If an estimated $200 Billion is needed already, I can't imagine what Rita cost. What can be done? Do you think it's time to repeal the tax cuts? Is it time to cut the Pentagon's budget?

It's funny, because LeAnn and I just wrote papers about Machiavelli's opinion on generosity and miserliness. Plenty of his ideas apply to our current situation. I guess some members of congress and our current administration missed that chapter.

I'm sure charities should be able to handle most of the slack. Other than that, I'd say let capitalism fix the rest of it.

There's millions that could be had if Congress opted NOT to make the tax cuts permanent, but that's likely not to happen. The only other alternative, and I've heard this on NPR and watched a CSPAN session, is to borrow. And guess who we borrow from? China. And this borrowing is going to affect inflation and the strength of the dollar will continue to drop. Thank you very much, Mr. Bush.
And another option is to rescend pork barrel spending, but that won't happen either.
Not only does the govt. need to find funding for the Katrina recovery, there will be costs added to that for the damage sure to be caused by Rita, which has increased to a Cat.5, and the ongoing war in Iraq.