"While Americans want Washington to focus on creating jobs and cutting spending, the president will have to explain why he thinks now is the appropriate time to stir up a controversial issue that sharply divides the nation." - Michael Steel, spokesman for Speaker Boehner, referring to Obama's decision not to enforce the Defense of Marriage Act, which declares that at the federal level marriage is only between a man and a woman.
What's funny about this comment is that if you switch "President" with "Republicans," you could very well be talking about recent GOP bills that defund Planned Parenthood and redefine rape to restrict access to abortions. My point is this: Each side hates it when the other makes a move on social issues. The offended party claims that it's a distraction from the economy. I'm starting to think that neither side truly cares about the jobs of the middle and working class.
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker claims his effort to strip unions of their collective bargaining rights is because of an urgent budget crisis... but he just gave away $67M in business tax cuts? To my conservative friends, I understand this line of thinking: businesses create jobs and that money will end up back in the state's coffers, therefore we should be business friendly. But even if that's true, you're still taking that money away from the state; there's still an initial deficit to overcome. If the crisis is as bad as Gov. Walker makes it out to be, then we should be pinching pennies, not sending them off to businesses in the hopes that they'll return soon. Any investment (including investments in business) requires investment capital, so if Wisconsin is short on capital, it should be loath to sink money into any investment.
Just as a side note on the disparity between the rich and poor: the Dow is above 12K, last night I heard plastic surgery rates are up (and therefore the economy is back), and I've even seen a magazine cover proclaiming the "return of luxury." But all that only concerns rich people - and some of those same folks are the very ones who screwed up the economy in the first place. For the rest of us schmucks, it ain't so great.
As always, I relish respectful discussion and I value correction even more. Happy debating!
