$2,900,000,000,000
Intriguing, isn't it? But that's the figure the Democrats in Congress have agreed on. 2.9 trillion dollars of the people's money being spent with only one thing in mind, buying votes.
During the last election campaign I seem to remember deficit spending by the GOP being an enormous issue (as it should have been). I know, they say that this will eliminate the deficit and even create a surplus by 2012. And on the surface, this is good.
But here, we see a record budget being discussed and nothing offered to Social Security, nothing to Medicare either. All these years, they have been taking SS taxes out of my checks But yet today with this budget, we are no closer to fixing a problem which is only going to get worse, especially as the baby boomer generation (of which I am a part of) gets ready for retirement.
No, Congress raided the SS funds a long time ago and this current group sees no reason to put the damned money back, so I can have a little of it when I am ready for it. To me, that's extortion.
Before you get all worked up on this, rest assured that I don't expect to live off SS, I am not an idiot. I have seen this coming for years and so have many others. Mrs Sunsett and I have other things in place. Plus, I have skills that I can use to work until I drop dead if I have to. But in true governmental fashion, they have found it quite practical to ignore the coming crisis, thinking that if they ignore it, it will go away.
Well, it won't.
If you are a young person, what do you care, right? You probably haven't paid into the system nearly what I have, so I wouldn't expect you to give a piper's damn about any of this. But let me break this down for you.
1. Be prepared for your parents to come and live with you because they cannot afford to live on their own. So, when you are shopping for a house, make damned sure you have a spare bedroom (or two, if your parents are divorced), so that guys like me can have a place to live during the golden years of our lives.
2. Be prepared for us to sit in your house, eat your food, and tell you how to run your lives and raise your kids, because that's what we do when we live with you.
3. Be prepared to pay for our medical bills because the illegal immigrants have thoroughly drained the healthcare system by then, and not paid a dime towards it in the process. (Have you checked your out of pocket expenses on your plan lately? Whew. Imagine what that's going to look like when we get too old to afford medical care.)
If you do not want to see these things come to pass in your lifetime, too bad. If this is not want you want, I'd highly suggest you get ready to lobby your elected representatives and threaten them with termination. Or, prepare to have your taxes increased to European rates in order to pay for the millions like me that were merely hoping to buy a few groceries and a few pills, with the paltry sums of return that we have expected to receive from a failed and depleted system. Prepare for that to be your lot in life, just so your elected officials can throw it all away, like it's candy being thrown at you at a parade.
And while I am venting my feelings here, consider this article from the Politico.
Democrats are wielding a heavy hand on the House Rules Committee, committing many of the procedural sins for which they condemned Republicans during their 12 years in power.
So far this year, Democrats have frequently prevented Republicans from offering amendments, limited debate in the committee and, just last week, maneuvered around chamber rules to protect a $23 million project for Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.).
On Wednesday, Democrats suggested changing the House rules to limit the minority's right to offer motions to recommit bills back to committee -- violating a protection that has been in place since 1822.
We all know just how important Murtha's projects are, don't we? Mr. "Dodge-The-Abscam-Indictment", himself, is the king of pork barrel spending and we wouldn't want him to not get his, would we? But that's not the half of it. To tell you the truth, I expect this from a guy like Jack. He was cut in the mold of Dan Rostenkowski and Jim Wright, two guys that paid heavily for their crimes. But, Jack gets off scott-free because of his stance on the war.
No, what really gets my goat is the hypocrisy of it all. Remember this one?
House Democrats' anger at heavy-handed Republican tactics reached a new level yesterday, with the chamber's top Democrat asking the House speaker to embrace a "Bill of Rights" for the minority, regardless which party it is.
And later in the same article we read:
Pelosi's document, which she vows to honor if Democrats regain the majority, says: "Too often, incivility and the heavy hand of the majority" have silenced Democrats and choked off "thoughtful debate." She called on the majority to let the minority offer meaningful amendments and substitutes to important bills; to limit roll-call votes to the normal 15 minutes rather than keeping them open to round up needed votes; and to let all appointees to House-Senate conference committees participate in meetings and decisions.
"When we are shut out, they are shutting out the great diversity of America," Pelosi said in an interview. "We want a return to civility; we want to set a higher standard."
And while we are it, what about this one right after the election?
With their votes, the American people asked for change. They cast their ballots in favor of a New Direction.
They called for greater integrity in Washington, and Democrats pledge to make this the most honest, ethical, and open Congress in history.
The American people called for greater civility in how Congress conducts its work, and Democrats pledge to conduct our work with civility and bipartisanship, and to act in partnership - not partisanship - with the president and Republicans in Congress.
.............We will honor that trust, and we will not disappoint.
How's that for hypocrisy? How's that for lying right to the faces of the American electorate and then doing whatever the hell they want, in spite of the fact that they made the promises. How's that for the media and the American electorate letting them get away with it?
Mark my words, here. There's a damned good reason the most recent Gallup Poll shows Congressional approval ratings below that of the President. And what you are reading here in this post is not even half of it.
Way to go Nancy, that's showing us how it's supposed to be done. Enjoy the barbecue, we are paying for. And tell Jack to go easy on the sausage, I worry about his health.
Anyway, thanks for reading, have a good day, and I promise I will try to be in a better mood tomorrow.
