Bush announced today that there will be no increase in taxes to pay for gulf coast region restoration.

“You bet it will cost money, but I’m confident we can handle it,” he said.

“It’s going to cost whatever it’s going to cost, and we’re going to be wise about the money we spend,” Bush said a day after laying out an expensive plan for rebuilding New Orleans and the Gulf Coast without spelling out how he would pay for it.

George, remember what your Dad did? One word. Don’t.

Let’s have a budget cuttin party instead! Over five years, we can cut our way to affording the costs of Katrina. Hey, if you had to trim your own personal costs and that of your family, what would you do? Increase spending? No way. You’d cut the extras! No more Showtime. No more HBO. Stop drinking $4 lattes…etc., etc., etc. It’s what practical minded people do.

So, let’s get practical. There’s lots of programs where funding can be decreased dramatically or cut altogether.

— Cut funding for public broadcasting. I guarantee that if the decision was to close down or go private, PBS and NPR would go private and survive on corporate sponsorships. National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities – gone. With that we’ve saved nearly $6 billion dollars over 5 years.

— How about we stop contributing to the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the African Development Bank, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development? There’s almost $7 billion over 5 years.

— Return to the Treasury any foreign economic assistance funds not expended within three years of obligation. Bang – $5 billion savings over 5 years.

— Repeal the provision of the 2002 Farm Bill that pays farmers to grow more corn for subsidized ethanol production. Whoosh – $20 billion saved over 5 years.

— Eliminating the peanut and sugar subsidy – $1.5 billion over 5 years.

— End federal unemployment subsidies for individuals with taxable incomes over $120,000. $1.6 billion over 5 years.

— Reduce federal aid for mass transit. We can save $49 billion dollars over 5 years.

Kill Superfund. $3.2 billion dollars over 5 years.

— Limit the amounts obligated or expended for travel expenses for officers and employees of the federal government. $2.8 billion over 5 years.

— Cut overhead costs in the executive branch. $5.2 billion over 5 years.

— Stop hiring consultants and the tax payers can save $24.5 billion over 5 years!

— AND ELIMINATE PORK-BARREL SPENDING – THAT’S $136 BILLION DOLLARS over 5 years.

And there’s even more that can be reduced or cut. Let the liberals choose between helping rebuild New Orleans and cutting government waste. Who’s got the guts? Who’s going to put political ambitions aside to help rebuild the gulf coast?

Who?