I'd called his office to register my disapproval of the Cash for Clunkers program. Yesterday, I received a reply from him that can only be described as inane, unless you describe it as pathetic, unless you describe it as delusional.
Yes, actually, delusional is the word I want.
For example, The Honorable Senator said that the Cash for Clunkers program was an "overwhelming success."
Sure, if by "success" you mean destruction of a country's assets and wealth (700,000 usable, working vehicles were destroyed), and if you mean the artificial pulling forward of demand (vehicle sales are plummeting), and if you mean a complete waste of $3 billion of taxpayer money (rather than saving on fuel, the program will lead to the burning of more gasoline during the first few years of new car ownership).
If that's not enough, the program enticed a whole lot of Americans to turn in a car which they most likely owned free and clear to buy a new car with expensive monthly payments they very likely can't afford. Probably not the greatest idea during a severe recession with high unemployment and lots of other jobs on the line, not to mention that Americans are saddled with nearly a trillion dollars in revolving consumer debt (not including mortgages).
Oh, and once again our federal government showed its complete obliviousness to the "Forgotten Man": They took money from Group A (we the taxpayers, an ever-shrinking group) to give to Group B (the auto dealers who got the $4500 per car and had increased sales for a few weeks), in order to benefit Group C (the people who got the new fuel-efficient car to theoretically save a little bit on their gas expenses). We, the taxpayers, are the Forgotten Man in this scam.
As this article puts it:
[Cash for Clunkers] took $2.8 billion from the general roster of 300 million citizens and handed it tax-free to a small group of 700,000 citizens.
Topping it off, this tax-free benefit was only available to those who had not already bought a fuel-efficient car, thus rewarding people who didn't do "the right thing" in the past.
Nice job, Senator Kohl and President Obama. Once again you prove that you have no idea what you're doing and will most definitely bring this country to ruin.
4 comments:
I know you probably won't post this, since my comment does not mesh with your views, but I hope that you'll at least read it. You are sadly mistaken regarding just about everything you write. Perhaps you've seen Glen Beck cry and have been moved by his "genuine" sadness regarding the state of the nation. Perhaps you've watched too many hours of the Fox News channel so your views are no longer your own.
I thank God every day that the Bush Administration is out of office and has been replaced by one that is concerned about things like bringing our troops home from an unnecessary war in Iraq, ending torture and abuse of prisoners, focusing on rehabilitation of incarcerated individuals, and ensuring that our public schools have the resources they need to succeed.
You may have a problem with social programs. A lot of you do. I certainly hope that you refuse to take part in Medicare or Social Security. You should avoid those out of principle, right?
You say that the Cash for Clunkers program did not work. You say that people are buying vehicles that they cannot afford. However, you also advocate less government regulation of individuals, so shouldn't these people be allowed to make such poor decisions?
I certainly hope you are not a Wisconsinite, because I am, and would not want to identify with a town hall yeller such as yourself. Pathetic.
Dear Anonymous Federal Government Employee Who Just Might Possibly Work in Herb Kohl's Office:
I'm hoping that you checked the box for "email follow-ups", so that you'll see this comment and thus learn that I did publish your comment. You see, conservatives are not afraid of ideas, or of views that don't "mesh" with ours. That's because we know our ideas are the right ones and ultimately truth prevails. Always.
However, it's a shame you used your U.S. Senate web service to insult me, a mere citizen of the United States. Your argument was already pretty weak but that made it even worse.
Go ahead and check out my new post in which you'll see the screencapture of your visit to my blog.
Have a great day!
Ok, I have read the original post, the Anonymous response and then the shredding of that response.
I have to say, I didn't really hear anything lately about the rehabilitation of incarcerated individuals lately in the news...anywhere! Talk about a comment unrelated to the original post.
So, if this Anonymous poster really is posting from their government office, I would think that might be an issue that you are using MY tax dollars to post things to a blog. Don't you have other "work" that you should be doing?
Notice, I am posting this at 7:00pm after I spent 10 hours at work.
My suggestion to this person is to give up while you can on this discussion, you don't stand a chance.
And I can attest to M.E. not being a "town hall yeller". I've known her all my life, don't think I've ever heard her yell.
Oh, and I forgot a couple of points.
1) I would also LOVE to opt out of Medicare and Social Security and take my money and invest it myself.
2) The public schools need more money? In the year that almost all employers have frozen or cut salaries, increased benefit costs, cut 401k matching and generally reduced what employees make, the West Bend School District sees fit to give their teachers a 3.8% pay increase.
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