Even homeland security shorted
"But not expected was that the
president would shortchange this own
stated No. 1 priority - the safety of the
homeland."
By Daniel Schorr
csmonitor.com
WASHINGTON - The first measure of a society's effectiveness is its
ability to organize itself to respond to its collective needs. The
Romans, with the Barbarians at the gate, couldn't. And the
Americans, with Al Qaeda at the gate, are having trouble getting their
act together.
It was perhaps to have been expected
that President Bush would shortchange
health and social programs while pouring
money into tax cuts. Economist John
Kenneth Galbraith wrote in 1958 of a
nation dedicated to "private affluence and
public squalor."
In the 2003 version of public squalor, cuts
are recommended in programs like
preschool Head Start and free school
lunches for poor kids. And the states
come under pressure to raise taxes for
basic needs while federal taxes are
reduced.
As I say, some of this retrenchment in
funds for public purposes, especially for
the disadvantaged, could have been
predicted. But not expected was that the
president would shortchange this own
stated No. 1 priority - the safety of the
homeland.
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge may provide low-cost
diversion with color-coded alerts and advice to stock up on duct tape.
But talk is cheap and real security is expensive. One would have
thought that, with memories of Sept. 11, the president's first priority
would be the first responders to a terrorist attack - police, firemen,
public-health workers.
Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley wrote in The Washington Post this
week that the federal government provided only $1 million of the $11
million his city has spent on homeland defense. And, Mr. O'Malley
asks why it is necessary to wait for another devastating attack before
taking action to protect America's ports, railways, and borders.
Recently, former Sens. Warren Rudman and Gary Hart, who chaired
a Council on Foreign Relations study on homeland defense, warned
that another Sept. 11 would find most of the nation's cities no better
prepared to react than last time.
It will take more than duct tape to meet this challenge. Maybe we
need an alert system on Capitol Hill that flashes red when Congress
is about to pass another tax break that siphons away money that our
vulnerable infrastructure could use in our defense.
o Daniel Schorr is a senior news analyst at National Public Radio. |
