Hurry up and wait....

 

 

 

Wait! After all this waiting, I hope this was worth waiting for!

 

We are rapidly devolving into the land of the Golden Rule. You know which one I am talking about - those with the gold, rules. What we have seen this week is yet another shameless example on how the rich and powerful can really put it to the powerless. Promises broken, once again.

 

What am I talking about? Why the Ryan-Murray Bill of course. The panacea bill, the cure for all ills. Or as I like to call it, the chicken's way out. Kick the can down the street for two more years. Screw over our kids and grand kids just a bit more. Only this bill does something in addition to screwing over our future generations - it takes it to our brave men and women who protect or protected this great country.

 

In case you have not yet heard (trust me, you will hear about this from many sources soon), the bill strips out part of the pay increases for military retirees for the next 10 years. The $6B savings comes on the heals of Tom Coburn's annual report on wasteful spending. In this year's report, he highlights such things as funding for NASA to make a pizza from a 3D printer. All in all, Coburn's report, which just scratched the surface, found $30B in boondoggle spending this next year alone! And we want to screw over our vets once again for $6B over 10 years?

 

So where does the "hurry up and wait" come from? Those who have served, are familiar with that saying. The "wait" is this - with the signing of the two year bill which will allow the spending train to keep on the same course and direction, nothing, and I mean nothing will get done until (at the earliest) post 2014 elections. So as the powerful and the connected keep getting more goodies, those who are not, get fewer and fewer crumbs. More and more debt piled up for spending that nobody seems to, or wants to control.

 

Somehow after the Great Society, Americans have gone from the smartest kids on the block to mind numbed robots. It is like the drug induced high from the 60's never left us. We ignore the facts and fall for politically spun sophism. Liars roam our political landscape, promising a chicken in every pot to all who listen and believe. We blindly follow the Pied Piper, even though we can clearly see the sky is starting to fall.

 

So if you are ultra rich or politically connected, relax - you are safe. However, if you are just one of the folks, hang on. Your endless wait continues....