Congress has lost its mind...

[Shawnee123]

Wonderful!

Oh, but I was a bartender.

[classicman]

So apparently you think this is a slam-dunk great deal. Interesting. I haven't really heard that position from anyone else, including those who support it. Everyone seems to think this is some type of compromise or a great first step.

shrug.

Originally Posted by classicman

So apparently you think this is a slam-dunk great deal. Interesting. I haven't really heard that position from anyone else, including those who support it. Everyone seems to think this is some type of compromise or a great first step.

shrug.

Where did I say it was a great deal?

I said there are always winners and losers and I identfied who I thought those winners and losers are.

And I said there are always trade-offs (compromises).

I am a political pragmatist. You take what you realistically can expect to get...a half (or in this case, three quarters) of a loaf is better than none.

added:
IMO, a better bill would have had a much stronger public option. I also dont think it is great that some Americans (far fewer than ever) will still slip through the cracks, but the will to add the cost of that (at taxpayer expense) was not there. I would have supported generating more revenue to pay for it by lowering the threshold for the income tax surcharge from $500k/$1 million to $250k/$500K (or 300/600).

Those were some of the trade-offs (compromises) that were made to make passage of the bill possible.

But none of the above are reasons for me NOT to support this bill.

Even with those trade-offs, there are some great provisions that potentially benefit all of us, most notably, the elimination of excluding coverage to those with pre-existing conditions, prohibiting rate discrimination (mostly to the benefit of women) and capping annual out-of-pocket expenses so that no one faces bankruptcy as a result of a long-term illness or medical crisis....and for those millions of hard-working Americans currently w/o employer-based coverage, the plan will offer a range of coverage options that will be much more affordable than presently available.

[Radar]

I was happily surprised to find out that my congressional rep is none other than Alan Grayson of the "The Republican Health Care Plan: Don't Get Sick! And if you do get sick, die quickly!" fame.

I know the Republicans are pissed and want to go after him. I think I'll volunteer to help him get re-elected.

It's nice to have people in Congress who aren't lying and don't pull any punches.

[TheMercenary]

Who would have thunk it?

Report: 237 millionaires in Congress

Talk about bad timing.


As Washington reels from the news of 10.2 percent unemployment, the Center for Responsive Politics is out with a new report describing the wealth of members of Congress.


Among the highlights: Two-hundred-and-thirty-seven members of Congress are millionaires. That’s 44 percent of the body – compared to about 1 percent of Americans overall.


CRP says California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa is the richest lawmaker on Capitol Hill, with a net worth estimated at about $251 million. Next in line: Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), worth about $244.7 million; Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), worth about $214.5 million; Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), worth about $209.7 million; and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), worth about $208.8 million.


All told, at least seven lawmakers have net worths greater than $100 million, according to the Center’s 2008 figures.


“Many Americans probably have a sense that members of Congress aren’t hurting, even if their government salary alone is in the six figures, much more than most Americans make,” said CRP spokesman Dave Levinthal. “What we see through these figures is that many of them have riches well beyond that salary, supplemented with securities, stock holdings, property and other investments.”


The CRP numbers are somewhat rough estimates – lawmakers are required to report their financial information in broad ranges of figures, so it’s impossible to pin down their dollars with precision. The CRP uses the mid-point in the ranges to build its estimates.


Senators’ estimated median reportable worth sunk to about $1.79 million from $2.27 million in 2007. The House’s median income was significantly lower and also sank, bottoming out at $622,254 from $724,258 in 2007.


But CRP’s analysis suggests that some lawmakers did well for themselves between 2007 and 2008, even as many Americans lost jobs and saw their savings and their home values plummet.


Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) gained about $9.2 million. Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) gained about $3 million, Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) had an estimated $2.6 million gain, and Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) gained about $2.8 million.


Some lawmakers have profited from investments in companies that have received federal bailouts; dozens of lawmakers are invested in Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America.


Among executive branch officials, CRP says the richest is Securities and Exchange Commission Chairwoman Mary L. Schapiro, with a net worth estimated at $26 million.


Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is next, worth an estimated $21 million. President Barack Obama is the sixth-wealthiest, worth about an estimated $4 million. Vice President Joe Biden has often tagged himself as an original blue collar man. The CRP backs him up, putting his net worth at just $27,000.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1109/29235.html

[Clodfobble]

I thought rich people earned every cent of it and should never be ashamed of their wealth in any way, Merc? Doesn't that apply to Congressmen too?

[TheMercenary]

I knew most of them were rich, just not that rich. Funny how many laws they make don't effect them.

[Clodfobble]

I thought you were pissed that they kept making laws that only affected the richest people's income?

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

I thought you were pissed that they kept making laws that only affected the richest people's income?

No, not at all. I am against progressive taxation of any kind but that is all we have at the moment for the federal government.

[classicman]

But Clod its been clearly demonstrated that congresspeople don't pay taxes anyway.

[TheMercenary]

Ex-Louisiana Democratic Congressman Sentenced to 13 Years

WASHINGTON — Former Representative William J. Jefferson, a New Orleans Democrat whose political career once seemed to hold high promise, was sentenced Friday to 13 years in prison for using his office to try to enrich himself and his relatives.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/14/us...fferson&st=cse

[TheMercenary]

Damm. Look at all those jobs created!

http://www.stimuluswatch.org/2.0/

[classicman]

I just picked a couple to laugh at
Rational design of innovative catalytic technologies for biomass derivative utilization
Cost $17,500,000 Location Newark DE Jobs created 4

Cops Hiring Recovery Program (CHRP)
Cost $3,543,888 Location Wilmington DE Jobs created 0

At least Biden got some money into his home state

[classicman]

I also find it rather interesting that if you search by "Most expensive", of those costing over a BILLION not one has a positive rating. ?????

[TheMercenary]

Click on the details and see how many have not been started. It really is pretty remarkable that the government can't or will not move the money any faster. In fact it is fast becoming a joke.