mene, mene, tekel, upharsin

Show Me The Money!!

What's wrong with the political parties? Well, I don't think that there are two parties, just 1.05 political parties. 95% of the time, they agree, with all of the bickering and dissent coming on that last 5%. Well, it's maybe a little more than that, however, the things that I believe in and would like to see happening, aren't covered at all. Why? Well, both parties are full of rich, white men, with a few exceptions for appearance's sake. The token minorities, if you will. I am not attacking those people, they have earned their way, they just don't have the equal footing to represent the people that they should. I don't think that there should be some sort of affirmative action in congress (hey...Maybe I do, I'll get back to you on that), I just think that the people's interests are not being watched over. Well then, who's interests are the government looking out for? Whoever pays.

It's not who pays their salaries though, which I think is what upsets me the most. We have a government that is paid on taxpayers money, votes its own raises, and doesn't really give a rat's ass about the actual taxpayers. Unless you're a BIG taxpayer. In which case, they will be more than happy to accept your campaign financing money and vote however the hell you want them too. And since, according to our courts, a corporation is a person, they call a lot of the shots. I know that Rs are typically associated with being pro-business, anti-regulation, but Ds are often just as bad. They're getting the same money, from the same corporations to help steer law in a favorable direction. I think one of the most dishonest jobs of all time is that of a professional corporate lobbyist. Not so much dishonest, I guess, as just blatantly wrong-minded. There's an area in the capitol building, where the lobbyists sit and watch what's going on. Do you know what everyone refers to it as? The owner's box. I don't care if that's intended to be a joke, because I don't see it as one.

You want to fix the government? No more campaign donations. Set up a public fund to help out candidates (who more often than not, are very wealthy to begin with). Let the taxpayers vote on how much to pay the government employees, not the employees themselves. I sure as hell don't get to vote on how much I get paid. Start paying the lawmakers as much as the lowest federal employee. If I can survive just north of the poverty level, so can they. Or even better, pay them minimum wage. Which is what, $6 or 7 an hour? Well, it is if you listen to the RW political commentators (a la Rush Limbaugh). Try $5.15. Of course, that's way too much to pay a employee with no real skills, like a fast food restaurant (who receive subsidies since they are "educating their workers," among other things--have you ever worked at a McD's? If you can work a microwave, then you're already trained). So let's move the jobs overseas. Grrr...I'm going to stop on this subject for the time being, it can be it's own blog or twenty.

Anyway, back to the jackasses on capitol hill. Do you know much our esteemed CinC, 'lil Dub makes? $400k. His puppeteer, DC, $208,100. All the senators and all the congressmen, $162,100. Oh, they have an important job? I work 12 hours a day in direct support of the so called Operation Iraqi Freedom, how much to I make? $17,474.40. I'm not just a schlub doing paperwork either, I'm a weather forecaster with more education in weather than it takes to get a bachelor's degree in meteorology. I don't think that the men in the pretty suits should be making any more than I do. How about teachers, do they get paid enough? They do an important job. Lot's of people with important jobs don't make 6 figures. Why not? Because we don't get to vote our raises.

To come back to my original point, you and I pay the salaries of all the elected officials. They sure don't act like it, though. I think it's time to change that. What was the supposed cry of the revolution? "No taxation without representation!" I don't feel particularly represented, do you?

posted by WunEyedDog @ 1:23 PM