Maybe the Leadership Should Consider This:
Sit down and shut up.
We have way too many people running around like Chicken Little crying that The sky is falling!! The Sky is falling!!
The translation is that unless we (Congress) rescues the economy right now, today, right this minute, right this second, the econmy will fall apart. It will be worse than the Great Depression of the 1930's. We'll have soup kitchens and millions of people will lose their jobs and businesses and homes. Is this simply a scare tactic to get this bill passed? And, is the economy really in the dire straits we're being told it is?
Okay. Let's step back a moment and consider this. We're being told that doom and gloom are on the horizon and it must be dealt with now. Okay, maybe something needs to happen. But, is "something" better than the "right" thing? As I understand it, the current proposal that will be voted on tonight, has a lot of pork attached to it, raising the cost to over $850 Billion dollars. That's added $100 billion to the bill that was voted down on Monday.
How is this bill, which adds $100B to the the taxpayers bill, better than the $750B bill that was voted down? I'm not an economist. I have trouble balancing my checkbook at times. I haven't seen the bill and knowing Washington, I would bet this month's mortgage that a whole bunch of our Congressional employees (yes, I mean employees - we hired them and we pay their salaries) haven't see it either. I'd further bet that the phone lines are burning up between the "leadership" and I use that term loosely, and the rank-and-file of Congress, with the "leadership" telling the rank-and-file that they have to vote for this bill or the economy will crash like we can't begin to imagine. And I would even further guess that a lot of deals are being brokered. You know the kind:
(enter name), you vote for this bill and I'll see to it that your bill on (whatever) sails right through.
Or maybe this:
(enter name) I voted for your bill, now I'm calling in a favor.
Or even this:
(enter name) vote for this or I'll see to it that any bill your name is attached to dies in committee.
Whenever anyone tells me I have to sign right now or something drastic will happen, I take a step back. It's time for me to think about what I am about to sign on to and ask a few questions. What is the cost? What is this going to do? And who will benefit?
In this "rescue" bill, we already know pork is attached but just what pork is attached? Is it appropriate to have this pork attached? And most importantly, who will benefit? I personally don't expect to directly benefit, but who will? Who is going to administer this "rescue" plan? Who will be watching them?
And, is this bill Constitutional? There might be a quesiton to be raised here. I haven't read the Constitution lately, but I don't remember anything that gives power to take taxpayer money to bailout or rescue anyone.
Congress needs to step back, take a step, and think about the ramifications of this "rescue". Who is going to need "rescued" next? President Bush just signed a bill to loan the Big Three automakers $25 billion that doesn't have to be repaid for 25 years. This isn't even a blip on the news tonight.
Where is the money coming from? Can we afford to mortgage our country's future? The presidential candidates want to start health care programs, and improve Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare and who knows what else. Where is that money coming from if we put $850B out in "rescue" funds today?
I haven't heard any answers so far, just politicians running around in circles crying, the "economy is falling!! The economy is falling!!" and warning that life as we know it is about to come to a screeching halt. All I'm hearing screeching is politicians who are acting like they've lost their minds.
Is the sky really falling, or is it just a bird expressing its opinion of us mortal humans?
Sit down and shut up.
We have way too many people running around like Chicken Little crying that The sky is falling!! The Sky is falling!!
The translation is that unless we (Congress) rescues the economy right now, today, right this minute, right this second, the econmy will fall apart. It will be worse than the Great Depression of the 1930's. We'll have soup kitchens and millions of people will lose their jobs and businesses and homes. Is this simply a scare tactic to get this bill passed? And, is the economy really in the dire straits we're being told it is?
Okay. Let's step back a moment and consider this. We're being told that doom and gloom are on the horizon and it must be dealt with now. Okay, maybe something needs to happen. But, is "something" better than the "right" thing? As I understand it, the current proposal that will be voted on tonight, has a lot of pork attached to it, raising the cost to over $850 Billion dollars. That's added $100 billion to the bill that was voted down on Monday.
How is this bill, which adds $100B to the the taxpayers bill, better than the $750B bill that was voted down? I'm not an economist. I have trouble balancing my checkbook at times. I haven't seen the bill and knowing Washington, I would bet this month's mortgage that a whole bunch of our Congressional employees (yes, I mean employees - we hired them and we pay their salaries) haven't see it either. I'd further bet that the phone lines are burning up between the "leadership" and I use that term loosely, and the rank-and-file of Congress, with the "leadership" telling the rank-and-file that they have to vote for this bill or the economy will crash like we can't begin to imagine. And I would even further guess that a lot of deals are being brokered. You know the kind:
(enter name), you vote for this bill and I'll see to it that your bill on (whatever) sails right through.
Or maybe this:
(enter name) I voted for your bill, now I'm calling in a favor.
Or even this:
(enter name) vote for this or I'll see to it that any bill your name is attached to dies in committee.
Whenever anyone tells me I have to sign right now or something drastic will happen, I take a step back. It's time for me to think about what I am about to sign on to and ask a few questions. What is the cost? What is this going to do? And who will benefit?
In this "rescue" bill, we already know pork is attached but just what pork is attached? Is it appropriate to have this pork attached? And most importantly, who will benefit? I personally don't expect to directly benefit, but who will? Who is going to administer this "rescue" plan? Who will be watching them?
And, is this bill Constitutional? There might be a quesiton to be raised here. I haven't read the Constitution lately, but I don't remember anything that gives power to take taxpayer money to bailout or rescue anyone.
Congress needs to step back, take a step, and think about the ramifications of this "rescue". Who is going to need "rescued" next? President Bush just signed a bill to loan the Big Three automakers $25 billion that doesn't have to be repaid for 25 years. This isn't even a blip on the news tonight.
Where is the money coming from? Can we afford to mortgage our country's future? The presidential candidates want to start health care programs, and improve Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare and who knows what else. Where is that money coming from if we put $850B out in "rescue" funds today?
I haven't heard any answers so far, just politicians running around in circles crying, the "economy is falling!! The economy is falling!!" and warning that life as we know it is about to come to a screeching halt. All I'm hearing screeching is politicians who are acting like they've lost their minds.
Is the sky really falling, or is it just a bird expressing its opinion of us mortal humans?
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