The hypocrisy of Congress is mindboggling

Friday, March 12, 2010

Several weeks ago, Congressman Steny Hoyer had a letter touting himself and his party as fiscal conservatives based on their support for the paygo system ["Paygo helps us stop digging America's fiscal hole," Maryland Independent, Feb. 10].

The Democratic majority just last month passed the paygo bill which spells out rules for holding the line on budget deficits. The paygo or pay-as-you-go rule requires that new spending or tax changes do not add to the budget deficit.

New proposals must either be budget neutral or offset with savings derived from existing funds. With our country quickly moving toward bankruptcy because of Congress' unbridled spending, this looked like a positive step. I say looked like a positive step because it will only work if the rules are followed. However, we know that historically Congress makes rules for citizens to follow and that Congress of course is exempt.

It took less than two weeks before Congress totally ignored the paygo rules and passed a $15 billion job creation bill. I thought the purpose of the $787 billion stimulus package was for creating jobs. Why is Congress adding $15 billion to the budget deficit when less than half the stimulus monies have gone to their intended purpose?

The absurdity continued last week. Sen. Jim Bunning from Kentucky dared to hold up a $10 billion spending bill for the extension of unemployment benefits. His reasoning was the same as above: don't add to the budget deficit; take these dollars from the already existing stimulus dollars. Sen. Bunning for his efforts was chastised by the Democrats, vilified by most of the networks and abandoned by his fellow Republicans. Taxpayers, wake up. This man was protecting your interests.

On the other hand the hypocrisy of Congress is mind-boggling. As taxpayers, we should be aware of the politicians' attitude of "tell them what they want to hear and then do as you please." I think it should also be obvious that if you base your political decisions on what you hear on the nightly news you are ill-informed. I read conservative and liberal papers and blogs. I sign up for newsletters from both conservative and liberal organizations. Then I make up my own mind on whose values and positions match my desires for my family and my country.

Jerry Miller, Dentsville