It's going to take a personal tragedy to wake these fuckers up. And even then they'll spend more time feeling sorry for themselves than wondering if just maybe perhaps they had something to do with the problem.

To accomplish that requires sources of funding and that funding must come from government and therefore taxes. The debate over taxation in the U.S. for decades by both political parties has focused on the regressive nature of taxation. If you talk to the average conservative you would think that all taxes (except those spent on the military) are bad and wasteful.

I was hoping in this prolonged Presidential campaign that at least one forward thinking Democrat would come out and provide a vision that the use of tax dollars in certain directions does provide a benefit - an investment - into job creation and a better climate for business development. Investment into transportation redevelopment (not just patchwork fixes) will lead to greater employment and will create the conditions favorable for retaining and attracting new businesses and therefore greater long term employment. I was hoping that the disaster in New Orleans would generate a Robert Moses like project that created an engineering feat never before seen. Unfortunately all we are getting are the same quick fixes.

I will admit that there are many uses of taxes that are wasteful but we should not declare all taxes are wasteful. It should be the government's role to invest in the future whether it is alternative energy sources or infrastructure redevelopment. We need to have leaders here who do not use the word "can't" as in the governor you cited. The only government leader I have seen who has stepped forward with such a vision has been New York's Mayor Michael Bloomberg who has recognized how out-dated the NYC infrastructure is and is pushing measures and taxes to improve it.

It should be the role of the U.S. federal government to promote future development and not just patchwork fixes.