Alright, let me get this out of my system.
I was so mad yesterday that I yelled back at the radio. I was sitting alone in my car, and the windows were rolled up, so I don’t think I disturbed anyone else. And my shouting didn’t really make me feel much better. But here is what happened.
I heard President Obama talking about the trillion dollar spending bill. The radio played parts of his speech to the United States Conference of Mayors. I have some quoted below and a link to all of it here, if you are interested. I’ll highlight the parts that I recall the radio repeating…
So I want to be clear about this: We cannot tolerate business as usual — not in Washington, not in our state capitols, not in America’s cities and towns. We will use the new tools that the recovery act gives us to watch the taxpayers’ money with more rigor and transparency than ever. (Applause.) If a federal agency proposes a project that will waste that money, I will not hesitate to call them out on it and put a stop to it.
And I want everybody here to be on notice that if a local government does the same [waste that money], I will call them out on it and use the full power of my office and our administration to stop it. We have asked for the unprecedented trust of the American people to deal boldly with the greatest economic crisis we’ve seen in decades and the privilege of investing unprecedented amounts of their hard-earned money to address this crisis. And with that comes unprecedented obligations to spend that money wisely — free from politics and free from personal agendas.
On this, I will not compromise or tolerate any shortcuts. The American people are looking to us, each of you, as well as myself and Joe and others in our administration, for leadership, and it’s up to us to reward their faith.
I yelled back, “Then start with the congress and yourself, not the mayors!” It’s do what I say, not what I did.
Alright, yes, for the factual record, I know that the bill is actually only $787 billion, as if that is supposed to make me feel any better about it. And if I could trust a word of what the president just said, I could agree with being fiscally responsible and trustworthy and accountable to the taxpayers and blaa blaa blaa. I just frankly don’t believe him.
If he meant any of that, he already would have held the line with the congress. The ‘‘American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009’’ is loaded up with wasteful spending and personal pork projects. It was ramrodded through Congress and I don’t believe it will help.
Even my own Senator, Bob Bennett, Republican-Utah, publicly said ‘Oh, No! I won’t vote for that bill! No, I’m opposed to it!’ while privately, he had $50 billion inserted for loans to the nuclear industry. Oh, he justified it. After he was caught adding his $50 billion, he said, ““It is not a bailout for the nuclear industry…. It is a method of attracting private capital into…” Z Z Z Z Z Z Z z z z z z. Keep talking. I see only one thing. You saw a bill that you knew would pass without your vote, and you saw a chance to slip your own little $50 billion project into it. I believe that is called “Having your cake and eating it too.” Reminds me of another principles of reality (like the one that goes ‘Spending more money will not reduce your debt”). If you were opposed to this, and the cost and the intent, why did you contribute to it? Why not come above board and propose your own single bill of legislation for your project? You are just playing the political game. And I know that the other 99 Senators were to some extent playing the same games. And I’m getting sick of it.
And where does this spending spree end? In that same speech, President Obama promises that “this plan doesn’t mark the end of what we’ll do together. It marks the beginning. My administration has outlined plans to stabilize, repair and reform our banking system, to get credit flowing to families and businesses, to stem the spread of foreclosures and keep families in their homes.” Oh, goody, more to look forward too! Can’t wait! Here, let me get out my checkbook for you!
Really, I ask again: When does this spending end? Will it be when the government eventually nationalizes all the banks and controlls all the money? And by virtue of that, they control all the loans? Gee wiz, I look forward to going to my bank branch then, if it is ran as efficiently as the Driver’s License division, or even the United States Postal Service. Won’t that be grand! Can’t wait to apply for a home loan then!
All sarcasm aside, these are scary times. You cannot rack up a deficit and expect to print more money to get out of it. Nor can you continue to spend money that you do not have to try to reduce the same deficit. It just doesn’t work.
Perhaps somewhere in the 407 pages of that bill, they thought to purchase me an aspirin for the headache this creates?