My fellow Atlasians, I stand before you now to give you the state of the forum. These past few weeks have been trying on our country, and our countrymen and women. Days following my August State of the Forum Address Hurricane Katrina fell upon the Gulf Coast, and ravaged the Southeast Region.
The Federal Government of Atlasia was able to act quickly, and the Gulf Coast Region is being cared for in all the ways we can manage. The National Guard, and Regular troops have secured the coast, the Army Corps of Engineers are repairing damage, and New Orleans is rising again from the water, like a phoenix from the ashes.
In the past few weeks, a number of concepts and ideas have been presented for the consideration of the future of New Orleans. Rebuilding the coast, raising the city, and increasing barriers have all been considered, but the option that is best has not yet been decisively selected.
It would not seem fair to me that the Federal Government to simply select a method of reconstruction, so I put it to the Senate to meet with the representatives of the Southeast Region for their input into the reconstruction plans.
The cost of the reconstruction effort, along with the War on Terror, the War in Iraq, assistance in Afghanistan, and numerous other commitments of the government, I would like to remind the Senate that while it should be our principle to maintain a balanced or surplus budget, in a time of crisis it is responsible to lend aid first, and pay later. Tax increases may be required for this effort, and if so, I will gladly sign them into law for the benefit of those in the Southeast, and the sustainability of the Federal Government.
I’d like to thank Atlasia’s citizens for opening their hearts and giving what they can to aid their fellow human beings in the disaster on the coast. Their generosity surely will never be forgotten.
Yesterday, in Afghanistan, the first parliamentary elections were held in decades, where almost all hope for freedom had been extinguished. After so long without any reason to hope, there came what so many had wished for, but could not imagine. Similarly despite nature’s fury, people are returning to their homes, one by one to rebuild their lives, and I want to let them know that the whole Republic is behind them.
On the contrary, lower taxes to stimulate the economy would help us much more than federal alms.
