Procrastination (But I Digress)

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Hero or Nickname for Richard?

I'm sorry Jon Stewart--I love you, Man, but can't you see the beauty in the stand that Bunning (who knows how to spell, not me) took in the Senate? [In case you are someone who did not see Jon Stewart this week, he called Senator Bunning a nickname for Richard--yes, Jon Stewart has a bit of a potty mouth, but he has to sell that beer to stay on the air.] Anyhoo, Nancy Polosi just admonished the house that they should do what is right and not what will get them re-elected. Bunning is just one guy against the tide of public opinion, against his party, against the unanimous vote of the Senate, filibustering to ask the simple question--HOW WILL WE PAY FOR IT? That is a great question, because I thought we were paying unemployment insurance to pay for unemployment checks for a period of time after we were laid off from our jobs. I can do math the same as the next guy, but I'm pretty sure that there is a finite amount of money available in that insurance fund, so when those benefits are extended again and again and again, I'm right there with Bunning--HOW WILL WE PAY FOR IT? Oh, and again, call me stupid or a nickname of Richard, but I thought the really high federal taxes on my gasoline paid for road repair jobs. I'm driving a toyota that makes me really nervous when I hit a pothole and my electrical system goes haywire for a second, so I feel like I have a vested interest in getting those potholes fixed. I know that I'm part of the problem, getting such great gas mileage that I'm paying less taxes overall for my gas, but again, just thinking about the math--there's still a lot of money being allocated to this project. So if Bunning doesn't know where the money is coming from, I have to ask myself "would my beloved government spend that money for something else (war in Iraq) and use it all up so that they had to borrow to replace it when it was needed?" Being a rational human being, of course the answer is yes.

Being a cynical human being, I understand why congress is voting to extend unemployment benefits to over 1 million people looking for work--that is quite an army of people who will become as desperate as any Haitian looking for fresh water and food after the earthquake. Looting is scary, but I'm right there with Jean Val Jean stealing bread to feed his family. And I can understand extending road work projects whether you have the money or not, because lets face it--that is the most salient thing the government does for us on a day to day basis. War is far away. Crime happens to other people. Securities regulation--I don't own any stocks, please. Nope--pot holes. Right here, right now, everyday--don't mess with my car.

But I have to ask myself: How will we pay for it? Thanks Bunning. Good question. [Yes, since I'm a democrate, my answer is different than yours, republicans. Are we almost done with that war thing? I really want us to put a few dollars together to hire electrical engineers to regulate the hell out of the car company that sold me a deathtrap. Deregulation is a dangerous ponzi sceme, but I digress.]

4 Comments:

  • At March 3, 2010 at 5:06 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    First, you need to know Jim Bunning. Baseball player, businessman, senator……Wacko.

    He did not filibuster (filibuster has a definition, and this doesn’t fit) He was obstructing. Like just about everything we are doing, this is going on the cuff. Should we use the cuff or not is a question that can and should be debated. It was going to pass (at the writing it has passes), it was only a matter of getting it done in a timely manner or Richarding around for a few days and have stoppages a need to set it to retroactive.

    If he were stopping things to get a better outcome it might be different. This is more like stalling because you don’t want to do something.


    za

     
  • At March 3, 2010 at 5:33 PM, Blogger KathrynVH said…

    "Richarding around" great line. How much did stalling cost us in dollars? Philosophically it cost us a lot, because now we know that no one cares where the money is coming from. That is scary.

     
  • At March 4, 2010 at 5:02 PM, Blogger Marcel said…

    Didn't you listen to what he said about why he was doing it? He explained himself - because the House had just passed PayGo and now was ignoring PayGo. He felt, if you are going to say that from now on we will pay for things as we go, then that is what we should do. That is the point he wanted to make. Marty is right, he only stopped it temporarily.

     
  • At March 8, 2010 at 5:38 PM, Blogger John Beauregard said…

    Unemployment insurance is supposed to be a temporary stipend to cover basic needs for a few months between jobs. The bill Jim Bunning voted against (albeit for financial reasons) extends unemployment benefits to 99 weeks (almost 2 years)!! Extended unemployment benefits is a major cause of continuing unemployment. Will politicians never get it.

     

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