Fools, Dolts and Morons

Economist Bruce Krasting has his dander up this morning…  And he’s got me rethinking my position on term limits to boot.

Why? Because our elected officials have decided that the uncertainty of a 2 month extension to the payroll tax holiday is what the economy needs.

There have been dozens of articles from smart people connecting the dots between the uncertain tax policies business’s face and their reluctance to hire more workers. I’ve heard Pols from both sides say the same. It’s true. But the best that Washington can do is move the ball forward by 59 days; disgraceful.

The two-month extension amounts to $33b that will be retained in the economy. I would not be surprised if the benefit of the stimulus will be lost by the continued uncertainty that is being caused by D.C. What has been “accomplished” is just a loss.

You see, this is what you get when you elect guys and gals you’d like to have a beer with rather than on their ability to work together as a team and solve the tremendously complex problems of the world’s largest economic engine.  An engine that is sputtering and coughing along and needs a serious overhaul.  These guys and gals have no idea how a modern industrial economy works, how money works, how literally anything works!  So obsessed with scoring points of one another they cannot get out of their own way.

They spout platitudes about “living within our means” and “I can balance my checkbook, why can’t Uncle Sam balance his?”  And they seem to think this is clever.  Or, on my more cynical days, they seem to think that we the American People will think this is clever.  We don’t.

My Senator, Chucky Boy Schumer (D-N.Y.) had this to say about the conflict that is sure to come in February:

“It’s a fight we welcome”

These clowns love this stuff. It has nothing to do with the right choices; it’s about the next election. They don’t give a damn about the country or it’s citizens. It’s about keeping their powerful jobs.

I have never been a fan of “term limits” because I believe that it’s important for people to develop expertise.  Would you rather go to a doctor who graduated from medical school 2 years ago or 20 years ago?  I know which one I’d pick.  There is value in experience.  But my assumption, my mistake, was in believing that our Congressmen and Senators were developing expertise in government.  I was wrong.  They’ve developed an expertise in how to be assholes to each other.  They become experts in blowing the ideological dog whistle for their base.  Actually governing the nation?  Not so much.  Unless it’s time to hand another massive chunk of cash to the 1%, then they can get together an make it happen.  If term limits can remove clowns like Jim Sensenbrenner, Mitch McConnell and the Charlie Rangel then I’m on board.

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8 thoughts on “Fools, Dolts and Morons

  1. Two words shoot down term limits for me: Bernie Sanders.
    Give me campaign finance reform and limits on spending and length of campaigns.

    1. For every Bernie Sanders there’s ten Mitch McConnell’s… I’m willing to pay that price at this point. How much good has Bernie actually done? How much of his legislation actually gets implemented?

      Not much.

  2. Phil- Don’t. Talk around the real issue- big money corrupting members of Congress, and sheltering these windbags from the bleak realities most of us are facing outside of the D.C.- Wall Street bubble.

    The worst answer to that problem is term limits, because it removes the politicians but keeps the selfish interests around. The answer is GETTING THE MONEY AND ADS OUT OF POLITICS, and make these guys and gals accountable to the people who pay their salaries, instead of the people who pay their donations.

  3. When talking about term limits, I’m reminded of something Feingold once said that I tend to agree with: If you think the lobbyists and the corporate interests have too much control over Washington now, just wait until you have term-limited pol’s with both no accountability to voters (no “next election” to face!) and no institutional knowledge.

    Scary indeed.

  4. As much as I of all people want to get rid of Rep. Sensenbrenner, I can’t support the idea of a term limit.

    If the voters want to rid themselves of a bad politician, we have elections to do just that.

  5. I thought we had term limits! That was one of the main reforms from Newts Contract on America and I am sure that he got everything in the contract implemented which is why he is the republican front runner for the presidential nomination, right?? right??

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