Congress Gets Merry Christmas and a $4700 Pay Hike

Congress is smart - like the proverbial fox. Our lawmakers know how to feather their own "nests":

1) raid the hen house,
2) grab a chicken by the neck,
3) enjoy the innards for lunch
4) use the outers to make a nice warm feather bed

Yes, Congress is smart. Our lawmakers set up their pay increases automatically. It spares them the unpleasantness of a recorded vote which might upset their constituents. So while more than two million Americans line up for unemployment, the very ones who helped create the financial crisis (Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, etc.) will enjoy, not only the fruits of their conflicts of interest with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but will reach deeper into the taxpayers' pockets for their $4700 pay raise. The average lawmaker's salary is $169,300. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi takes home $217,400. Of course that doesn't include the perks, privileges, and office expenses billed to the taxpayer as well. Do we get our money's worth? Maybe not, but the amusement value is worth a little something. After all, they told America's CEOs to take a salary this year of $1. But those guys are rich, not like Senators Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton.

To be fair, not all Congressmen support the automatic pay hike. Rep. Harry Mitchell, a first-term Democrat from Arizona, introduced a bill to freeze salaries. He had 34 co-sponsors but the legislation didn't even make it out of committee. Surprise, surprise. Heck, where's my Christmas spirit. Joe Biden and Barack Obama have told us we need to be patriotic and not mind higher taxes to help others. And, after all, charity begins at home. What could be homier than the halls of Congress?

So Merry Christmas from the taxpayers! Ted Kennedy, Barney Frank and all you other Foxy Loxies, enjoy your plum pudding while you think about the elderly living below the poverty line and the millions out of work. I'm sure it will bring a smarmy tear to your eye as you lift a glass of sherry to the politically correct spirits of the holiday season.

Congratulations, taxpayers, you are $700 billion MORE in debt!

Well, Congress did it. They signed the bailout bill, the biggest government takeover in the history of the United States. Barney Frank who is a primary culprit in this debacle should be impeached, but instead the democrats on the hill are making him a savior. The fella whose boyfriend was pimping from his townhouse has (with help from the rest of the gang) financially raped our children and grandchildren, but will anyone in government call him to account? Not likely. And liberal Massachusetts voters will probably send him back with bigger margins than ever in the next election. Ditto for Connecticut's Chris Dodd.

I hope people will take the time to peruse this bill. It is the biggest barrel of pork ever. Michelle Malkin talks about it saying, "They put a gun to our heads....Washington’s pork-stuffed panic mob forked over $700billion/$850billion/$1 trillion-plus of our money over to the Chicken Littles, who handed it over to Foxy Loxy at the Treasury Department."

And they're already oinking for more and the Democrats are doing a good job of convincing people that this is the Republicans' (read George Bush's) fault. It's not, it started with Jimmy Carter and was exacerbated by Clinton, but the "solution" may be. Bush could have backed a real, economically-sensible strategy instead of this monster filled with earmarks, but he's a big-government guy and this let's government grow exponentially. Christian economist Dave Ramsey will discuss the aftermath of the bailout on his radio program Monday. You may want to listen.

One thing's for sure, panic reactions generally lead to bad solutions and this is a case in point. It's just the beginning, folks...watch for more bailouts to come. By the way, did you know that while the focus was on the banks, Congress voted to give a $25 billion bailout to the auto industry in September? Of course, it was ONLY $25 billion.

For Christians I think the message is pray and get out of debt. Give the country a good example. If you can't afford it, don't buy it. Continue to share what you have with the poor through charities you know are trustworthy (the Missionaries of Charity come to mind). Don't give your hard-earned money to the Catholic Campaign for Human Development which funds some of the very organizations that contributed to this mess and do not help the poor. Also, be sure to see how your senators and congressman voted. If they supported the bailout bill, boot them out in the next election. I'm happy to say, my Virginia Congressman, Bob Goodlatte, was one of the brave house members who said NO! Outgoing Senator John Warner and Democrat Jim Webb both voted yes. SHAME!

One last piece of advice. If you live in the country it might be a good idea to raise some pigs. At least you can eat that kind of pork when things get really tough -- maybe some chickens too for bacon and eggs.

I'm no expert, but isn't this common sense?

First issue:
I don't pretend to have any deep understanding of economics, but I know I need to make sure the money in my checkbook is enough to pay the bills every month if I want to stay out of debt. And I know that debt is an albatross. Millions of people learn that lesson when they get themselves buried in monthly 18-29% credit card charges for the junk they just can't live without. Hey! Go to the thrift store and only buy what you really need.

Now, why can't the U.S. learn that lesson? How can the men and women in Congress who are supposedly intelligent understand that deficit spending is irresponsible (not to say immoral - burdening our children and grandchildren with our debt). At some point you have to pay the piper. I'm not sure what the outcome of all the bank failings will be, but I do know as a parent that if you constantly bail your kids out of problems, they never learn anything from their bad or stupid behavior. The government bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac makes every taxpayer in the U.S. the fall guy for their bad loans -- to the tune of billions of dollars. Now that the government has taken on all those debts, WE OWE IT ALL. The government doesn't have any money except what it takes out of our pockets. So, face it folks, we are shafted again.

And why should taxpayers be penalized because the banks made bad loans? People like Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, and Chuck Schumer should be held to account for pushing policies that penalized financial institutions for not making bad loans and pressured them to meet quotas on loans to the poor who couldn't afford them. No one has a "right" to a house and there's no shame in renting. The way to get a house is to work and save and buy small when you can afford it without jeopardizing your next meal.

The best thing that taxpayers can do at this point is to get out of personal debt. Cut up your credit cards, pay them off, and buy with cash. If you can't pay for it, go without. We all have too much stuff in our lives anyway.

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Second point:
I can't claim to have any expertise on foreign affairs either, but I'm furious about the plan to put nuclear missiles in Poland. Using the recent Russia/Georgia conflict as an excuse is baloney. Georgia provoked Russia. Why would anyone be surprised at her response? Was it too much? Maybe. But it is no excuse to renew the cold war.

Maybe it's time to review our own history. Remember the Cuban Missile Crisis? We didn't want all those nukes aimed at us from an island not that far from our coast. And we demanded the Soviets remove them. Do we really expect Russia not to oppose nukes pointing at her? Look at a world map. It's about 700 miles from Warsaw to Moscow. How would you feel if you lived in Albuquerque and New Orleans had nukes pointed in your direction? That's an 1100 mile distance.

Seems to me the golden rule applies here. Do unto others as you would have them do to you. We demanded the Soviet Union pull the nukes out of Cuba. We should do the same with regard to nukes in Eastern Europe. It's reasonable not to engage in provocative moves that escalate hostilities with Russia and other countries. Let's stop acting like the biggest bully on the block.

Sometimes I think our leaders are like little children rattling their sabres in their war games. (Maybe they all spend too much time playing World of Warcraft.) It ain't a game, folks. We need to demand that our leaders act like grownups instead of moving us closer to World War III. Besides war is expensive and we can't afford any more of it.