| Politics Over Security |
16 June 2003
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Mayors Want their Money
A conclave of US mayors put out an interesting demand -- that the Bush administration pay them directly for Homeland Security. Mr. Bush is sending the checks to governors of states instead. From any rational stand-point, it is foolish, except for the politics of it.
Terrorists have little interest in rural areas. The plane that crashed into rural Pennsylvania on 11 September 2001 never reached its target, somewhere in the city of Washington. For a terrorist to succeed in an attack, people must die in numbers and property damage must run into the millions. Only in urban areas can that occur. Clearly, then, the cities of America are on the frontlines in the war with terrorism. The mayors are the responsible politicians, so they ought to receive the funds without interference or middlemen.
However, Mr. Bush is a Republican, as are most state governors, and as most big city mayors are not. Michael Bloomberg of New York is one of the exceptions, and he was a registered Democrat until just before his election. To give money to the cities directly is to give the Democrats who run them the ability to fund things they wish to fund. This may would like a cynical critique, but the cynicism lies in the Oval Office.
By funneling money through the governors, Mr. Bush is allowing them to skim a bit for themselves and their pet projects. In many cases, the skim is excessive. State troopers and state investigation bureaux have a legitimate role and deserve funding. But when New York City is denied the level of help it was promised by Mr. Bush while the bodies were still under the World Trade Center ruins, politics must stop. For Mayor Bloomberg to have to ask Governor Pataki (a Republican) for the city's money is folly.