Irrelevant Importance Life, art, politics, technology and the meaninglessness that matters to me.

It’s all partisan bullshit

I feel like writing about politics, but the only big news is, of course, the stimulus package. I am not an economist. Most people are not economists. What I believe this means is that despite all the words being spent on the topic, most of the people talking about it don't know what the hell they are talking about. If I started talking about it, I would not know what I am talking about. However, I do know people, and I know irritation, so instead I will rant. About people. People that irritate me.

First, conservatives: let's just admit that you are a hypocrites. If the economy had been tanking on the level it is right now at the end of 2000 into 2001, you would have been screaming for Bill Clinton's blood. And if Bush had come in to office and proposed an enormous stimulus package, most of you who are so outraged right now would be hailing it as a brilliant and necessary piece of legislation. Case in point, the $700B bailout at the end of his administration. Sure, a small handful of Republicans were against it, but not many. Maybe after seven years and nine months of fucking up everything he did, it just didn't seem like a big deal anymore. I don't know. Either way for the most part he got a pass on it.

People who support it, mostly liberals (who I count myself among to an extent, promise): ditto. Were it Bush's proposal you would be outraged and demanding it be stopped at all costs. Which would fail, because you would be relying on the Democrats in Congress to stop it, and we all know they were worthless when it came to standing up against Bush. Of course in Bush's version a quarter of the bill would be contracts for Halliburton, but I digress.

What is the truth? As usual, it probably lies somewhere in between. Something does need to be done, and conservatives who are still saying, "Hey, I have a novel idea! TAX CUTS!" need to be beaten. Severely. Look around. See where we are? Look behind you. See how we got here? Eight years of fucking deregulation and tax cuts. Stop it. Say what you will about Clinton, at least he understood that you couldn't cut taxes and simultaneously raise spending. He did do plenty of things I object to while in office, but he wasn't stupid, and he balanced the budget. I think it's funny that the conservatives love to vilify him, yet he was actually more fiscally responsible than Bush.

I don't have much of an opinion on it. I have not read very much of it, and I do not know if it will work (neither do you, see paragraph one). I have my doubts, but at this point I have my doubts about anything the government tells me. Even so, I am not completely cynical, and I still have my hopes. And even though I am doing okay right now, a lot of people aren't. Like everyone should (fuck you Rush Limbaugh), I hope this can salvage things. Not much else we can do but hope, and hope that it is not misplaced.