1877 Nightcrawlers
The problem with living nightcrawlers is if you cut them in half, you get two living nightcrawlers. And they call them nightcrawlers for a reason.
They live and work in darkness. And so it was that the Senate early Saturday morning passed the tax fraud… uh… the tax bill. But don’t worry. It’s not going to be enacted into law immediately. It has to be reconciled with the House version which is equally fraudulent. It’s the same tune but different words.
Several things come to mind.
--Has anyone read this thing? On its route to a 51-49 passage it shape shifted more times per minute than a presidential speech.
--Who dealt this mess? Probably lobbyists, consultants and congressional employees tasked with putting the actual substance into words on paper, giving the elected officials plausible deniability when some rogue constituent calls them to task. (“Does it really say you can deduct the paint for my yacht?” “I didn’t know that, the bill was written by staff.”)
If it eventually makes its way into law, this measure will grant tax reductions to rich people who won’t notice the difference. You, of course could live luxuriously on the amount of their cut alone.
Eventually the middle class, already in an econ-corset will see substantial increases. Senators recognize this, but say future congresses will extend the cuts.
Really!
And the bill in its present form would increase the deficit by more than a (t) trillion dollars. What’s the matter, deficit hawks? Is it okay to vote against something you’ve spent a lifetime lauding?
Working in the wee small hours, the Senate also threw another bucket of sand into the workings of the affordable care act. That will mean 13 million of you will lose health insurance.
Whose fault is all of this? Yours. You elected this can of worms. And not just the senators. It’s the presidents and the representatives and the state reps and governors who turned all voting into a surreal parody of democracy. Now, candidates pick their voters instead of the other way around.
This space has long advocated adding the Final Exam Amendment to the US constitution. The Final Exam Amendment would require senators and representatives not only to read a bill but to pass a test before being allowed to vote on it.
Fat chance, that.
SHRAPNEL:
--No one read the bill. One reason is laziness. Another is part of it is handwritten protected by illegibility and maybe invisible ink.
--Will the Koch brothers’ cash infusion turn Time Magazine into Breitbart between slick covers? Not likely. But it may not matter because who reads the thing, anyway?
GRAPESHOT:
-My review of Henican’s book about trump
-The New York Daily News uses the work of a freelance photographer named Angus Mordant and some of us want to know if he is.
-Barring incident, we’ll look Wednesday at CVS’s plans to buy Aetna.
Today’s Quote:
-“This page is not a democracy.” -- Beth A. Breeze, one time NBC colleague.
I’m Wes Richards. My opinions are my own but you’re welcome to them. ®
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© WJR 2017
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