Unsatisfactory Cuts

The cuts in social services proposed in the House of Representatives in order to offset the costs of the recoveries from the Gulf Coast hurricanes are not fair in that they do not require a shared sacrifice from those who are poor (and who were hurt the most by the hurricane, especially in the long term) and those who are rich (who were more likely to have insurance to cover the economic effects of the hurricanes). In fact the House has, while refused to reconsider the tax cuts passed in the past 5 years, suggested cutting food stamps, medicare, enforcement of child support payments, and child care assistance. While the Republicans have been forced to retreat on the suspension of the Davis-Bacon Act, which required contractors to pay the "prevailing wage", this does not ensure that those livng at or below the poverty line before the hurricanes will be able to pay for services in the areas under consideration for cuts any better than they did before the hurricanes. If anything, the disruption in employment and housing caused by the hurricanes has made them more, not less, able to get by, and suggest that these programs shouldn't be cut across the country, but certainly should not be cut for the regions affected.