The whole debate about raising the debt ceiling has worn the whole nation down. I know from personal experience after the bill had been signed, I could not listen to any more about politics for a day or two. So I can really understand how our great and O so hard working Congress felt it needed to take a vacation. However, when one goes on vacation don’t we have to finish unfinished business, or at least delegate the responsibility to someone?
This whole issue with the FAA seems to be, at best pure neglect, and at worst a purposeful attempt at raising unemployment, thus undermining the confidence in various parts of our government. What seems even worse, at least to me, is the media has not picked up on it!
Am I missing something here? This is the way I see it:
- We are at a time of high unemployment already
- Our Congress neglects to deal with an issue that has to do with keeping 74,000 workers from their jobs
- The Congress goes on vacation
We are already at a time of high jobless rates. Our leaders make statements saying that job creation should be paramount to all of our thinking. One side is pointing at the other saying, “Where is your plan,” while the unemployed go hungry and loose their homes looking for work.
While those “nonessential” FAA workers, 4,000 direct employees and 70,000 contractors, are released due to lack of funding; our government is not collecting taxes generated from airline ticket sales (we will go into the corporate greed behind Deltas’ collection of the taxes in another essay). This dustup of Congressional proportion is over some credit that costed the government something like $16 million a year. Everyday this manufactured issue went on cost the FAA lost around $30 to $32 million a day in uncollected airline ticket sales. WTF is going on here?
So let me get it straight;
- 4,000 direct employees were out of a job.
- 70,000 contractors out of work.
- $32 million in taxes not collected.
- Because a $16 million a year tax credit flounders in a vacationing U.S House of Representatives.
These are the people we have elected to represent our interests?
I have two questions on this debacle in governing. The first is simple; Why didn’t the media bring this to our attention---kinda like when JLo gets a zit. It feels like the whole issue was pushed to the side and not given the attention it deserved. Now I know that we were all distracted by the very important issue, though artificially contrived, of the debt ceiling debate, but I think that the “masses” can hold more than one important subject at one time.
What is more important though, is what were they thinking, these powerful leaders of the United States of America? Hypocrites may, or may not be the right term here. (could that be too strong a term?) While one side of the House kept trying to define the Debt Ceiling issue around jobs, whist at the same time ignoring the loss of 74,000 of them, I ask what is going on inside of their heads?
Now is the time when I should conclude this blog with my statement concerning the culpability, or outright malice of our countries’ leaders and media, but I want to start a discussion among those who have read this. So please let me know what you think of my words and the questions I have brought up.
olc
