The Gov. took some time off from campaigning to address the fires that are burning across the state. The Gov did not address the fact that he slashed state funding in this year’s budget for the volunteer fire departments that are trying to save Texas from burning to a crisp. In the budget he proposed and got passed he cut the funding of volunteer fire departments from $30 million to $7 million.
As anyone living in Texas knows, if you don’t live in a city the volunteer firefighters are your only hope when fire comes calling. There are 879 volunteer fire departments in Texas and only 114 paid fire departments. There are another 187 departments are a combination of volunteer and paid.
The Teabaggers in the State Congress and Senate stood beside The Gov. and pushed through their “Less Government Spending Agenda through again, gutting more money that would have benefited social services. Now that it appears God is showing his displeasure at this Teabagger agenda and sending forth his wrath on Texas and in the meantime, the under equipped volunteers are flat worn out and are unable to keep ahead of the fires, The Gov is backing off his call that FEMA is unconstitutional.
At Monday’s press conference The Gov said that he would have FEMA would be in Texas by Wednesday. The Gov told CBS news that now (during a campaign where his own state is needing aid) was not the time to worry about reforming the agency. He went on to say “The issue is taking care of these people right now. There are a lot of issues we can talk about, but the fact of the matter is now is not the time to be trying to work out the details of how to make these agencies more efficient. Let’s get people out of harm’s way.”
So in other words, Let’s get the FEMA/Federal money and get these fires out. The Gov and his Teabagger allies can then figure out how to shut down FEMA. Also interesting how he is not repeating Cantor’s demand that cuts to other areas of the budget be made before funds can be allocated to fight the disaster.
And well he should have. The Governmment should not be in the business of taking care of people who are too stupid and live in areas that are prone to fires. Haven’t you heard of Home Insurance. You buy it. Your house burns down. You submit a claim and the Insurance Company pays you. Why should I have to pay for your stupidity? Irks me to no end that all you liberal socialists are looking for any excuse for a free handout.