Bobby Jindal is begging for big government to hand over its big government cash to be -- what's the word? -- redistributed to Louisiana for oil spill cleanup and damages.
In Louisiana, Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) has been a vocal critic of federal spending under President Obama, but as the state closest to the undersea leak, he already has requested various forms of federal disaster assistance. He's also anticipating the possibility that British Petroleum either won't, or won't have to under the law, foot the the full cost of all the damages associated with the spill. [...]
Jindal's office filed a request for federal funds, saying that "in an abundance of caution, we are seeking this preliminary approval should [the responsible party BP's] plans fall short of meeting the needs of our people." That contingency note was as Jindal asked for federal employment benefit services funding from the Department of Labor to help pay for "disaster related workforce training and job placement services and unemployment benefit services for workers displaced as a result of the oil spill."
Jindal asked for Small Business Administration to approve more loans for local business owners by declaring an "Economic Injury Disaster Declaration." He wrote a letter to the Department of Commerce asking for a declaration of "commercial fisheries failure" so that his administration "can begin the process of assuring the fishing community, impacted coastal residents and businesses that economic and financial assistance that are needed can be counted on to help get Louisiana fishermen back on the water once this crisis has passed."
But, but I thought the states could handle this stuff on their own -- either that or the free market. They can fix anything, right?