Saturday, February 19, 2011

Federal Budget Axe So Far is Republicans Chopping What They Hate

So far, at the federal level, budget cuts seem ridiculously small and aimed largely at programs Republicans hate, like Public Broadcasting and Planned Parenthood and Housing subsidies and heat subsidies to aid the poor who cannot pay to heat their homes or rentals.

Republicans have always had a reputation for despising the poor and wanting control over a woman's body.

No serious budget items, like the billions given to farmers in subsidies, or the billions given the oil industry, in subsidies, or the billions given to grow corn for ethanol production, which actually reduces your cars' gas mileage, making it a ridiculous investment, have been touched or mentioned, that I know of.

But lets' make sure no poor women gets birth control, breast exams or pap smears for sure!!!!! How evil!!! The feds don't pay for abortions anyhow, but Planned Parenthood has become a common organization low income women turn to for reproductive health care and education.

The antiabortionists fail to realize or just don't care that many abortions are performed because a woman's health is threatened, or because of rape, or because of molestation and incest. Young girls molested by a family member or the loser mom's latest boyfriend cannot safely seek parental consent and there will be zero support for her if she doesn't get an abortion, or for the child, once born, at home. This results in more costs and problems laid on society, costs republicans hate to bear and vote against bearing through taxpayer dollars. You can't have it both ways, idiots.

On the other side, the states are waging battles against public employee unions and in Wisconsin, crafting laws that restrict the bargaining powers of unions.

I am mixed on this one.

On the one hand, unions refuse to easily get rid of incompetent employees and instead, when union employees are laid off, it's always by seniority, not competence. I don't much like unions anymore. They drive wages/benefits up to ridiculous levels that, in part, is the reason many thousands of jobs have left for overseas.

But, the best people I've met in my life have been public employees, from bus drivers to university employees. Nobody high level, just working stiffs.

They're like higher life forms, compared to most of the people I run into.

That bus driver I've known forever, who was kind to me when I was the scum of Corvallis, living either homeless or in the projects there, struggling with the abuse and control of the mental health system, she is salt of the earth, thrifty and hard working to the core, fair, ultra conservative and I'd hate to see her ripped off as she is about to finally retire, near age 70, of an agreed upon pension.

I don't know many people, but of the ones I have met in my life, I have met far fewer public employee assholes than general population assholes. That's how I statistically compare the public vs. private sector workers: relative assholeness.

Our local, state and federal governments have not been wise in the use of money. Oregon State University right now is being granted 4.8 million dollars to research rural fat kids. That's ridiculous and money flushed down the toilet. That is money taken out of a taxpayers hands, when that taxpayer might be a rural resident with fat kids and because of tax burden, can't get them a bike, for instance. It's a stupid waste of money to study a problem by causing it, or making it worse.

$4.8 million flushed to ridiculous research. Do you know what that money could have done if spent wisely or never collected in taxes in the first place?

But the feds are cutting working money instead of ridiculously spent money like that rural fat kids grant to OSU. That's why we will never really see change in government wastefulness. Our reps and senators are bought and paid for, by special interests, lobbiests and religion.

Here is an exmaple of what the Republicans and Tea Party people feel is important: While the bill would slash $727 million in food aid (food stamps) for the poor, the House passed bill would increase the Pentagons budget by $8 billion dollars.

That is a clear assessment of the Tea Party's values: war (abroad) and war on the American poor.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Dashing

 Got a message this morning.  Was I even really awake yet?   The weather has been really winterish, with winds, pouring rain, cold, even thu...