Where Sen. Coburn (R-OK) can cut back in order to offset costs for tornado relief
Republican Senator Tom Coburn, Oklahoma, is crying that the costs for relief of the recent disastrous tornadoes must be offset by cutting back elsewhere.
I have the perfect answer…. Cut back on the subsidies the oil companies receive.
They are profiting more than ever. Plus they’re the ones, whether knowningly or unknowningly, that are a main component of our aggressive climate change. They can chip in.
Sources:
Salon: Oklahoma senator wants to offset tornado aid with other cuts
Roll Call: Coburn Wants Tornado Disaster Aid to Be Offset
How he can be so cold-hearted as to even mention something like this now. Here’s just a few of thousands of photos taken from Moore, Oklahoma yesterday.
.
.

I’ll bet this guy was glad to see the Moore tornado in his rear-view mirror rather than out his front windshield.
Related articles
- Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) Holding Constituents Hostage by Seeking Budget Cuts for Tornado Aid (themoderatevoice.com)
- Forward Progressives – Pathetic Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn Says Cuts Must Be Made Before He’ll Support Tornado Relief (tribuneofthepeople.com)
- Republican Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma seeking to offset tornado aid (democratprogressiveblog.com)
- OK Sen. Coburn Will Demand Cuts to Pay for Tornado Relief (littlegreenfootballs.com)
- Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn Demands Tornado Relief Be Offset by Cuts Elsewhere (alternet.org)
- Oklahoma GOP Sen. Tom Coburn Will Seek To Offset Tornado Aid (syndicatednewsservices.com)
Sure he wants cuts made, probably to those who are already in dire circumstances. I notice he’s not griping about federal aid, like so many repubs do.
That said, I feel bad for the victims of the tornado.
Of course. He’s republican. Anything good for them he won’t cut.
Glad I’m out of Oklahoma and away from the ultraconservatism. One of my readers suggested we should cut foreign aid to help folks here at home. Foreign aid and oil subsidies. Both work for me.
Sounds like a plan to me. Unfortunately, those are the people/companies that line the GOP’s pockets.
Congress sets aside funds each year called the Capitol Fund as a reserve for natural disasters, so I don’t understand why Coburn thinks funds have to be cut elsewhere. I’ve also noticed it’s only Republicans who ever mention cutting funds somewhere else when money is needed for a natural disaster (?)
I know. Each state pays into this fund – like we pay into social security. I guess the Republican Party is just a bunch of bullies and try to take anything they want.
Until we get rid of trickle down mentality (what’s good for big business, is good for America) the United States will continue to experience enormous problems.
We’ve been indoctrinated from our earliest age of comprehension to patriotically believe in words from Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, that ‘a nation of the people, for the people and by the people, shall not perish from this earth’.
I wonder if that concept existed in Lincoln’s time, because it sure as hell doesn’t exist in our own. The truth is, what’s good for big business is good for the 1%, hang everyone else.
That government of, for, and by, is a Fig Newton of our imagination…a great idea in concept, but one that isn’t being implemented.
Government has escaped us, elections are meaningless. We send buffoons (of both political parties) to Washington and they sure as hell don’t represent the common man and woman who inhabit this land. The political scene provides little more than perverse entertainment..
When a nation turns its back on the least amongst us, it fails to be relevant. This is the unfortunate path the United States has chosen.
Asking big business to pay its fair share is a sin. Their profits are sacrosanct. Big business thumbs their collective noses at our citizens with contempt and the impunity provided them by our ‘elected’ officials.
Sad.
So well stated. Thank you! And yes, very very sad.
Incredible shots, Michelle.
And your words were perfect.
Michelle, just read your post from 2012, Are there less people on food stamps now that Obama has had five years to be in office?
I don’t have the numbers so hard to say. But I wouldn’t be surprised if the number of ppl on food stamps is more than pre-Obama era. This is because of the lack of cooperation in Congress. Obama has had a job packet on Boehner’s desk since Sept 2011 which includes repairing our rapidly declining infrastructures such as bridges, roads, etc. And the Republicans refuse to pass it. They refuse to even work on a compromise. The Republicans cry about the cost. Well, some things are worth spending on especially when the return is greater and longer lasting then the expenditure. Sure, the Republicans are find with bailing out Wall Street and the banks, but not okay with bailing out the people.