LETTERS
Posted on Thursday, May 15, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/brog/Editorial/60273/
Who’s going to bell the cat ?
With the exception of C-SPAN, PBS and a few others, our on-screen media tend to focus on a profitdriven flavor of the week, such as Britney Spears, the Rev. Wright or the latest sex scandal. If we are concerned about The Economy, we have to filter continual barrages of statistics, spun to serve the agenda of the spinner. And market volatility is always good for a cheap thrill.
My take is that the U. S. economy is in bad shape. We’re on the ropes, deflecting attempted knockout punches. Fortunately, our elected Congress is working heroically to rescue us from chaos. Trouble is, they are working on the back side of the wave.
To glimpse the congressional role, consider the ongoing struggles between Boeing and Northrup-EADS. These giant military contractors and their surrogates are at war with each other. Their dispute: whether to confirm or revoke the $ 40 billion Air Force super-tanker contract.
Never mind how we’ll fuel, fill and fly the massive fleet. Each team has prominent congressional sponsors urging support. Each side offers a long, competing list of states in which its main or subcontractors operate. Each will create large numbers of exceptionally well-paid jobs.
Sprinkling and slathering these jobs across the landscape is only one example of the way Congress props up the economies of their 435 districts. Such jobs are prime ammunition used by congressmen to demonstrate their worthiness for re-election every two years. Multiply this example by dozens to appreciate even a bit of the taxpayer money that underpins and lubricates the national economy. Did someone mention smaller government ? Did anyone speak of stamping out lobbyists ? Earmarks ? Does the U. S. relish global competition ? Do we have a choice ? Did I mention that I’m an optimist ?
Bill Millager / Rogers