There was an anti-war rally in Pittsburgh yesterday. Three protesters showed up.
Meanwhile, in Iraq, suicide bombers are killing people in Diyala and our troops are killing people in Baghdad, prompting Sunni leaders to journey from Anbar to stand shoulder to shoulder with Shiites to show solidarity against the US in Sadr City and the peace-loving Iranians to suspend talks with us on Iraqi security.
Nonetheless, about 3500 of the 30,000 additional American troops sent in last year are preparing to come home, leading a US general to observe, "The continued drawdown of surge brigades demonstrates continued progress in Iraq."
They will be coming home as the director of the National Institute of Mental Health predicts that the number of suicides among veterans of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may exceed the combat death toll because of inadequate mental health care.
On the campaign trail, the presidential candidates have a lot to say about a gas-tax holiday but nothing about a bloody war that keeps getting more bizarre by the day and eating up more of our money than rising prices at the pump.
Maybe they'll get to it after the summer driving season is over.
Showing posts with label gas-tax holiday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gas-tax holiday. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Friday, May 02, 2008
Dumbing Down the Election
Ever since George Bush sold the idea he would be a compassionate conservative, respect for voters' intelligence has been going rapidly downhill. The gas-tax holiday is a new low.
Described by New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg as "about the dumbest thing I’ve heard in an awful long time from an economic point of view” and in the face of bipartisan disapproval in Congress, John McCain and Hillary Clinton are out there trolling for votes on the theory that economically hard-pressed Americans are morons.
Giving consumers 18 cents on $4-a-gallon at the gas pump may sound good, but it would add up to a saving of less than $30 for most families, encourage consumption and cost the government $9 billion and the economy 300,000 jobs.
The tax supports the federal Highway Trust Fund, which finances road projects nationwide and is already facing a $3.4 billion shortfall, according to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation. The federal transportation department says every $1 billion in highway spending creates 34,779 jobs.
But the candidates are banking on voters' inability to grasp the fact that a pre-election handout won't solve their problems but make them worse in the long run. Even the Wall Street Journal says the idea “smacks of poll-driven gimmickry.”
But Hillary Clinton is out there claiming to be "the only candidate who has a plan to give relief to the nation’s drivers" while John McCain is promising them "a little break."
How dense do they think we are?
Described by New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg as "about the dumbest thing I’ve heard in an awful long time from an economic point of view” and in the face of bipartisan disapproval in Congress, John McCain and Hillary Clinton are out there trolling for votes on the theory that economically hard-pressed Americans are morons.
Giving consumers 18 cents on $4-a-gallon at the gas pump may sound good, but it would add up to a saving of less than $30 for most families, encourage consumption and cost the government $9 billion and the economy 300,000 jobs.
The tax supports the federal Highway Trust Fund, which finances road projects nationwide and is already facing a $3.4 billion shortfall, according to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation. The federal transportation department says every $1 billion in highway spending creates 34,779 jobs.
But the candidates are banking on voters' inability to grasp the fact that a pre-election handout won't solve their problems but make them worse in the long run. Even the Wall Street Journal says the idea “smacks of poll-driven gimmickry.”
But Hillary Clinton is out there claiming to be "the only candidate who has a plan to give relief to the nation’s drivers" while John McCain is promising them "a little break."
How dense do they think we are?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)