Hope and Change? Not so much…

President Obama claims that Senate must act now to avoid a catastrophe. Yet, most of the provisions in the pending legislation would not really be in effect for at least 6 months, and would not begin to impact the US economy before the end of the year.

It’s disingenuous for the President to claim such urgency, given the slow implementation these measures will face if and when they are approved. The President, who derided his predecessor for playing “the fear game”, is now, unsurprisingly, playing the very same game. A spending package of this magnitude (nearly 10% of the US GDP) certainly warrants close examination, and therein lies the rub.

Upon examination, the legislation before the Senate contains an immense amount of spending on pork-barrel projects that will do little or nothing to create jobs or stimulate the economy. It’s as plain as day to see that many provisions in the bill are little more than “Thank You” checks written out to Obama supporters, and President Obama is trying to ram the bill through the Senate, hoping no one will notice.

We have noticed, Mr. President, and frankly, while it’s not surprising that “Hope and Change” are conspicuously absent from your current rhetoric, we’re sick of the notion that the government knows better than the people how best to spend their money.

^Z