DIVIDED GOVERNMENT AND ACID COMPROMISE

If the pending tax deal is any indication of things to come and there is every reason to think that it is, the good old but battered USA is in for some more battering. Mind you, this is self inflicted damage. No foreign agents at work here. No, what we have here is a group of the very wealthiest people and corporations, Americans all, fronted by the republican party and fixed news, some of whom are American, who will do or say anything to make themselves even wealthier very wealthy people, the country, it's working men and women, real people with real families all, it's great middle class which is after all what made America the powerhouse that it is, as well as a beacon to all, be damned!

In the words of Representative Thaddeus G. McCotter, Republican of Michigan, spoken on the House floor today, “This bill will not end the suffering of the unemployed and economically anxious Americans, it will prolong it.” We know nothing of Rep. McCotter but in this instance at least you have to admire his honesty and his patriotism. He knows this is bad policy for the country and he is not afraid to say it and seemingly buck his own party.

We agree and as we have been known to in various venues, cite Winston Churchill's wisdom;

"Never give in! Never give in! Never, never, never. Never -- in anything great or small, large or petty -- never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense."

We submit that this tax bill meets neither of those tests. And as such, as Representative James P. McGovern, Democrat of Massachusetts, said on the floor of the House today “We must do better than this.”

We can, and as patriots, we must. Our country needs us.

Over the next two years there will be many opportunities for acid compromise that will present themselves. We can only hope that President Obama has studied the wisdom in Mr. Churchill words.

People are depending on it.

At every turn over the next two years, when it comes to convictions of honor and good sense, the President should refuse to compromise. He should force the republicans to vote against the interests of working and middle class Americans in favor of the wealthiest among us and he should point it out loudly on television every night and day. Let's see how long that plays in Peoria?

Wake up Mr President, people are depending upon you.

A CONFIDENCE GAME

Has anyone noticed that the last time Nassau County faced a financial crises of the magnitude that is currently staring us all in the face it was under Republican leadership?

Let's review. Nassau’s last fiscal meltdown came in 1999, after decades of unchecked spending and out of control patronage at the hands of a series of Republican county executives and supervisors, paid for with mounting debt and one-time revenues like desperation sales of county land at fire sale prices.

This led to a $200 million deficit and a credit rating barely above junk. It triggered a Democratic takeover of what had long been a Republican bastion. And it ended with a $100 million state bailout in 2000 and the creation of a watchdog agency, the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, to oversee the county’s fiscal practices.

Under pressure from that authority, Mr. Mangano’s Democratic predecessor, Thomas R. Suozzi, raised property taxes, shrank the county work force and reduced the county’s reliance on borrowing to pay for operating costs.

In an attempt to stabilize the county's revenue stream by establishing a recurring revenue source Mr. Suozzi instituted a 2.5 percent tax on home heating bills. As effective as it was unpopular, the tax was a necessary component of maintaining the county's fiscal health.
 
In the election for county executive that followed, Mr. Mangano and the Nassau Republican machine pounded away at the unpopular tax vowing to repeal it and restore confidence in county government.

As most of us know, there is no free lunch. If you campaign against a tax you either have to find a way to replace the revenue it generated or you need to cut spending to align with the reality of reduced resources.

Mr. Mangano and the Republicans in the county legislature got rid of the energy tax all right but never came up with the spending cuts or a way to replace the lost revenue. It is a pattern straight out of the Republican playbook of the last 40 years. The truth, as we have all witnessed first hand, is that when it comes to fiscal responsibility, Republicans talk a good game but the only time during the past 40 years that Nassau's finances have been under sound footing is the 8 year period of time when the county was under Democratic leadership.

Once again, reckless Republican fiscal policies have put Nassau County on the Brink of financial disaster and a take over of its finances by state watchdogs.

Is this what Mr. Mangano and the Republicans meant by restoring confidence in county government? Sounds more like a confidence game to me.

To the voters of Nassau County, how is voting Republican working out for you so far?

Oh c'mon, that's an easy one for anyone who is paying attention.

EAT UP AMERICA

* Republicans Block U.S. Health Aid for 9/11 Workers
* Republicans Block Repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell
* Republicans Block Extension of Benefits For The Unemployed
* Republicans Block Tax Cuts for 98% of Americans
* Republicans Block Food Safety Bill

As a matter of fact the only thing that Republicans will not block are tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% of Americans. Everything, they say, must wait for that, everything. Nothing is more important to them.

And this is only since November 2nd and they are not even in power yet, though you would not know it.

These are despicable people who leave a putrid taste in your mouth.

Eat up America because this is what you ordered a heaping helping of in November.

The question is how long until America gets sick to its stomach.