Below is the response from my local house rep. Typical politician double speak…”I’m against it but I voted for it…”

Senator Feinstein voted for it and replied to my letter of protest. Senator Boxer voted for it and never replied.

Racetrack improvements, $100 million, movie industry $500 million and $2 million for wooden arrows are part of the bill? Are you kidding me?

All the pork thrown into this bill has got to wake America up to what is really happening with our elected officials. I swear….if it doesn’t, then Americans deserve what they get.

You can only blame ignorance for so long…pretty soon you crossover into the realm of stupidity.

If anyone votes in November for any of those that voted “yes” for this bill, they have crossed over. If this bill was really for helping the economy, then why did the stock market go down 150 points?

The ship is sinking folks… Make your vote count in November. Shove these losers that voted yes out the door.

FYI, Obama and McCain voted “yes” for the bailout bill. A vote for either of them means you approve of this bailout.

Doug Eberhardt

www.youcanmakeadifference.org

From my House rep Mike Thompson:

Dear Doug:

The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act passed by the House today is not much better than the one we rejected on Monday. While the increase in FDIC protection is an important improvement, more market reforms are still needed. The reality is that the credit market is locked up and that is hurting Americans. It was very evident that if the House failed to act the consequences would shake the foundations of our economy.

From the time that the Bush Administration first asked for this rescue package, I argued that if taxpayers were being asked to pay up, then we needed regulatory reform at the same time. But this week, the precarious state of our economy showed that we needed to act quickly, and that getting comprehensive regulatory reform would take time, a luxury we did not have. In my many conversations with constituents and economists, it became clear to me that this crisis is not going to just affect those on Wall Street, but folks on every street across our district and around the country.

You don’t have to look any further than today’s unemployment numbers to see why we have voted to act now. The country lost more jobs in September than any month in the last five years. Unemployment in California stands at 7.7 percent, the highest it has been in 12 years. A major reason is that our financial system has stopped functioning and banks are not extending credit to employers. I have talked with individuals and business owners across the district who say that the tightening of the credit market has already affected their ability to maintain operations or to expand their businesses.

Within the last two weeks, the Arcata Community Recycling Center has seen their interest payments balloon to four times their normal rate. Standard Structures in Windsor was about to finalize a $10 million order from a Texas company until they got word this week that the project was stalled because of the credit crisis. There are fifty jobs tied to that one contract. Many more of our small businesses will be forced to lay off workers or wait on hiring new workers if they don’t have access to credit.

Governor Schwarzenegger and Treasurer Bill Lockyer announced this week that California has four weeks of cash flow, and if the markets are not restored, the state will be unable to pay its bills. It’s only a matter of time before cities and counties will be forced to pass along these budget shortfalls by reducing public services. From public health and safety workers, to road crews and garbage pickup, the government services that we rely on will be disrupted and these jobs will go on the chopping block.

I can assure you I still disagree with this bill and I remain committed to enactment of concrete market reforms that address the underlying problems that lead to this crisis. To that end, I’ve received a direct commitment from Speaker Pelosi that she too will work to identify and address the problems that led us to this point. The House will immediately begin holding hearings on the regulatory shortcomings in our financial system, so that come January we will be ready to craft legislation that addresses the issues I’ve raised and others that will be uncovered. Congressman Barney Frank, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, has promised me that his committee will make the reforms I advocated for a top priority. And I’ve received a personal commitment from Senator Obama that if he’s elected President he too will work for these important market reforms. In January, we will be well positioned to pass important legislation that will close the loopholes and tighten up regulations in the financial services sector.

Today I voted for this legislation because it was clear to me that we must take immediate action to restore a measure of confidence in the economy. This isn’t the end of our problems nor is it the last of the legislation. Like everyone else, I’m outraged that taxpayers have been tapped to cover the greed and excesses of the financial marketplace, and I’m outraged that as taxpayers we have been asked to cover for the failure of Wall Street regulators. But when forced to choose between doing nothing and passing this bill, I voted for what I believe is best for our country and our district, and voted to pass this legislation. We face a tough road ahead, but hopefully by unfreezing the credit markets, Americans can get back to growing their businesses and growing our economy.

Thank you for taking the time to contact me on this important issue. I appreciate your conviction on this matter and have valued your continued dialogue.

