All Talk and No Stimulus Make John an Angry Boy

Just to clarify, the above is a movie reference. For those that have seen it, I'm sure it's obvious.

So, predictably, after having my most consistent posting week ever I follow it up with a very weak one. And certainly not for lack of interesting things to talk about. It's just one of those weeks where I have been completely slammed at work and by the time I get home I just want to do something mindless and not have to form coherent sentences either verbally or in print.

Anyway, I've got about 20 minutes before my next meeting so I'm gonna go with some rapid fire thoughts here.

In terms of our government, I can basically summarize by saying this: right now I'm pissed at everyone. A rundown of my grievances:

Obama - Remember that pledge to not have any lobbyists in his administration? Yeah, well apparently he doesn't . I do understand that there are about 8,000 people in total that are being hired by the administration and not all lobbyists are evil, but much with the case of the campaign finance flip-flop, none of the facts changed between the time when he made a promise and when he went back on it, so why has his position changed?

McCain - I got a lovely e-mail from Sen. McCain on Tuesday urging me to sign an online petition saying that I want Congress to vote no to the stimulus bill. That's it. Just tell them to vote no. Not tell them to work closer with Republicans to craft a better bill, not tell them to support a different bill that they think is better. Nope, no new ideas. Just vote no. That's crap. I know that there are a lot that different economists in different camps disagree on, but the one thing that there is almost unanimous consent on is that even an unbelievably crappy and pork-laden stimulus package is superior to doing nothing right now.

Republicans - Screw you guys and all your faux-concern about budget deficits and wasteful spending. I remember very clearly the days of Newt Gingrich and the "Contract with America" that brought Congress to the Republican party in 94. It was one of the core reasons why I became a Republican in the first place. But suddenly as soon as you controlled both Congress and the White House, fiscal discipline wasn't a concern anymore. Do you all need to be reminded of 2003, when you voted for a reform of Medicare that added $8 trillion of unfunded liability. For those doing the math at home, that's over 8 times the amount of the current proposed stimulus package. Where were the budget hawks then?
Furthermore, in their list of grievances with the stimulus package, about half the items really are things that will create or help retain jobs. Isn't that the point of a stimulus bill? Case in point, here are some things they list:

• $448 million for constructing the Department of Homeland Security headquarters.
• $1.4 billion for rural waste disposal programs.
• $125 million for the Washington sewer system.
• $500 million for state and local fire stations.
• $500 million for flood reduction projects on the Mississippi River.
• $200 million for public computer centers at community colleges.
• $6 billion to turn federal buildings into "green" buildings.
• $412 million for CDC buildings and property.

That's just a few. All of the above are tasks that will need to be performed by people. People who, presumably, will be paid to complete said tasks. When they are paid, they will use this money to purchase goods and services, which will stimulate the economy. Stop me if I'm getting too technical here.

Democrats - Screw you guys for putting a bunch of wasteful crap in this stimulus bill. This was not the time to shove through all your pet projects that you've been denied the last 8 years. I can blame the Republicans for pulling the trigger, but I blame you for loading the gun and handing it to them. Among some of the legitimate grievances that the Republicans have with the bill:

• A $246 million tax break for Hollywood movie producers to buy motion picture film.
• $75 million for "smoking cessation activities.
• $75 million for salaries of employees at the FBI.
• $150 million for honeybee insurance

And not only can you not bring in bipartisan support, you apparently can't even get partisan support! The vote in the Senate was supposed to occur last night, but Harry Reid called it off because he didn't think he had the votes. At least the Republicans knew how to shove a bill down the throats of the opposition when they had the numbers.

In the words of Homer Simpson: "When will people learn? Democracy doesn't work!"