- Bail-out Passes
This week Congress has approved and the President has signed the Economic Stabilization package which includes $700 billion for financial institutions among numerous other items. I think that this was the right move to make and the $700 billion price tag is a major turn-off initially but people do not understand that we will be getting the bulk of that money back when we re-sell the mortgages that we as a government purchase. I have heard older people (senior citizens) say that government is just looking out for the rich people again and are not doing anything to raise the amount of social security that they receive each month. This was the basic account of my grandmother who does live on a fixed income. I am not concerned because if you focus on the discussion and get past the tired rhetoric anyone can see that this bill will be helpful to our economy. As a college student I am worried about the debt that we accumulate as a nation because someone has to pay it back but this is a step in re-building our troublesome economy.
2. Vice-Presidential Debate
Sarah Palin and Joe Biden squared off for the 1st and only Vice-Presidential debate this year. I have heard many people say that it was a virtual tie. For Sarah Palin, who was quite the junior in the arena of politics compared to Joe Biden, to come out of this looking as a "tie" was what she needed. The McCain camp certainly did prep her well so that any question that popped up she had a response to. I have heard discussion among several students in my political science class that the questions were favored for Senator Biden compared to her because they dealt mostly with Congressional issues that she does not know about as much as Senator Biden because she has not severed in the Senate for 36 years. I have also heard from members of my family that they would like to see another debate between these two Vice-Presidential candidates. Fox News did call Palin the winner of the debate. (FYI, she did do very well)
3. 111th Congress could be filibuster free
Fox News is saying that there are 10 vulnerable GOP seats in this year's midterm election. If the Democrats can hit that magic number of 60 seats in the Senate then they will not have to go through all the procedural hurdles which have presented themselves during this session of Congress. With a 60 vote threshold the Democrats can virtually move through any piece of legislation that they desire without have to compromise with the Republicans who will not be able to stop them. Dr. Leonard and I were speaking the other day about this issue and we decided that this is not what the founding fathers envisioned when they created two legislative bodies for our federal branch of government. The House is governed by majority rule and the Senate was the cooling chamber where matters will receive more debate and discussion and the leadership can not force a vote down the members' throats. Compromise and extended debates would be the hallmarks of the Senate but with a super-majority of 60 Senate seats the majority leader and his team runs the entire body. This is not what the Senate was designed to be so it is my hope that this does not happen and the election climate will improve for Republican candidates.
4. Attacks are getting personal
The attacks coming out of the campaign are getting very personal. A McCain ad has tried to link Obama with terrorists and linking him with some of Illinois most corrupt public officials. The Obama team is relating this to the Swift Boat Veterans campaign ads that surfaced just months before the election in 2004 against Senator John Kerry. I have heard many people say that they are tired of hearing all this stuff that does not matter. If John McCain received war injuries in Vietnam that prevents him from being able to sit and use a computer then who cares. If the President can make cool, calm, and collected decisions without using a computer then that is fine with me. Another paraphrase from my grandma, let's get back to the issues that matter and move away from all this pointless talk. (Good idea)
5. Economy
With the stock market still in decline and jobless claims still rising many people are wondering "Have we hit the recession yet?" This is a valid argument and one that we as average American citizens are not sure of. I have not seen the media come out and say that it is official that we are in a recession but I think that it is obvious with the status of what is happening around us that something has to give at some point. An economy can not prosper forever and maybe we dug ourselves into this whole because we were trying to live up "the American dream" of everyone owning their own home. Fox News' economic team says the beginning of this whole mess was with the bust of sub prime mortgages. Someone got too greedy and now we are all feeling the squeeze. I have heard discussion that it is never going to get better as prices continue to rise for everything from food to health care to energy to utilities. I actually heard one lady at a gas station complaining because the price of her cigarettes went up. Well the easiest thing to do in this situation is to quit and that will save you a ton of money plus health care costs because your lungs will be clear and you might be able to avert cancer. Not a complicated thought process for this Republican.
With less than a month till the election the attacks, the ads, and the rhetoric is just going to increase. Hang in there guys, it's almost over.
No comments:
Post a Comment