Brutal Politics Are Beautiful

 Yeah, yeah, I know.  You haven't heard from me in a while.  I would love to tell you I have an amazingly funny story about how I've been busy falling, or too busy gettin my workout on, or just busy raising my pre teen daughter, but that would be inaccurate.  Truth be told, I haven't worked out since I saw my reflection in my new workout room, and my children have been startlingly well behaved lately.  The truth of the matter is, I've been extremely busy at work.  (Insert sigh of relief and ginormous YAY here) and really have not had the time to write.  That doesn't mean I haven't been ranting daily.  I just haven't been doing it in a medium where you all could hear me.  You're welcome.  Or I'm sorry.  Whichever you prefer.  The really good news is, the sudden drop in interest rates has caused my business to become increasingly busy.  The bad news is, my company's server crashed three days ago making it impossible for me to get to work.  The good news is, I've had lots of time to read, watch TV, play around on the internet, clean my house, etc.  The bad news is, the more I have read, watched TV, etc, the more things I've discovered to rant about.  The good news is, it's ranting time, baby. Or the bad news, however you want to look at it.

Ok, Rant #1. For those of you fortunate (or unfortunate) enough, to be my Facebook friends, you already know what this is about. Cause I've been pitching a fit about it for a few days now. Earlier this week, there was an article in my local newspaper talking about a new rule that could make Food Stamps more accessible to citizens of Idaho. As you can imagine, that thrilled me to no end. Because, really, there is nothing more I like in this world than some good old fashioned reliance on government assistance. Rather than boring you with all the details, I will provide a link to the article where you can read it if you like:

http://magicvalley.com/news/local/state-and-regional/article_be615c06-f14b-11df-a5ad-001cc4c002e0.html

The basic gist is that as of right now, if you are eligible for food stamps but you have assets worth more than $2,000, you will not receive food stamps. They are looking at raising this limit to $5,000, because as the community services director for South Central Community Action Partnership says, "if a couple lost their jobs and owned snowmobiles, they would have to sell them to qualify for foodstamps."

Ho-lee crap. Seriously? Are you frickin kidding me? Look, I get that the job climate in Idaho right now is harsh. Trust me, I do. My husband was out of work for six months last year. But I guarn-frickin-tee you that if we had had a snowmobile at that time, and it was a decision of keeping the toy or putting food on the table, we would have chosen food.

It's all about priorities, America! The whole reason we as a country are in the economic crisis we are in is because we cannot prioritize. We wander around like a bunch of spoiled little kids saying, "Yeah, I know I should eat my vegetables, but I wanna eat Twinkies for dinner so that's what I'm gonna do...because I can." And we're right. It's a free country. We can do whatever the heck we want. But when MY hard earned dollar is going to support state and federal programs such as food stamps because you refuse to sell your snowmobile when you lose your job, ummm...yeah, I'm gonna get pissed.

Is it going to suck to have to sacrifice some of the things we've worked so hard for? You're darn right it is. Guess what? That's life. I don't know about you all, but the day I was born I was not greeted by a unicorn jumping over a rainbow promising me butterflies and happiness all the days of my life.

By the way, unless I am misinterpreting the regulations, what this is essentially saying is that if you have a $25,000 car that you do not own outright, but are making payments on, and you lose your job, you will qualify for food stamps. But if you have a car that you own flat out (yes, people, there are some who do this), then you will be penalized for owning an asset. What message is this sending to people? Debt=good and will help you get on government assistance. Fiscal responsibility=bad and will restrict you from getting help in times of need. Am I saying everyone who has a car payment is irresponsible? Um, no, not at all. But rewarding debt is a really, really, bad idea.

Phew...ok, enough on that rant. I've said my piece.

Rant #2

So keeping along with the same "debt" theme, I came across an article today that discussed how congress is trying to decide whether or not they should raise the national debt ceiling.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/monitor_breakfast/2010/1119/Brutal-vote-ahead-on-whether-to-raise-the-national-debt-ceiling

Um, really? Seriously? Are you frickin kidding me?

Seriously.

We are trillions upon trillions of dollars in debt (when I say we, I mean as a nation), and they are trying to decide if we should borrow more money. Ok, federal government, you are just as flaming stupid as the moron having the snowmobile vs food quandry.

It's not a tough decision.

Are the implications going to be uncomfortable? Does it mean we as a nation are all going to have to tighten our purse string, and oh, gee, I don't know....act like grown ups? Yes, it does. Again, with the whiny little spoiled children.

"But mom! I don't wanna stop racking up trillions in debt cause I really like driving my shiny Bentley around and eating meals that are more than some people's weekly wages! I don't want to spend money to make sure our country is safe from harm, I would rather hand it around to people who don't work and crank out 40 kids so they can get a check every week. You know why, mom? Cause the more those people rely on me for their check, the more they will do as I tell them. You see mom, it's all part of my evil diaboical plan."

Yeah, ya'll can laugh if you want, but I'm really actually not kidding.

The really laughable part of all this is that the co-chair of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility (talk about an oxymoron) says about the tough decision, "This is going to be beautiful politics - the brutal kind." Since when is it beautiful when deciding the financial future of our grandkids turns brutal? Seriously, if I saw that guy on the street right now, I would smack him upside the head. Too bad I wasn't a politician in Argentina.

 Alan Simpson also says that he "can't wait for the bloodbath in April."  Really?  Seriously?  You are in charge of fiscal responsibiity and you are looking forward to a political bloodbath.  Wow.  That almost makes me speechless.

I think it's really sad that we have come to a point in our nation where brutality in politics is something to look forward to, and buying food or keeping a snowmobile is a hard decision.  Really, really, really sad.