It has become known today that we seniors will not get an increase in Social Security this year but instead will get a bonus of $250. Whoopee. That won't cover a month's prescriptions for many of us! Where do these guys get their economic bona fides? Or better yet, how do we become one of their pet projects? Then we'd get all the funding we need!Let's look at the war - again. The President hasn't yet decided if, or how many, troops he's going to send to Afghanistan yet the Senate has striped the funding of fuel, ammunition and training and diverted it to 778 pet projects of their own!
Earmarks, they're called. I thought Obama was going to eliminate at best, or cut down on them at worst. Oh well.
How much are the troops being short changed here? According to The Washington Times $2.6 Billion. With a capital B !
Where is it going? Well, $25 million to a World War II Museum. Fitting isn't it? A museum dedicated to war long past with funds diverted from the one we are currently fighting.
Then there is $20 million for an "educational institute" to be named after Ted Kennedy in recognition for the years he spent on the Armed Services Committee where he fought to see that our troops received top notch equipment such as body armor and Humvees. How much body armor would that $20 million buy for our troops right now?
One Senator had 35 earmarks totalling more than $206 million while yet another had 48 worth $216 million. And we get $250.
Is there something wrong with this picture? What is the matter with these people? They huff and puff and try to justify these expenditures, which the military did not ask for nor want. Meanwhile combat pilots training to deploy are getting half the flying hours they got during the Vietnam war and tank crews get less training than during the Clinton administration when we were not at war!
If you honestly think these people are capable of reforming health care, overseeing climate change and reviving our economy, we'll never be on the same page.
Instead of hoping, week in and week out to no avail, that we might win the lottery, maybe I could just worm my way into a Senator's brain and chant 'fund medicare', 'fund the troops' or 'take a pay cut' until it becomes a pet project. Then we'd all be in fine shape.
In my dreams.
3 comments:
It's called a Democrat majority.
yet they give themselves raises.. and it sure the heck isn't $250 a year...
If they want these pet projects let them go to the private sector and get those in kind to pay for them.
If you really want sticker shock with no SS raise in site check out
the changes in Part D insurer changes. Mine has doubled AND added
a huge deductible.
I spent all afternoon yesterday trying to find one that will work.
See Time Goes By Blog for her analysis of this crapshoot which we
must participate in.
Donna in AR
Post a Comment