Sandy's Victims Finally Saved by Obama

            By now everyone has seen videos of angry people on Staten Island, Long Island, and the Jersey Shore screaming at the cameras and pleading for help that wasn't coming. These were the victims of Sandy who saw their homes washed away, people who had nowhere to live, people who were surviving literally with the clothes on their backs. They needed help desperately.

            We can also recall the picture of President Obama with his arm around Governor Christie's shoulder. He was taking the lead on disaster relief by directing FEMA to provide whatever these people needed. We all love a president who takes charge, don't we? Except that this president's promises were empty and disingenuous. He was promising what he knew he couldn't deliver because FEMA was broke. Very little help came.
            The governors of New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut have estimated it would take $82 billion to repair the damage caused by Sandy. So once more President Obama took the lead and sent a $60 billion bill to Congress.  Let's not ask why the bill was for only three quarters of the amount asked for. And let' s not quibble about timing: it's only been seven weeks since Sandy struck. Remember Katrina? It took only days to come up with $60 billion for that storm's victims.
            But something must have happened to the bill on the way to the Hill, because by the time it got there it contained only $12 billion for Sandy's victims. The rest was a bag of goodies. You might call it fulfillment of the President's campaign wish list. Or another stimulus bill in disguise.
            Let's see.  How about another $9.7 billion for the National Flood Insurance Program, or $3.2 billion for erosion control, or $17 billion for the Community Development Fund, or $15 billion for HUD block grants. Poor people need a place to live, after all. And let's not forget the hungry: how about we give $3 billion to food banks.
            Wait. Federal buildings in Washington need fixing up. We need only $3 billion for that. And let's plant some trees ($24 million), get some new cars ($9), and Amtrak could use another $32 million. And let's put aside $150 million for fishery disasters in faraway places like Samoa.
            Oh, yes. Almost forgot. Let's give the Secretary of Health and Human Services $200 million for her to use at her discretion.
            What about the $12 billion for Sandy's victims? Well, the CBO estimates that about two-thirds of that money might not get spent until fiscal year 2015. What? Don't those poor people need the money now?
            Meanwhile, President Obama is looking for hundreds of billions more from his favorite piñatas, the rich. The money has to come from somewhere. Cut spending? Now wait just a minute. You don't really mean that.