The current topic on every lawmaker's mind these days is the "stimulus" package. And why not? We're heading into a deepening recession and by God we have to do something, right? I mean, Government is the answer, isn't it? Government intervention worked to a "T" in the late 1920's and early 1930's, didn't it?
OR...
Maybe there's a reason that the Great Depression is only known as the Great Depression in the United States and merely the Depression throughout the rest of the world. Why is that, you may wonder? The answer is...yep, Government intervention. They Depression may very well have been Very Great, had it not been for World War II.
So why is it that no one seems to study history and see that during the Great Depression we did exactly what we are doing now? Then they threw everything and it's brother against the wall to see if it will stick...and that's what we are doing now. Then we had a crazy Republican President who seemed to abandon free market principles only to be followed by a progressive President who took that notion to a new level...and that's what we have now. Then, we were stuck with entitlement programs that changed the country and affect it to this day, and that's what we are going to get now.
Unless we make sure that doesn't happen.
The problem is, Nancy Pelosi has every congressman and congresswoman in lock-step with her agenda. Those who aren't in lock step have been warned. They will lose their monthly weekend trip home to fund raise, thereby risk losing their power. So every congress man and woman have succumb to the pressure to stay partisan.
Nearly every congressman, that is. But this week, despite my not voting for him, I am more proud of my congressman than one could imagine. For he, Congressman Brad Ellsworth (D-IN) was merely 1 of 11 Democratic congressmen that did not vote for this week's "stimulus" package that passed through Congress.
I'm not positive as to why just yet...but my suspicion is that he gets it. This is clearly not a stimulus bill, rather it was merely a spending bill.
$815 Billion...hoping to "create or retain" at best 4,000,000 jobs. Wee! Government is the answer! Only $203,000 to create or retain one single job. Truly money well spent.
Just some of the breakdown:
$90 Billion for Infrastructure that will take two years to begin construction and produce $0 in revenue.
$41 Billion to Local School District grants...money that will not be repaid...and will likely go to retain legal counsel because everyone and their brother tries to sue school districts for one reason or another.
$21 Billion to increase dependency on the Government....errr....I mean increase Pell Grants.
$6 Billion to modernize higher education. Excuse me?? If higher education is increasing in price twice as fast as any other increasing cost in this country, can't they take it upon themselves to modernize themselves??
$228 Billion to further increase dependency on Goverment....errrr...provide states with Medicaid and various unemployment benefits.
I'm sure you've all heard a few of the outrageous specifics, like millions for global warming research(isn't "the science already settled" there??), millions of STD research, and on and on.
Did you know at a quarter of the bill will go directly to state and local government to decide more specifically how to spend?? Great, more bureaucracy to wade through to get money spent.
But one man stood up and said NO (technically more than one man, but roll with me here). One man, only newly re-elected to his second term, stood against the newly elected, highly popular President. One man stood against the iron fist rule of the Speaker of the House. One man stood against his own party...looked past the pretty words and warm fuzzy feeling of Government intervention...and said NO(technically "nay"...again, roll with me). No to what is clearly a spending bill. No to a strategy that won't work for the individual, much less Government. No to a bill that clearly goes against the campaign promise of so many Democrats of PAYGO(Pay As You GO).
Thank you Congressman Ellsworth! I'm sure it wasn't easy to cast that vote. I'm sure you're on the outs with the party as I speak. It only makes me respect you more for voting your heart and what was best for the people of your district.
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2 comments:
I am dissappointed that this bill does contain so much that is argueably not going to directly help the economy. Thye should take all of that out of there and if they want to pass that stuff, make it it's own bill so it passes or doesn't pass on it's own merits.
I hope the senate does this.
We do need infrastructure spending, tax cuts are not going to hire needed fireman or policeman or city, county workers to help communities rebuild.
We'll see what the Senate does with it.
I always wonder, how low can tax cuts go? Rep's always say cut taxes, cut taxes almost as if they think we should pay no taxes. So how low should they go?
I'd say that the ideal tax rate is about the same as the ideal temperature of the earth. Which is to say, unknowable.
But we know, based on the Founding Fathers that the lowest taxes possible is optimal. They did, after all, have a zero tax rate all the way up until the Civil War to pay for it...then it was back to zero for another 20 years or so. The government then knew that it's role was supposed to be minimal and was just paid for the through tarriffs.
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