Same as it Ever Was

I think I might apply for a job in Obama’s new cabinet. Here are my qualifications: I am educated, with a degree in political science. I am well-read on the political issues of the day. I am a pragmatist and a realist, not a partisan idealogue. And most importantly, I pay all of my taxes!

Come to think of it, I don’t want a job in Obama’s cabinet or in politics at all, because politics is a dirty business, and I like the fact that I sleep like a baby at night and I like what I see in the morning when I look in the mirror. Of course all this dirty political gamesmanship was going to stop with the new post-partisan administration right? I’m waiting, and so far it ain’t looking too good.

Right now I’m feeling like my buddy Jorge in high school, who bought a VCR from a guy out in front of a 7-11, thought he got a smoking deal until he got it home and found out it was just a VCR box full of bricks. I’m trying to withhold judgment and give our new president the benefit of the doubt, but it’s getting harder to do as this boondoggle of pet projects and wasteful spending is making it’s way through the Congress.

It is being packaged of course as economic stimulus, needed spending to get the economy back on track and to create millions of jobs, to build infrastructure, to give needed aid to states and cities who have been hit hardest by the recession. On this I tend to agree, real stimulus is needed and will benefit our economy and society if it is targeted, timely, and temporary. This package is none of the above.

We were promised that this bill would not contain earmarks and other so-called pork-barrel spending, yet it is full of such measures. Apparently the criteria now for stimulus is if something creates jobs, which is about as vague of a claim as spreading democracy in the Middle East.
We are being sold this package as something that is needed to avoid dire and drastic consequences, if we don’t act then horrible things will happen to us. We need to just trust our government, and our president, that they know what is best and they will do the right thing. Exactly what we heard back in early 2003 when we were being sold on the Iraq War.

I don’t know which set of economists I agree with as far as how to best stimulate the economy. The liberals want more spending and they want it on building infrastructure and other types of direct spending. The conservatives want tax cuts that will put more money in people’s pockets. Both measures will get money into the economy again, which is the main point of a stimulus bill and what is needed, along with addressing serious concerns regarding the housing market and the credit markets. The best idea is probably a combination of direct government spending, aid to states and cities, and tax cuts for individuals and businesses.

So why don’t I have much faith that our new president and his sidekicks in the 111th Congress get it, and are interested in the common sense solution to this serious problem? Because I’ve seen it all before, and despite promises of change and a new era in politics, so far this is simply the same as it ever was. I’m still holding out hope, but my fear is that when I do finally open the box, I’ll be staring at my new purchase, a nice set of bricks. Maybe I’ll use them to build a monument to the inefficiency and incompetence of our government, and as a reminder to not get fooled again.