It is Sure Hard to Break Old Habits

I recently read in the newspaper "Congress OK's massive war-spending bill." When I think of war spending I think of bullets, bombs and military equipment. Included in this bill is twenty billion dollars of unrelated items. For example the "cash for clunkers" initiative is included. You know the initiative to trade in your gas hog, smoking clunker for a new fuel efficient peanut car, preferable from Chrysler or the car company owned by the government, GM. These are earmarks, pork or add-ons whatever you want to call them.

I distinctly remember during the presidential campaign the president said he would veto a bill that had earmarks, pork or add-ons included in a bill. The gigantic stimulus bill was loaded with earmarks and it was signed. I heard the reason the president signed the bill was because it was an old bill and any new bill will be vetoed if they included add-ons. Will the president veto this bill? I don't think he will. If the subject even comes up the excuse will be that money cannot be deprived of the troops during a war. It is sure hard to break old habits. There will always be a reason that a bill will be passed with pork included.

This is one of the reasons I no longer trust the government and elected officials. When I was younger I trusted the government and politicians. As I become older my trust is becoming weaker and weaker. I would say my distrust began in the Clinton-Monica era. This scandal changed my perception of the Whitehouse. There have been times when I saw the Whitehouse and had visions of the president talking on the phone to some high ranking official of another country and he is more interested in what is going on below the presidential desk. Presidential hormones could have influenced country policy.

Then the Iraq war evolves. We sacrifice American blood and national treasure because of faulty intelligence. The blame game begins. No politician started to take responsibility for their part in the decision to go to war. It is just easier to blame the president for everything.

Spending goes out of control and the deficit is going up. The government issues a stimulus package and it flops. The bailouts begin. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac needs to be propped up. AIG is too large to fail. The housing market creates the economy to falter and shrink. It is a mess.

A new president is elected from the other party which is to be expected. One of the selling points was "Change, we can believe in". There have been changes alright. The deficit continues to mushroom. Another gigantic stimulus package becomes law. Unemployment is a shade under ten percent. Two automakers file for bankruptcy protection. Gitmo is promised to be closed without any plan on what to do with the detainees. North Korea is being a bunch of jerks. Iran is in turmoil. Oh yeah, 17,000 more troops are going to Afghanistan.

Spend, spend and spend some more is all I hear. Someday someone is going to have to pay for all this spending. Where is the fiscal responsibility? I sure don't see any. I used to think elected officials represented the voters. Now I feel they answer to special interest groups and personal agendas. I am just looking for some common sense in our government and until common sense returns I will not trust our government and the elected politicians.