My friend Ed called. He asked me if I knew what was in the Democratic Covid-19 relief package and pointed out some of the things that had nothing whatever to do with Covid-19. I agreed with him that it was one of those pieces of legislation where everything but the kitchen sink was thrown into it. I then told him how I read a little about it – it was about unemployment insurance – and what I read noted that there was a cut off in unemployment benefits for those making more than $150,000 income a year. I asked why is a person making close to that figure getting unemployment?
We talked for a bit and I noted that he keeps complaining about the Democratic package but we have to look at the Republican package that passed last year. That was hardly different than the one that went through this year although it was more business friendly than the present give away. Trump signed a two trillion dollar bailout of which $500 billion were loans to industries, $50 billion went to big airlines and the hospital industry is getting what it asked for — $100 billion in rescue. Other large amounts went to hotels and Amtrac.
So it is really not that the Democrats are loading up the bill for their favorite folk to the detriment of the Republicans; it is that both parties look upon the U.S. taxpayer as a leprechaun would look at a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Our members of Congress whether from Blue or Red states greedily grab whatever they can . It must the the nature of the beast – didn’t Mark Twain say something to the effect that America can take a sigh of relief when Congress takes a recess. It must be in the nature of the beast to gobble up as much as one can when the feeding is good.
Of course none of this would happen if folks cared for the general public – Tip O’Neill correctly noted that “all politics is local” – that meant you took care of the folks at home – forget what’s best for the nation and you got a job for life.
I suppose you’ve heard of the Bridge to Nowhere. That was a a bridge as long as the Golden Gate Bridge that was to be built higher than the Brooklyn Bridge to an island on which lived 50 people and had a small airport. It was a Republican proposal that was going to cost just about 400 million. Another 25 million was to be used to build a road to connect the bridge to another part of the island. Eventually the uproar over the funding cancelled the bridge but the road was built which was called the Road to Nowhere since no one uses it.
One of the major sponsors of the bridge back in 2006 was Alaska Republican Representative Don Young. I suppose you would expect his career to be short lived given this gaffe. Surely the home folk would decide enough is enough and this wasteful expenditure of money must cease. After all, he is a Republican who is all for avoiding waste and small government.
So I was curious to try to find out what Don Young is doing now. I should have guessed. Young is currently the longest serving member of Congress, as well as the last remaining member who has been in office since the Nixon Administration. So much for the people really caring.
I cannot get myself to care about anything Congress spends. There is no one there on either side who will not reach in the cookie jar and extract as much as he or she can. Alfred E. Neuman had it right with his slogan: “What Me Worry!” No wonder I wrote his name in 2016 for president. He would have been better than either of those offered by the major parties.
Slightly off base……My wife and I got the Pfizer first shot on Saturday in Fairfax, Virginia. We signed up about six weeks ago and got a weekly email telling us we were still on the list. I have been working on people’s houses all year and I take care not to receive or spread any germs. Having germaphobes as customers helps. Friday we got an email saying we could sign in for a shot on a calendar spread sheet where spots were available. I still assumed that we would be about a month out. The next morning there were lots of openings at the INOVA hospital complex so we grabbed a couple at 10:30. The operation is impressive. It is a huge hospital complex with tons of free parking right next to where the shots are given. “Follow The Blue Arrows”. It looks like a gigantic cafeteria where there are about fifty nurses at well spaced tables giving shots. Another twenty or so nurses are doing chores and fifty or more volunteers help everyone move swiftly. Ten minutes after we got there we had our shots. They do 3060 flu-jabs a day. Talking to several friends in Massachusetts these past few days, it appears that my old state isn’t having much luck finding as successful a method and all I hear is the Gov dropped the ball.
What’s up with you folks? Is it that bad or is timing everything?
Honest:
Our state is a mess. We had been planning a state response to any incident like the Covid epidemic since 9/11 but when it came to implementing it Charlie Baker decided that it should be chucked in favor of some start up private companies. Then Charlie decided who could get vaccinated creating groups A, B, C etc. It was a good idea to have the most vulnerable vaccinated first but the problem began when it was impossible for people in the first couple of groups to sign up. There was no central registry. Each person had to go on line (if you did not have a computer you were out of luck) and find a spot available (there were no waiting lists) then fill in lots of information about yourself. By the time you reached an available slot someone else who typed faster had secured it and it was gone.
It became total madness when people in a priority group who were still hunting for a shot suddenly found another million people were added into the priority group which pushed those most in need back. It was like the fire at the old Coconut Grove in Boston where a thousand people tried to crowd through one exit.
One night after midnight I found a slot for myself and wife at a local Walgreen’s. We went there – our appointments were an hour apart – there was one person processing the shots and it took about 15 minutes to go through the paperwork and get the shot not counting the wait afterwards. We needed a second shot (Pfizer) and were told we would be given a date later. I did not trust them (thanks to a reader of this blog who advised me to seek things on my own) so I lined one up for us three weeks later at Lower Mills in Dorchester. I was right not to trust them since we were never notified. Again, at the Dorchester Walgreen there was one person doing the shots and the they were spaced 15 minutes a part.
I originally planned on getting mine through Brigham’s where my doctor is but Charlie cut off supplying hospitals for some reason so they were not doing it. He did though set up a half dozen sites that were supposed to be major vaccination sites but it was almost impossible to get an appointment there because of so many people clamoring to get shots.
They are still trying to figure out how to do it here in Massachusetts. The hospitals have once again been given the vaccine. I took a person to CVS in Dedham the other day and he said they were very efficient having two people give shots quite quickly.
Charlie Baker still has a high approval rating despite having bumbled this effort. I assume at some point he will get it right if we can keep his attention on it. It seems governors burn out late in their second term – I hope Charlie finds something better to do and we get a new face in that will reinvigorate the state government.
Trump favorites added insult by using the taxpayer cash to buy back their on stock. If you think the airlines did ok last time (enough swag to pay every employee 200k each) look at this version. Other cos. have to go to capitol markets and borrow–not the friendly skies.
What a country.