They Just Don't Get It

It’s so interesting (and by interesting I mean painful), to listen to people, who have no regard for anyone else, or for that matter, a brain—like Ann Coulter or Rush Limbaugh. Here are people who, because they make so much money, are totally out of touch with the suffering of millions of real people. It’s easy for them to name call and pontificate about all the things the Democrats will do. That is their right. But how dare they hope that the President’s stimulus package fail? How dare they hope that people continue to lose jobs, lending never begins and the banks fail. Rush Limbaugh just signed a contract for 100 million dollars. Quite simply, he does not want to pay taxes on this money. And Ann Coulter continues to write lies for thousands of dollars and make appearances and to sell books. She does not want to pay taxes on that money. They would rather the whole country go down the tubes. What more do you need to know about their minds, credibility, or dare I say patriotism.

But let’s turn the clock back for just a moment and reflect on what the Republicans did—or specifically, what George Bush (who came to office blabbing about the size of the government) did. He was going to balance budgets and keep the government under control. But when he came to office there was a $128 billion surplus. Whatever you may think of Bill Clinton’s cavorting in the White House, that's surplus. In Bush's budget for 2009, which was submitted last February, the deficit was projected to be $407 billion, or 2.7 percent of GDP.

Just FYI, and I know this is not a surprise, there are two kinds of government spending. One is mandatory and that includes entitlement programs, and the other is discretionary – wars, defense spending, homeland security, and programs such as farm subsidies and education. Social Security is off budget—not included. The Congress and the President decide what goes to whom and how much. During the Bush Administration, discretionary outlays increased about 35.8 percent. In 2006 it was over $2.7 trillion, which means the federal government spends $7.4 billion a day or $5.1 million in every minute of the year. According to the Mises Institute (not a bunch of liberal Democrats) Government increased over 45%. This is 815 times the level of federal spending in 1930. I hope I don’t have to explain about 1930—even I wasn’t alive then.

The stock market went down another 300 points today. David says it doesn’t matter unless you want to sell something. One of my heros, Donna, told me four months ago to get out because the stock market was going to go to nothing. I poo pooed that, but it could be she was right—it’s almost there now. So what could the Limbaughs and Ann Coulters be thinking? If they repeat themselves enough times people will believe them? This may have been the case a year or more likely two years ago. But no longer. What the right wing pundits and the conservative Republicans don’t get is that people want the President to succeed and it’s not about politics, it’s about saving their lives. How short-sighted, selfish and without any sense of compassion one needs to be to think otherwise. People don’t want to hear about how big the government is going to get with Obama. They know how big it got with George Bush and in eight years he did nothing to stop the economic disaster that he had to know was looming at our shores.

Today I went to the market in New York to buy Jordan some throat coating tea. At home, and even in New Jersey, I pay $2.50 for the privilege of coating any throat that needs it. I thought about Jordan’s flu-like dilemma and the fact that she has two auditions tomorrow but I couldn’t make the purchase (it was seven bucks!) Financially we are still OK, but I just can’t afford to spend that kind of money for something I can buy for half the price if I go across town. Thinking about what I spend for food is a definite change for me. But who knows where the market will be tomorrow. When I was 28 I lived in a car. I remember what that was like. I never want to do it again (I’m less flexible and certainly a bit more cranky) and I certainly don’t want my kids to ever be in that place. But unless we all try to make what the President proposes a success—we can just line up our vehicles. All I can say is shame on Rush Limbaugh and all the people who do not understand how important the cry for bi-partisan cooperation is at this very critical time. We’re just sayin’....Iris