Strike One for the Welfare State
Well, it’s been almost two months since my last post so there is a lot to report. On the forefront of my mind right now however, is yesterday’s rejection of the $700 billion bailout of the financial district. While I have an idea that the victory will be brief, I am relishing in the blow that this has dealt to those who believe in the State as savior. It still astounds me that so many politicians are okay with these clowns coming to them with a three page proposal and an astronomical dollar figure pulled out of thin air. Over 200 of them didn’t see any red flags with this process and were ready to dole out hundreds of billions of dollars (of taxpayer money mind you) to an industry that is responsible for getting itself into this mess in the first place. I have read stories of a crazy majority of Americans calling their congressmen to vote against the proposal. These articles then speak of how renegade it was of certain lawmakers to vote against their party and for the people they represent. It is disturbing that we view our representatives representing us as something completely foreign in American politics. While I can’t necessarily assume that these politicians had the Constitution or their constituents’ best interests in mind, I’m just glad they voted it down, whatever the reason. It may serve only to be a temporary setback for those who desire the ruination of representative government, but it is a setback nonetheless and I’ll take it. I don’t see a whole lot to celebrate in American government these days so it’s nice to be excited about something.
So I hope that you all have noted the tone coming from the White House in all of this. Once again, we are treated to the same fear-mongering that got us involved in the Iraq war. If the government doesn’t do something, we’re all going to die! It angers me to have the American people and their liberties trivialized to such a degree. We get routinely insulted by these politicians so I say we should get them out of there. If they don’t represent us, we have a duty to overthrow them, don’t we? At least that is the precedent set by the Declaration of Independence. Many of the legislators voted for this ridiculous bailout even though the people they represented were overwhelmingly supporting its rejection. If your representative does not represent you, vote him out! These guys voting along party lines and not listening to the people are the ones who are renegade and rogue. They are the ones that need to be handed their walking papers. Pink slip them all and force them to go back to the private sector to eek out a living like the rest of us. This sounds like I’m supporting democracy, doesn’t it? Well, I certainly don’t mean to do that, but after reading some of the excuses given by these folks voting for the bailout, I can’t help but want to slap them upside the head for their ignorant posturing. These half-wits are supposed to know better. Granted, if the people want to vote themselves a dictator, you need to have a representative with the good sense not to allow that to happen. But voting for a policy that will spell further economic destruction, reward irresponsibility, avoid accountability, and ultimately cost the American people money that they can not afford is asinine. There is no reasoning that can compensate for such pigheadedness. About the only thing any of these politicians could say to the arguments against the bailout was, “we can’t just sit here and do nothing…we must do something.” Doing something wrong is doing something. That doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to do it; just because you need to do something. What kind of logic is that?
The more people start believing in government by the people and for the people, the better off we are going to be in the long run, regardless of economic woes. We need to get our fingers out of foreign affairs and keep our business concentrated on our own land. We need to stop allowing our government to prop up our economy or social structures and start taking care of things ourselves. We need to stop feeding on mass media and sensationalism and start thinking for ourselves and what got us into this mess in the first place. Americans need to start wrenching their liberties back out of the hands of the politicians that they have handed them to and start owning up to their own responsibilities. Sounds good, right? Yeah, and then we have a choice between two shades of the same gray for president in the upcoming election. That’s patriotism out the window right there.
Oh well, at least see what you can do on a local level. I still think that is the best place to start with these things. Focus on your civil officials and local policies. Concentrate on state representatives and whoever is going to be responsible for carrying your concerns to the federal level. The presidency is a wash; we aren’t going to see anything change there. What we might see is something move as it concerns local politics. Think locally, act locally, buy locally…these will keep us from economic and political suicide, not government bailouts.
Alright…that soapbox has been exhausted. Now onto other, more pertinent issues.
Believe it or not, the Wall Street bailout is not the most important thing going on in the Cooley household these days! Actually, that would be the insurance nightmare that we are currently entrenched in. It all began back in August when we woke up one morning to find that a leak in the upstairs bathroom toilet had flooded our house. The long and the short of it is that after we dried out, we were left with a gutted bathroom, a whole lot of carpet that needs cleaning, our living room ceiling ripped out, our office ceiling and carpeting ripped up, and hardwood floors that need refinishing. Not to mention some electronics that were doused in the waterfall. Fortunately, we got to the leak fast enough and dried everything out soon enough so that our more expensive electronics seemed to be okay. We did have a few casualties, however, and have now since replaced our TV, DVD player, and video game system. These, of course, are incidentals so the bigger issues of safety, meaninful possessions (like keepsakes), health, and so on were left intact. Furthermore, the damage was pretty concentrated so our remodeling will be focused on just a few generalized areas. On top of that, those areas are areas that we would have liked to remodel eventually anyway so it all has been rather a blessing, in spite of the irritation that is insurance red tape. I can’t complain too much though; that insurance red tape is paying for about $10,000 worth of damage to our home that we would not otherwise have. I never thought I would be thanking God for insurance…
In addition to all that, my lovely wife had a little run-in with someone after picking up the kids from school. It seems that the car in front of her suddenly slammed on his brakes to avoid hitting a rogue crossing guard. It caught her off-guard and she ran into the guy. It wasn’t anything bad, but it was enough to take out our headlight and the corner of the bumper. So enter the insurance company again; we are looking at just under $4000 for that repair. I’m not looking forward to the hike in our premiums, but any hike is probably better than having to shell out thousands of dollars for repairs which is what we would have had to do without insurance. I just find myself at this point throwing up my hands since the one-thing-after-another characteristics of recent events leave me without any sense of control or even influence on my circumstances. I suppose that is a good thing though. It prompts trust in the One who is in control of our circumstances. God be praised…He works all things out to serve our salvation. I’m just hoping the payoff comes soon…
So unfortunately, I don’t have any poetic prose about autumn or otherwise inspirational vision into the state of things lately. I’m just sort of trying to survive life these days and trying to keep my trust in the sovereign God who has never let us go. In the midst of crackpot politics, water damage, and car collisions, I’m just thankful that God’s hand is in all these things and I can’t help but sense that He is doing something very good for us right now. I keep seeing glimpses here and there but I have a feeling it’s going to be pretty good. Regardless of what happens, however, I know that His care never lets up and I will be content to rest in it. This country is headed where it is supposed to head and regardless of how painful it is, God will see to it that His people are sanctified in it. He always does. So score one for the good guys.