I support private donations to organizations like the Salvation Army to help out the survivors of natural disasters. But I really have problems when the Federal Government starts to dole out billions of our tax dollars. See my previous post concerning the Tsunami relief. And Professor Williams’ take on the subject.

When the government takes our tax money it is under threat of imprisonment, enforced at the barrel of a gun. Taxation is a necessary evil and should in all cases be as limited as possible. Ripping 200 billion out of the hands of taxpayers and redistributing it to other people who have not earned it is immoral. Calling it charity is downright insane. If I want to help my fellow citizens I am fully capable of donating to causes that I know will get the money to where it is needed most, not filtered through an inefficient bureaucracy.

In one of his recent columns the professor points out the lunacy coming from some so called economists -

According to a couple of poorly trained economists, there’s a bright side to Hurricane Katrina’s destruction. J.P. Morgan senior economist Anthony Chan believes hurricanes tend to stimulate overall growth. As reported in “Gas Crisis Looms” (Aug. 31, 2005), written by CNN/Money staff writer Parija Bhatnagar, Mr. Chan said, “Preliminary estimates indicate 60 percent damage to downtown New Orleans. Plenty of cleanup work and rebuilding will follow in all the areas. That means over the next 12 months, there will be lots of job creation which is good for the economy.”

The Federal Government’s role in this recovery should be limited to their scope of operations — repairing their buildings, roads, etc. Not handing out our money to people who insist on living below sea level without adequate protection. I’ve said that New Orleans should be left to sink, and nothing I’ve seen changes my mind. But if the citizens of that city want to rebuild they have every right to do so — but without tax money ripped from my pocket by the feds. Their local and state government failed them when the hurricane hit, they ought to be asking them how they will help them rebuild, not the rest of the country.