Fair / 71° F
Archived Story
Jimmy Stewart behind closed doors
Published 9:24pm Wednesday, November 30, 2011To the editor:
I feel mightily for Fred Upton these days. Poor Fred is “bitterly disappointed” that his Super Committee failed to “find enough common ground” and reach an agreement on a deficit reduction plan.
Good Boy Scout that he is, Fred was probably doing his very, very best to retreat a bit on his positions like no tax increases on billionaires (and their tax-evading corporations) in order to reach that common ground that every cherubic Norman Rockwell boy like Fred desires.
I would have liked to have watched the proceedings as Fred attempted to put the country first in order to iron out a settlement.
But the meetings were held in secret, so I have to use my imagination to “see” Fred employing his best “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” idealism to create peace, harmony and accord between the political wolves snarling across the mahogany table at each other.
Because the doors to the meetings were shut tight, I have to rely on the words and phrases in Fred’s press release that he gave passionate speeches saying things like: “Focusing solely on (our) differences serves no one,” or “Our fiscal challenges cannot be ignored” or “Leaders (must) come together for the country” or “Finding solutions will take time and require tough choices” or “Our work to get our economy back on track is far from over,” or “Congress needs to tighten government’s belt just as families have had to tighten theirs,” or “We can and must keep the focus on job creation and economic recovery” or “We can and must address each of these challenges.”
I am sure there wasn’t a dry eye in the Super Committee meeting room as our tired, exhausted but alas defeated Jimmy Stewart — er Fred — stood up one more time and vowed (as he did in his press release) “I will continue listening to the people I serve.”
Fade to black. The End.
Wayne Falda
Edwardsburg
Fred didn’t say who the people were that he serves. If it was people in his district he could have easily said so. He serves Grover Norquist and his shrink the government so they can drown it in the bathtub mentality. Fred never had any intention of helping his constituants. He is looking for cover and acting like he tried. Fred, You are no Jimmy Stewart. Why do voters keep voting against their own best intrest with this guy? Where are the jobs, Fred?
in the words of (Bless His name) Ronald Reagan,
“There You go again”.
don’t you know if We try this trickle down Stuff Long
Enough it will eventually Work>
It hasn’t So far, but We must not give up now,
This crisis wasn’t quite as bad as it Caused the
depressions of the Past, so we are getting better at it.
We know it is the poor, that are really to blame Draining
the rich resources of Our country, that should go to
the job creators, and not the Job holders.
Do the rich receive Food stamps, or need the EPA,
or the department of Education?
Are the Covered by OSHA? or Worry about Food
inspectors.
Does the Department of immigration help their jobs?
of course not, Do they draw unemployment, or need Medicare?
How about Social security, or Disability Insurance.
Of course not, why not just allow them to opt out of
taxation.
So lets just say You make over a million dollars a year, You
no longer have to pay Taxes, and let the government do what it
does best ignore the Plight of the downtrodden, and Reward the Wealthy.
Let the Downtrodden fight it out among themselves, and Pay the cost
of wars to enrich the rich, by Increasing their Taxation.
We are persecuting the job creators, and this must end.
do the Rich have to drive on the highways to get to Work?
of Course not they can just Call their stock brokers.
The poor don’t vote anyway, nor should they,
And when they do, they just vote against their own self interests.
Mr Falda and the two respondents are to say the least amusing. Let’s first examine the “Supercommittee” Commissioned by Obama, it had zero chance of achieving success, merely by its creation and composition. How would one expect twelve individuals, appointed by the leaders of their party in their respective house of the legislature, and then ordered-by said president-to meet privately, to succeed? Would one think that Fred Upton could for a minute convince James Clyborn that less government would be better? Hardly. In fact, did either of the three of you even hear anything from Clyborn after the dissolution of this committee? You would have to do a Google search, right? Mr. Falda seems to have some sort of difficulty understanding that his beloved Democratic party, in its efforts to “spread the wealty” has enslaved entire generations in government dependence. Let me say-for the record-government has never made anyone wealthy. Except of course for those doing the governing. The “rich” in this country could be taxed at 100% and it would have NO affect on the state of the economy, except to have confiscated the wealth of a very few people. Mr. Falda’s whinings, both here and in other venues are weak at best. As far as Rep Upton “listening” to his constituents? Perhaps he has started to do just that. He has backtracked on his support of the ban on the incandescent light bulb. Let me choose how to light my home.
And, Sam, when I was last in San Francisco, I looked for you in the tent city along the Embarcadero, but you were evidently at the Pilot’s dock, since it is close by.
Mike,
40 Years ago We returned to the “Trickle Down theory, and in those same 40
Years, the top 1% have gained 375% the bottom 95% gained 22%
In the Last 30 Years the Top 5% gained 275% and the bottom 95% lost
4% of Real Wages.
We have tried Trickle Down before, it was the Economic Philosophy,
Of Taft, harding, Coolidge, and Hoover, each Time it led to a Loss
of Economic ground to the poorest, and a gushing profits for the
Privileged Class.
Each Time since the Civil War, We have adopted these Economic
Policies we have Faced both rescissions, and Depressions
Just as it Directly caused Our current Economic Condition,
With the deregulations of the Protections put in by the Lessons
of the Hoover depression.
Yet You people instead of seeing the Lessons of History,
want to Double down, because you, somehow think it
Must work Someday.
Government Cannot create Wealth? you say, Government can Damn Sure
Prevent the Customer base that American Business Has Laid off, fired,
and sent their jobs Oversees, by government aid and tax breaks from
starving, and Sleeping under bridges.
but You even begrudge them from that, you now want to Eliminate food stamps,
Aid to Education, social Security, and Medicare, to aid the Privileged.
When I see you crying forth “jail the Crooks of Wall Street” I might
consider Your cries as more the “Reagan was a G-D” and “lets hammer the poor”