I’ve decided to start keeping track of all the campaign promises that our new President has broken. I believe it is the responsibility of every good citizen to hold his government accountable, and that is what I’m trying to do. Sadly my knowledge and influence are limited, but if you tell your friends about this sight, maybe that will change someday.
Click here This is, of course, the Obama-Biden campaign website.
In case you haven’t been reading the news, the House of Representatives just passed a 1 Trillion dollar “Stimulus” bill. No Republicans voted for the bill, and 7 Democrats broke with their party to vote against it. Of course, $1 trillion may not seem like much when compared to the $1.5 trillion that Bush spent on his two “stimulus” bills but trust me, it is. Instead of giving billions to save the jobs of irresponsible executives and keep failing businesses running, we could have let them crash and burn and then allowed the economy to rebuild itself and hopefully learn from its mistakes. Instead Mr. Obama is about to sign a bill that will add hundreds of billions to the national debt that has almost nothing to do with stimulating the economy! “What exactly is in this bill?” you may ask. Well, good question. I’d love to tell you, but unfortunately I have a job and I’m in school, so I don’t have time to read the 8 inch thick, 1,071 page long bill that congress just passed. I don’t feel bad though because almost none of our elected representatives have read it either! Nancy Pelosi promised the Republicans that they would be given 48 hrs to read this bill once the new version had been hammered out since all House Republicans were kept out of the committee meetings, but instead she gave the GOP legislators a little over 2 hours to read a 1,072 page document. So much for a future that holds an end to partisanship and fiscal responsibility. Our legislative branch just passed a $1 trillion bill that they haven’t read just because their party supports it!! Has all sense and reason abandoned these men and women?!
But lets focus, briefly, on what we do know about this bill.
- It includes tax cuts (don’t get too excited) and economic incentives for companies to develop economic vehicles including golf carts.
- It also includes $287 billion tax cuts for families that will amount to about $400 a year per person. (We all saw how Bush’s $600 “stimulus checks” a few months ago saved us all from economic disaster so… yeah…)
- $70 billion for K-12 schools. (Finally someone with the courage to throw money at the education problem. Truly change we can believe in)
- $46 billion for transportation projects.
- $20.00 to pay some kids to egg Bush’s house next week. (probably not the worst way the government has spent $20)
I would criticize more of what is in this bill, but it was only passed a few hrs ago, and no one has had time to figure out what the heck they just voted for/against yet. I know that at some point millions for contraceptives was included, as well as radical changes to health care in America. I don’t know if these riders were taken out of the final version of this bill, but I guess we will find out soon enough.
I am disappointed that the American people have such a short memory. But I am even more disappointed in Obama. He preached transparency, bi-partisanship, fiscal responsibility and then broke each of those promises during his first month in office. Turns out he is just one more slick politician that says one thing on the campaign trail and does another. I guess America is still waiting for a leader that will change the way Washington is run.
Well, I’m sure you will be happy to know that I did get to read part of this stimulus package since it has already greatly affected my job here working with benefits. The geniuses that put this together decided to make companies pay 65% of their laid off employee’s COBRA (continuation of coverage after an employee is termed) payments. The greatest part is that the bill reads that employers are supposed to pay 65% of the cost the employees 35% = 100% except in the COBRA world employees are normally charged 102% for their payments. So, whoever wrote this new law clearly didn’t understand COBRA. Got to love it! Not to mention if an employer is laying off people how can they afford this. Oh yeah, the government is going to reimburse them. Great! Let’s just throw more money into the issue. Oh yeah and they are retroing this law back to September 2008. Even more money gone.
Doug,
That 20$ Was actually given to me. I 16 dozen eggs down at bi lo on sale. If you can come by later tonight we will head out to the bushes on the private jet our university owns. I know some administrators who wanna come so the pass is legit. The worst part about this bill is not the birth control, golf carts, or lack of republican votes. It is the fact that no one read it. A BRAND NEW leader and no one reads it? For all we know he could be spending 2 million dollars on non toxic sharpies because kids were getting caught sniffing them in a small public school in Idaho. They wouldn’t have done it, after all, if the teacher never told them. Im not sure what I ment by those last two statements but the fact that the people passing the bill, don’t know what the bill is…is…scary.