Hey everyone. I know you missed my incessant political rants. Well, here comes a new one. I promise not to be too mean.
Note: My vote breakdown comes from the following site. If my numbers are incorrect, it's because the numbers from the article are incorrect.
Remember when Barack Obama was running for president of the USA? He talked about bipartisanship, and bridging the gap between the two political parties that dominate our current political landscape. Basically, for those who know nothing, Democrats and Republicans disagree on many key points. These aren't necessarily the most important things, but they tend to be opposite on certain key issues. The economy is one of them. While I really am a moderate with a conservative leaning, I find myself much m ore aligned with conservative economics. This does color my current article. However, this is not the point I've come for.
Obama talked bipartisanship more than any previous presidential candidate that has ever been around. Most talk it, but don't really believe it. One reason that I was appreciative of Obama is that he seemed genuinely interested in working with the Republicans. Call it however you see it, but there hasn't been any more conversation or agreement ever since he came into office. Place the blame where you will, there doesn't seem to be much of a move from EITHER side to work together.
Perfect example is the recent stimulus bill that was passed. It passed the House with ZERO, YES ZERO, votes from Republicans. Now that's bipartisanship. In a previous post I talked about how I was afraid of any political party having unchecked power in the government. We've reached that point where the Democrats have this. They have control of the Judicial, Legislative and Executive branch. This essentially means that they can pass what they want. While many might be excited about that, the reality is that I think that too much of either side will ultimately hurt us. Our government was designed with these checks in mind. Can I just say that it scares me that only one political party carries power in the government?
As a side note, I find it very interesting that Obama preaches about cutting the deficit and spending more, and creating a bigger government. That just doesn't seem to quite add up.
I'm glad, however, that he didn't go for a "new deal" type stimulus package. The reality is that at it's peak, that legislation had a top income tax bracket of 94% (see 1944 and 1945 on that page). And the cutoff was $200,000. I don't care that I don't make that much (or do I ... hahahahaha) I think that the government taking that much from anyone is absolutely out of line.
But I digress. I just wish that checks and balances were alive in our government today.
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4 comments:
Oh Matt, I can't agree with you more. The stimulus bill is passed and not with one vote from a Republican, not one. Sure I can say that the Republicans tried but it doesn't matter, just a few more Democrats and that means they have the uppper hand and can do whatever they want. Here's a definition of socialism: Any of various theories or systems of social organization in which the means of producing and distributing goods is owned collectively or by a centralized government that OFTEN PLANS AND CONTROLS THE ECONOMY. Looks like we are slowly working our way to this which is sad.
Not everyone is happy with Obama, check out his new ratings: http://www.gallup.com/poll/116077/Obama-Job-Approval-Dips-Below-First-Time.aspx . I think people are realizing that he won't be giving money to them, just useless governement programs.
Ah, yes, brother. But you are forgetting, those checks and balances were planned for a democracy. Now that we're becoming a socialist country...who says any of those rules exist? :-p There go all my incentives to be rich and successful.
I love both of you. :)
Oh and P.S. Kyle and I went to a law school dinner tonight and Mitch McConnell spoke. Unfortunately I was more frustrated about the government and economy after his speech. He said, "Our current president has spent more money in the first month that he's been in office than Bush spent on Iraq, Afghanistan, and Katrina in seven years." Not once did I hear him call Obama by his name.
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