Sunday, November 14, 2010

Midterm Election

The midterm election is over and the incoming Congress thinks that the message American voters sent is to cut spending. Now the battle begins. Where to cut? Shall we cut Medicare? How about Social Security? Remember when members of Congress wanted to privatize it? Wouldn't that have been disastrous considering the stock market crash of 2008? Wall Street is licking is chops to get at that money. But is that what is best for Social Security? Maybe we should make deep cuts to education. Or how about infrastructure, like roads and bridges (we had a bridge fall down here in Minneapolis a few years ago while Ted Stevens of Alaska used earmarks to construct a 'bridge to nowhere'). Cuts are not the only thing that needs to be done in order to slash the deficit. Maybe we should explore the issue of earmarks in Congress, both sides use them to get their 'pet' projects funded so they have something to show the constituents so they will continue to vote for them election after election. How about cutting taxes? That won't get us out of the mess we are in. Painful decisions are about to be made, are you ready for it? And why is it that those most vulnerable and with the least in this society have to bear the brunt of the cuts? Something to think about. It's time to put your money where your mouth is.

2 comments:

jutka said...

That is a very good question, Robyn, and I think the spending should be supervised more closely and controlled accordingly. Appropriated money goes for projects and programs that are not that important, and excessive budgeting is created for the costs incurred. Not even mentioning the huge overseas traveling expenses of the officials.

rilera said...

Jutka, I read that one Representative was proposing the privatization of some or all of the National Parks. Can you imagine? I watched the National Parks program on PBS and the very reason that they were created was to keep them out of the hands of developers. I think it's very important, as a democracy, that we keep the national parks.

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