Sincerely,

MIKE THOMPSON
Member of Congress
[link edited for length]

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3. Congress Gives IMF Your Tax Dollars to Bailout Greece

Here is the 2005 Report Card on the 12 categories:

Aviation — D+

Bridges — C

Dams — D

Drinking water — D-

Energy — D

Hazardous waste — D

Navigable waterways — D-

Public parks — C-

Rail — C-

Roads — D

Schools — D

Solid waste — C+

Transit — D+

Wastewater — D-

SOURCE: American Society of Civil Engineers

There’s a game that I played years ago called Sim City. The basis for Sim City is managing local government. The objective of the game is to use your decision making skills to build a city and manage the city as potential disasters and other problems arise. Some schools, such as Auburn University use Sim City to teach students systems thinking, problem-solving skills and “craft” in the planning profession.

I remember in playing this game that if I concentrated on one aspect of planning and neglected others, there were consequences, sometimes severe consequences. This leads to our current situation here in America. For now, our nation’s leaders (Congress and the President) are spending their time waging undeclared wars where the cost to pay for said wars aren’t even included in the budget deficit figures.

So when will our leaders decide that our own nation needs some TLC and leave other nations to depend upon their own people to survive? The answer will probably be found when the next bridge collapses or the water situation hits crisis level. A “D-” for drinking water? Are you kidding me?

Our leaders are reactive, not proactive. The only thing that they are leaders of is the march towards the destruction of America as we know it! They would lose every game of Sim City they ever played. If only there were no consequences.

The next ASCE report card is due out in 2009. I can only imagine what further deterioration will have occurred. Can the grade of “F” be too far off? If your child receives these types of grades, are you proud of them? No! You do what you can to fix the problem by paying more attention to what is causing it!

What’s causing our problems in America? We need $1.6 trillion over the next 5 years to fix our infrastructure. Where will that money come from? Is it in the current budget? Will war with Iran make things better or worse? Does Congress even ask these types of questions?

So to pay for the repairing of infrastructure, congress can only do one of two things; raise taxes or print more money (the hidden tax called inflation).

Either way, you will pay more for everything.

You’ll find out what’s going on with your state’s infrastructure here.

Doug Eberhardt

Related posts:

1. Vote For Those That Voted “NO” To the Bailout Come November
2. Social Security Will Be There For You, However…
3. Top 5 Articles of 2009

Congress is taking our nation towards bankruptcy because they don’t address the Evil that allows them to wage war and spend like there’s no tomorrow.  They live like kings and queens and the do so because We The Serfs don’t speak up!

Below is the letter I sent to Congressman, John Campbell of Newport Beach, California. He chairs the Budget and Spending Taskforce of the Republican Study Committee.

The purpose of the letter was to point out how his solutions are limited based on his own admissions and that to really solve the problem, the means by which Congress abuses its power must be removed.

Dear Mr. Campbell,

I listened to you on the House floor today. You’re on the right track, but you are missing a few important points. A few comments if I may….

If the government is to live within its means, congressional spending, as you say, is part of the problem. And the problem, as you point out, is congressional spending beyond their means (doubling the deficit for 2008).

This is something Congress can’t control, because again, as you mentioned, they have been doing it for the last 44 out of 48 years! Not a great track record!

The problem then lies in the “means” by which congress is allowed to conduct this spending. If we had a sound monetary system, then congress wouldn’t be able to play their spending games, including their war games. That is the bottom line.

But congress won’t cut the hand that feeds them, so there will be nothing your committee can do but either tax U.S. citizens more, or continue devaluing The People’s purchasing power via the hidden tax of inflation.

Congress IS the problem and the Federal Reserve IS the Evil that allows you the means to Pillage the Serfs.

America is headed for trouble no matter what your efforts may be to save her. The proof is in your words that we’ve only been able to do it for 4 years over the last 48! And these, most would say, were “the good years!”

If you want to help The People, then you need to cut government programs that contribute to the waste while paying off the debt….and you do it NOW!

The only way we can stop the spending madness is to take away the Evil by which they are allowed to drive us deeper in debt: The Federal Reserve.

The only way we can stop the spending madness is to take away the Evil by which they are allowed to drive our nation deeper in debt: The Federal Reserve.

Doug Eberhardt

Related posts:

1. Vote For Those That Voted “NO” To the Bailout Come November
2. The Ron Paul rEVOLution, Super Tuesday and “The Message!”
3. America’s Infrastructure In 2009: Grade “F”