Fire Congress

EDITOR:

I don't know about you but I am so thankful for the Washington establishment. They have really eased the burden on the average American.

We have a wonderful new health care plan. Oh wait, insurance premiums have already risen dramatically and the plan won't even be fully implemented for years.

Well, we have tough new rules for the financial industry. Oh wait, Freddie and Fannie, who own 90 percent of the mortgage market, have been exempted.

Well, consumers are being protected. Oh wait, credit card fees have gone up substantially.

Well, the stimulus package has certainly helped the economy. Oh wait, unemployment is still around 10 percent and home sales are at record lows.

Well, we are getting the border problem solved. Oh wait, that doesn't seem to be going so well either. And how about that stock market, huh?

It's hard to know where to start when trying to make sense out of the goings-on in Washington these days.

We are drowning in red ink from government spending that is totally out of control. Congress passes bills into law without reading or funding them, despite their own "Pay Go" rule, because everything is now an emergency.

They attach riders and earmarks to bills to which they have no connection at all, pass them in the middle of the night, and then claim ignorance.

We were promised a government that would be ethical and transparent. Do you see the debate about issues on C-Span, or is most of it done behind closed doors? Do you see the text of all major bills posted on the Internet for five days before any vote, or do these laws just suddenly happen?

And how do you think the "Swamp draining" thing is going?

Congress, ostensibly the most powerful of the three branches of government, has allowed itself to become marginalized, if not made totally irrelevant, by all of the unelected, unvetted and unconfirmed czars.

These people, in many cases, have little or no private sector experience and many seem to have problems figuring out how to pay their own taxes!

The government (we) now own 60 percent of General Motors which has just introduced the Chevy Volt, an electric car that can go 40 miles between charges.

Nissan is producing the Leaf which will go 100 miles between charges and sells for $10,000 less than the Volt. And they did it with no stimulus money. What is the matter with us?

When I was young we learned about "The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire." We learned that the fall of Rome was caused as much by internal corruption, civil war and the looting of the treasury as it was by any invaders.

We were warned about the dangers of internal disintegration as it applied to many aspects of life - but especially to our government.

And here we are.

Our government is bloated, inefficient, irresponsible and corrupt.

Our leaders are arrogant, out of touch, out of control, and need to be out of work.

Gary Griffith

Gardnerville