Conservatives in the U.S. House want to cut $50 billion from entitlements and programs that assist the poor, in order to stave off even larger budget deficits, arguing that big-D Democratic programs have historically failed to help the poor.
Instead of reawakening the Great Society, in other words, Katrina has offered conservatives a chance to demonstrate that their ideas--including empowerment zones, business and income tax credits and a localized repeal of the estate tax--can do more than direct assistance in lifting people out of poverty.
That notion was certainly echoed in an interview I conducted the other day with Sandy Liddy Bourne, director of legislation and policy for the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative association of legislators and private sector executives.
Katrina "opened the door" to conservative ideas, she said. For example, parents of displaced schoolchildren will want to use school vouchers or tax credits in their new states. Bourne also cited President Bush's waiver of regulations regarding labor costs and Clean Air Act requirements for gasoline as important responses to the emergency.
"Katrina is an excellent laboratory of what we can do to ease restrictions to make people's lives easier," Bourne said.
