Now that the election is behind us, it is clear that nothing much has changed. There are some new faces in both houses of Congress, but the Democrats still control the Senate and the Republicans still control the House of Representatives. The same president is in office.
It looks like we have had a major “Bru-ha-ha” for the last three years for nothing. The people have spoken and it is clear that they don’t want to change government leadership, but they do want change.
What does that mean? I think it means that we want Congress to get off their duffs, set aside their differences and start doing something for a change.
First, do something about the national financial crisis the country is facing. Cut spending and let the Bush tax cuts fade into the past. They were designed to stimulate the economy by putting money into the hands of job creators. They have not worked!
Jobs have not been created. They have been eliminated. The net result is that there is less money in the hands of the hands of the great spending masses; the consumer who demands and pays for “goods and services.”
Stop jobs from going overseas. Create a job-friendly environment in the U.S. and insist that a living wage is paid.
Second, stop making war. We have nothing to gain from them and they are a huge drain on the financial resources. Let the natural regional powers in the Middle East emerge and solve their own problems. Iran is right there. India is right there. China is right there. America cannot solve every world problem.
Did we gain anything from fighting in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan? I don’t think so. All we have done is enrich the “military-industrial” complex.
Everyone knows that our current financial woes are the result of (1) the unfunded Bush tax cuts and (2) the unfunded wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
So, let the tax cuts expire and stop the wars. We can survive these measures in the short term and we will benefit from them in the long term.
The Bush tax cuts were designed to reward his base, buy votes and create a financial crisis for government. Republicans want to wreck government so they can come in at a later on white chargers and save the day by rebuilding it to suit themselves, the Constitution and the people be damned.
Third, require Congress live by the laws they have passed. Congress routinely exempts themselves from the very laws they have passed and which everyone else must obey. This must stop. Members of Congress have been very generous to themselves while letting social entitlements, which do a lot of good and are very much needed by those on the lower end of the economic scale. [Sic]
I notice that none of the pain of this tepid economy has reached our legislature. Does anyone out there believe congressmen and women give a hoot about the well-being of the average person?
There is so much to be done now that so little progress has been made for decades that there is no time to waste. We must do something before it is too late. We must stop partisan voices who do nothing but distract the people from real issues by scaring us to death.
Finally, we must find a way to bring Congress to heel. It is high time they are reminded that they are there to serve, not to rule. The people of this country need to be constitutionally protected from their every whim.
They have it made. They have erected a protective bubble around themselves that is nearly impenetrable. There should be a way to remove them. The leadership in both houses should be replaced for failing to do their jobs. And the corruption — what a mess!
David Browning
Peachtree City, Ga.
