a little respect, just a little bit …

“…we now have a permanent presidential campaign that encourages all partisanship, all the time among our leading politicians.” - ” http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/30/opinion/30friedman.html?em

All partisanship – I’m not sure that I’m for “all partisanship.” I think we need to be bi- or multi-partisan – with intelligence, respect and courtesy for all parties involved. We need people to have differing opinions, to debate the issues from multiple viewpoints, to not agree on the best solution from the get-go. Each party should want something different, creating some tension in the argument that will give rise to flaws, errors in judgment, political blindness. Instant agreement doesn’t dredge up and expose the bad stuff.

I was once in a business meeting where two parties – the heads of their respective departments – seriously disagreed on an issue; option A would would have greater negative impact on one department, and option B would have greater negative impact on the other. Each one argued her points passionately and intelligently. And always respectfully. I remember thinking how impressed I was with each of them at that moment. It was the job of each department head to run her department well and to represent the best interests of the department, and that’s what each of these women was doing. This was an important issue and needed the depth of review and debate that their discussion was providing. If they’d agreed from the outset, there would have been no quality review, no discussion and questioning and exposure.

I believe it’s healthy – even vital and necessary - to have two (or more) different viewpoints when discussing Important Issues. Get it all out there, expose the flaws, discuss options, disagree and explain why you disagree. Listen. Listen and understand. Don’t keep playing the same record; listen to someone else’s. Broaden your thinking.

All this name-calling across the aisles and emotional propaganda by both sides is disrespectful of others’ opinions. The disrespect (and threats) accorded our previous and current presidents does not advance the discussion in an intelligent manner.

We need differing viewpoints on healthcare, the economy, and the other Important Issues. And we need to respect those viewpoints and appreciate that each person is doing his/her job, representing the best interests of his/her constituencies. It could be dangerous if everyone fully agreed on every Important Issue. We should agree that bipartisanship is a good thing. And respect our differences.

I need to go to my happy place ...

Q. What is an Economic Stimulus Payment?
A. It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers.

Q. Where will the government get this money?
A. From taxpayers.

Q. So the government is giving me back my own money?
A. Only a smidgen.

~~~
“Dear American Taxpayer,
Think you were in debt before? You now owe $825 billion more. Have a nice day!”
~~~
A government big enough to give you everything you want is strong enough to take everything you have.
~Thomas Jefferson
~~~
My first brother S sent me the following article link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123310466514522309.html

When it always takes Congress an inordinate amount of time to ever get anything done, how is it that they were able to write a 647-page "stimulus" (I can't write that with a straight face, even with quotation marks) bill within days of Obama's inauguration? Seems like someone had it stashed away in a drawer somewhere just waiting to spring this pork-infested bloat upon the American taxpayer.

"..by our estimate only $90 billion out of $825 billion, or about 12 cents of every $1, is for something that can plausibly be considered a growth stimulus."

Out of the $825 billion, only $90 billion is really stimulus. The rest? Well, just read the article. Try not to get too angry.

I am responsible enough to stay within my personal budget, not spend on extras; I have no debt other than my mortgage payment. But Nan and her ilk are gonna put me and my fellow Americans in deep, deep debt.

Here's my brother's proposal, which I think is brilliant:

Instead of San Fran Nan’s we-won-the-election-we-wrote-the-bill bag o’tricks, how about giving every man, woman and child $100,000. With a population of 300 million, that works out to $300 billion. Much cheaper and I’m willing to bet it would provide much more actual economic stimulus, plus put money back into the banking system.

(I told you it was brilliant.)

~ With that money, people could pay off mortgages, or put a down payment on a house, or stop a foreclosure - the housing crisis would end.

~ People could buy new cars, or do home remodeling, or invest in a new business - stimulating the economy.

~ Credit cards could be paid off, reducing the incredible personal debt that Americans currently carry.

~ Every dollar spent would mean more people would keep their jobs - lowering the unemployment rate.

Yes, we need something, but this bill isn't it. What we borrow, will have to be repaid. We need a real stimulus bill, not this. A bill that we'll be able to repay without mortgaging future generations because of the greed of some politicians and their pet projects and union connections.

In California, our government is taking drastic measures to reduce spending. Our State tax refunds have been suspended; we're getting IOUs. And starting next week, government employees are required to take off two days per month unpaid, saving the state 1.3 billion through June 2010, closing some government services on those days. It's tough, but at least these employees won't be laid off; they'll still be working and have benefits. It's tough, but it's better than going into even deeper debt.

A debt crisis is not solved by acquiring greater debt.

There's been a proposal for the United States Postal Service to deliver mail five days a week instead of six. Fine by me. Again, I'd rather see reduced services, than people losing their jobs entirely or having our government go into further debt.

There's a better way. Let's pray that our leaders put aside their greed and stop trying to pull a fast one. Let's pray that they focus on real stimulus that will truly and honestly help Americans, not saddle them with a bill that cannot be repaid. Pray for wisdom and for hearts that genuinely care for the lives of every American, now and in the future.


~Namaste