I have been sporadically watching the political scene, especially as it is developing around the economy. I will say I was not an Obama fan or supporter in this past election. But regardless, I am a supporter of him because he is my President. A President of a country in excruciating times. I hope for the best, but the more I hear about what Washington is doing about the economy, the more I get concerned.
Obama sold him self as a man in favor of bi-partisan support. He may honestly believe that, but it certainly is not happening. One can say, "Oh well, that is Congress. The folks in Congress are bitter towards each other and they are trying to jockey for position" That may be true, but this is Obama's legislature, and he needs to get control of it. The stimulus package passed very close to party lines. There goes bi-partisan support. It also passed very quickly--almost $800 Billion.
Wow, that is a staggering number. I recall when last year's stimulus package was going through congress. Congress warned that this has to be done carefully. One of the reasons was because if we get this wrong, we don't have any more money to pass another one. So how did we pass this recent one then? On top of that, it went through very quickly, with relatively little debate and committee work.
This frightens me. When both the Executive and Legislative branch are run by the same party, that parties' will can be imposed on the opposing party and the country with little opposition and effort. There is a reason why "checks and balances" are so important. And because of this imbalance of power, the check is probably going to be ineffective.
This country's government is spending a lot of money to try and get itself out of this recession. I fear the one way out of this debt is to tax the country. Maybe it won't be a straight forward income tax increase, maybe it wouldn't be a luxury tax increase on the rich, but we probably will get taxed somehow. Private companies may get taxed to bear the burden of this stimulus. In turn they may have to lay people off or pass the financial burden on its customers, aka us. I also worry that the government is growing so large. I worry that these uber-spending bills are touted with such urgency that they "must get passed" and in turn provision that shouldn't belong there will sneak in.
I hope that this works out. But if it doesn't, I fear the only thing we will be able to do is voice our opinion in the next election....but that may be too late.
