flow on
inbound lanes of interstates so they could handle the high levels of traffic. It
seems no one in Texas was paying attention.
Now the
Associated Press is reporting of the poor who are
stuck in Houston. Some could not get off work until this evening and by that
time it was too late. Most shelters and evacuation services are expended and now
they have no option but to ride the storm out. A harsh reality America woke up
to during the aftermath of Katrina may once again plague our televisions.
America has moved from a prosperous salary guaranteed by a
vibrant manufacturing sector to a more sluggish pay grade service sector. Take
people who work in the large home improvement stores. They had to work today to
handle the mass purchasing of emergency supplies like plywood. While these
people do not enjoy an over abundance of money, they are left with harsh
decisions – leave no and possible loose a job or stay and possible loose a life.
At first it may seem like an easy choice but when you consider the options more
closely, the decision is not so clear cut.
Damages from Rita will be in the billions. How much into
the billions we do not yet know. The one certainty is that it will provide the
government with a cost it can not handle.
We are now realizing the monster of deficit spending, the
very monster Democrats have warned about. Much the same as families are preached
to about the necessity of a savings account for a rainy day, the government know
needs to hear the same lessons. We don’t have the money for a rainy day and
guess what Mr. President – It sure is raining.
While I sit here in my dry Ohio home watching Rita unfold
on television over the next few days, I will be praying and thinking of those in
harms way. Countless risks and challenges are ahead for the people of the Gulf
Coast. Once this is over and people are getting their lives together, a bigger
challenge faces our nation. That challenge is replacing our leaders with ones
that know the importance of a balanced budget and responsible spending.