The System is Broke, Ya’ll!

Congress just passed the Covid-19 “stimulus” package. Without digging deep, a fair observer can say there are several things wrong with this measure AND the way it was produced. In fact, it seems to me that a thinking person would be disgusted by the whole episode, particularly the way this legislation is filled with pork. “Wait!,” you say, “the Covid-19 Stimilus portion doesn’t have pork, it’s the other part that is stapled to the Coronavirus Stimulus that has the pork.” Attaching a relief bill to the annual funding bill automatically tells the thinking person that something is wrong! Now to be fair, the pork isn’t unusual, especially in such OMNI-bills, but given the current circumstances (Covid and all the related problems) the American public should run congress out of town with pitchforks!

“Congress found plenty of money for foreign countries, lobbyists and special interests, while sending the bare minimum to the American people who need it.”

President Trump commenting on the Covid-19 stimulus

Remember, this stimulus money comes from you, the American taxpayers. Though many of our esteemed members of congress act as if they are the benevolent ones, in reality they are playing each of us for fools. They demand we give them money in the form of taxes (some are even demanding an increase in taxes!), then act as if we are supposed to be excited and thankful and indebted to them because they are so generous to give us some of our money back. Less the handling fees, of course! Remember, government doesn’t actually create money, the only money government has is what they take from us, borrow from other governments, or fraudulently print on the treasury’s printing presses, which devalues our currency via inflation.

If this this bill is emergency relief for the American people, then a few questions come to mind.

1. Why was “relief” held up as a political weapon against the president? Even Democrats, like Bernie Sanders, have said that Nancy Pelosi held the “relief” up. This is akin to the fire department sitting outside your burning house waiting for you to commit to voting out the mayor who will not sign off on an increase in budget for their department. And then expecting the homeowner to cheer them as they walk away from the burning embers that were once your house. Unconscionable!
   
   Did congress miss any paychecks while many Americans were out of work and waiting for relief in the form of such a stimulus or allowing the economy to reopen where possible? NO, they didn’t miss a paycheck! If you did, you should be looking for a pitchfork!
   
   
2. Why is this not a clean, single item bill, that provides relief for the American people? President Trump asked for that, saying he was ready to sign a clean bill that provided $1200 rather than the $600 provided in this catastrophe. At first glance, I’m not objecting to extending unemployment benefits or assistance to small businesses. Actual Covid-related relief. What I’m thinking of are things like the attachment that came with it, making the bill more than 5,000 pages and over $2 TRILLION! Do you realize that the additional, non-Covid related spending, was more than the Covid relief portion of the bill?
   
   In other words, our esteemed political betters borrowed over $2 TRILLION to, in turn, give the American taxpayer less than half of that money in relief. Unconscionable! Don’t worry, our kids, grand kids, and great grand kids will get the bill. That is assuming the republic doesn’t collapse, and simply dissolve, under the weight of this type of spending.

Want to hear another crazy detail? The almost 5,600 page bill was delivered at 2PM with the message that members should be ready to vote in 2 hours. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat of New York, evaluated the process by saying, “This isn’t governance. It’s hostage-taking.” In a similar vein, Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, Tweeted, “It’s ABSURD to have a $2.5 trillion spending bill negotiated in secret and then—hours later—demand an up-or-down vote on a bill nobody has had time to read.” The system is broke, ya’ll!

I’m anxious to hear my two senators, Roy Blunt and Josh Hawley, explain to their constituents why they voted for this package. Unfortunately only 6 senators had enough sense and courage to say no to the boondoggle. It’s time for the American people to get their pitchforks and get a refresh on our representatives. If it’s not already too late, there is precious little time remaining.