Here we go again. Congress is talking about shutting down the government. A funding bill must be approved ASAP so that doesn't happen. Same old, same old!
The last election cycle was a minor revelation. The revelation wasn't that very few people voted. That's not unusual in this so-called democracy. Most people just don't give a damn or they're too damn dumb to understand the issues involved. The "minor" revelation was that too many voters cannot distinguish between the good guys and the bad guys so when they vote, they vote in the same rascals or even worse rascals than we had before.
Considering some of the new people heading to Capitol Hill, the country doesn't have a chance!
To reiterate: There's a new funding bill in progress, and it needs to be voted on soon to avoid shutting down the government again!
The Republicans are in charge of the House and while the Dems have a slight majority in the Senate (which will change come January), there are enough DINOS in the Senate to allow a lot of nasty things into this funding bill.
First of all, Citigroup was allowed to write a provision which will allow Wall Street to screw the country once more, big time.
Elizabeth Warren put it this way: "Who does Congress work for? Does it work for the millionaires, the billionaires, the giant companies with their armies of lobbyists and lawyers, or does it work for the people?"
(That's a rhetorical question and we've known for a long time it works for the rich and powerful. The common folk are lucky to get a nod as to their presence once in awhile.)
"Now the House of Representatives is about to show the worst of government for the rich and powerful. The House is about to vote on a budget deal, a deal negotiated behind closed doors that slips in a provision that would let derivatives traders on Wall Street gamble with taxpayer money and get bailed out by the government when their risky bets threaten to blow up our financial system."
This is exactly what led to the economic crash of 2008!
This funding bill also cuts the EPA's budget by $60 million which will allow the polluters to continue to spew their deadly emissions into our atmosphere and our waters! The bill even bars "the EPA from regulating methane emissions from livestock production." Methane - a powerful greenhouse gas - is what livestock emit when they fart and it accounts for 10% of U.S emissions.
There's another huge travesty buried in the proposal's pages: It gives the "trustees" of pension accounts the right to "slash the benefits of already retired workers to shreds." That's going to hurt a hell of a lot of people.
One gets a feel for those Congress really cares about in the provision that blocks the Transportation Department from issuing regulations that require truckers to get two nights sleep before starting a new work week. Regulations cutting truckers' work weeks from 82 to 70 hours is also forbidden.
There's more but these are some of the more egregious pieces of the proposed budget.
And the message from Congress is clear: Screw You, America!
