Spending

OK - this is basically a political blog. Sure, I, as the Lord of Truth, sometimes throw in some humorous and weird stories and the occasional rant, but the big man with his name at the top of this page started this to talk politics. I'm not normally a political commentator - I like to introduce topics and watch others battle it out.

Today that is going to change.

The circuit breaker in my brain has finally tripped. Maybe it's Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and the truckloads of money that are en route to those areas. Maybe it's the "Bridge to Nowhere" that is becoming more and more famous as an example of pork barrel spending. Maybe it's the fact that I got screwed AGAIN on my taxes this year.

I am fed up with politicians spending my money. Now that I think about it, "spending" implies that they are putting it to use. In reality, they are WASTING my money because it's being spent on nothing. Blogmaster Raje posted a good link to the Porkbusters site earlier this week and I couldn't salute them more. Let's shed light on as much of this waste as possible and point to the morons and crooks that asked for it.

The time has come to demand accountability for your tax dollars, ladies and gentlemen. As was once explained to me by a very smart man, the way the system should work is that Congress should come to us voters each year around tax time and say "Here's the great things we did this year. Your share is $x.xx". But we never see a list like that. Instead, we just throw our money at the IRS and Congress puts together a bill for future spending and sends it over to the Oval Office for approval. And that's the last time you hear about your investment. No follow-up. No ROI calculation. No checks and balances.

Ahh.....so we come to the crux of my current complaint. I have little respect for Congress, and I never have. It's a bunch of lawyers (sorry Raje) and other people of dubious character that all aspire to some other office. I don't think there's one person in Congress that is just there as a representative of constituents. But I've always considered the Presidency different because it's an executive office. Sure the president is in a tough spot, and we've had our share of weak men in there, but for the most part the office and the massive responsibility helps to make these men make the right decisions. However, in my opinion, we're still 5 answers short in the "Great Presidents Since Ronald Reagan" category on Jeopardy.

Our current president has never vetoed a spending bill. Not one. Zero.

Remember when the big difference between Democrats and Republicans was that one party generally liked bigger government and increased spending on programs and the other party liked small government and reduced federal spending? Does anyone see any differences between the parties now?

Peggy Noonan, hit me one time:

George W. Bush is a big spender. He has never vetoed a spending bill. When
Congress serves up a big slab of fat, crackling pork, Mr. Bush responds with one
big question: Got any barbecue sauce? The great Bush spending spree is about an
arguably shrewd but ultimately unhelpful reading of history, domestic politics,
Iraq and, I believe, vanity.

This, I believe, is the administration's shrewd if unhelpful reading of
history: In a 50-50 nation, people expect and accept high spending. They don't
like partisan bickering, there's nothing to gain by arguing around the edges,
and arguing around the edges of spending bills is all we get to do anymore. The
administration believes there's nothing in it for the Republicans to run around
whining about cost. We will spend a lot and the Democrats will spend a lot. But
the White House is more competent and will not raise taxes, so they believe
Republicans win on this one in the long term.

Domestic politics: The administration believes it is time for the
Republican Party to prove to the minority groups of the United States, and to
those under stress, that the Republicans are their party, and not the enemy. The
Democrats talk a good game, but Republicans deliver, and we know the facts. A
lot of American families are broken, single mothers bringing up kids without a
father come to see the government as the guy who'll help. It's right to help and
we don't lose by helping.

Let me put this simply, for all the airhead power seekers in DC: Stop. Spending.

We're already approaching $200 Billion as the opening spending on Katrina relief. Oh wait, there's another storm out there. Stronger than Katrina. Whoops! Guess we'll need another $200 Billion. The rest of us that choose not to live in hurricane zones don't mind fronting the money. I mean it's not like we need roads, bridges, security, or any of a million other things that you could spend our money on. Hell, how about you actually give some of it back to me? I'll take a few potholes if you agree to spending cuts.

Here's my observation: George W. is turning into Jimmy Carter. They are both "farmers" from Southern States, both faced energy crises, both made a mess of military actions in the Mideast, both are pretty much useless on your team in a Trivial Pursuit game, and neither could say "no" to any of their advisors. At least Jimmy Carter had the intestinal fortitude to cancel the B-1 Bomber program W! How about that - Carter's better than you at something! What a loser!

So I implore you, dear readers. Rise up from obscurity and demand accountability. Demand that your money isn't funding the Dubuque Iowa Library's baseball card collection. Demand that we aren't funding the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with money that could be spend on improving public transportation (a separate rant for another time). And demand that, if the shysters in Congress are going to blindly throw what will probaby be half a TRILLION dollars of our money at these two hurricane zones, they cut half a trillion dollars in spending somewhere else. You can start with the $20 Billion in crap that you snuck in the Transportation Bill.

And no, a tax hike is NOT acceptable. I'm giving you notice, Washington DC: If you try and raise taxes over this hurricane relief, I will make it my mission to throw you all out on your ears.

To quote my good buddy Thomas Paine: "These are the times that try men's souls." The fiscal and ethical revolution is coming, Congress. Wake up.