Fiscally Responsible Dems? All Aboard the Obfuscation Express
I may not understand Anna Eshoo, my representative here in deep blue Silicon Valley, but at least she made the Hill’s “Most Beautiful People 2010” list; sweet consolation for this befuddled constituent. I refer to this weekend's constituent email, titled The Latest Step, in which Eshoo waxes rhapsodic over the just-concluded special session of the House.
On Tuesday, August 10th the House of Representatives suspended its August recess and returned to Washington, D.C. to hold a very important vote. During my nine terms in Congress representing you, this is the first time I’ve had to return to Washington during the August recess to vote because the weight of the issue before us demanded it.
Was Eshoo’s first August vote in eighteen years aimed at deterring Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, or eliminating roadblocks to private job-creation before we lurch headlong into the looming double-dip?
Not exactly.
The legislation I voted for and the House passed contains critical assistance to states, especially California. The funding will keep thousands of teachers in their classrooms, police officers on the beat, and first responders on alert. Further delay would have had a devastating impact on students, workers, and patients across our communities. This legislation throws a lifeline to our communities which are struggling under tremendous financial pressure.
I didn’t realize that the NEA and SEIU count as “communities” in leftist lifeguarding circles. The $26 billion will certainly keep a few union comp plans afloat through the all-important midterm election this fall; and the steady flow of union dues should trickle down nicely to Democratic reelection campaigns. But didn’t I read that the bill slashes $12 billion from the food stamp program in order to meet paygo rules? What does Representative Eshoo have to say about transferring money from the poor to well-paid government workers?
This bill uses a scalpel, not a cleaver, to make cuts in existing programs which no longer require funding or whose funding can be applied to more pressing needs.
Ah, so that’s it: “more pressing needs.” A glance at the latest Rasmussen poll no doubt serves to focus the Democratic mind, at least so far as the base is concerned.
What about the deficit? There’s still another $14 billion to find from somewhere. Don’t worry; Anna has it covered.
The bill closes expensive tax loopholes used by multinational companies to ship jobs overseas and avoid their fair share of U.S. taxation.
The legislation doesn’t add a penny to the deficit. In fact, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reports the legislation will reduce the deficit by $1.4 billion over the next 10 years.
Don’t you love this? Eshoo characterizes permanently raising taxes on US multinational corporations to fund a temporary emergency pre-election union bailout as an exercise in fiscally responsible deficit reduction.
Are we all riding the Obfuscation Express during the run-up to November, or does someone have a report to share from a straight-shooting congressman of either party?
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Comments :
Jun '10
Re: Fiscally Responsible Dems? All Aboard the Obfuscation Express
For some reason, it reminds me of a story I read a few years ago, about an unscrupulous telemarketer (slightly redundant) who was selling a work-from-home-system (if I remember,) that ended up costing the clients (suckers) tens of thousands of dollars for worthless wholesale merchandise that nobody wanted to buy. That was the first telephone sales pitch. Then a second telemarketer (same office) called to ask people if they've been cheated by telemarketers. "You have? We hear that so often. It's lucky that we called. For a small fee, paid in advance, we'll track them down, and very often we can get the majority of your money back. How would you like to pay for the consultation?"
Paying the thieves to find the thieves, just like with Congress.
May '10
Re: Fiscally Responsible Dems? All Aboard the Obfuscation Express
I hate the term "fair share".
Jul '10
Re: Fiscally Responsible Dems? All Aboard the Obfuscation Express
It's always the same pitch: we must have the courage to spend or cops, firemen and teachers will be laid off.
Tell me that once you've cut all the money out of ethanol subsidies, outreach programs for transgendered youth, foreign aid to squalid, corrupt countries who hate us anyway....ad infinitum.
Jul '10
Re: Fiscally Responsible Dems? All Aboard the Obfuscation Express
You seem like a nice person. Why are you so determined to snatch morsels out of the mouths of poor children?
Re: Fiscally Responsible Dems? All Aboard the Obfuscation Express
Me, too. We live in a global economy. However, instead of striving to make the USA the world's most competitive place to base and grow a global enterprise, the lib impulse is to punish. And so a company minimizing its exposure to the world's second highest corporate income tax rate is nefarious: it's shipping jobs overseas and avoiding its "fair share" of taxes.