Monday, December 30, 2013

Heartless Congress

I don’t know how they live with themselves. Members of Congress accomplish little yet collect large salaries and have generous benefits. Their inability to act has caused a government shutdown, delays in appointments, and other problems. How can they look themselves in the mirror?

Now Congress has proven, once again, that they don’t care about the people they are supposed to be representing. As President Obama was in Hawaii playing golf and members of Congress went home to enjoy their large salaries and perks, many hard-working Americans lost their unemployment benefits. These people, through no fault of their own, have been unemployed for a long time. Because of the actions of the executives of banking and other financial institutions, who make huge salaries and enjoy large bonuses despite their actions, these “regular people” (who could be you or me) are out of work, may soon lose their house, and have drained their savings.

The incredibly lame excuse we hear from Congress is that they have to find the funding for any extension of unemployment benefits. Nobody has to “find funding” for disaster relief and other emergencies. Nobody has to find funding for pork barrel projects like bridges to nowhere. This country gives away billions of dollars in “corporate welfare,” billions to deadbeat people who don’t want to work and never made an effort to learn a skill, and we give billions to countries like Egypt. But we can’t give an extension to these people who did all the right things: got an education, acquired skills, worked most of their lives, paid their taxes, and have been solid citizens. And how does Congress take care of them in a time of need?

This is not a political issue but a moral one. That’s why I’m writing this – to wake people up to the reality of just how morally bankrupt Congress is. Shame on Congress! And shame on us if we continue to vote in these bozos. We’ll continue to get the kind of government we deserve.

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