The latest COVID-19 relief measure is a case study in smacking the American people in the face and expecting them to ask for more. If this doesn’t have you going after the people who represent you, stop whining. America’s leadership crisis is your fault.
Congress’s most recent attempt at COVID-19 relief is actually a legislative Frankenstein. It’s a combination of pandemic response measures and an omnibus spending package to fund the federal government through September. It’s also like Prego because, if you can think of it, it’s in there.
The COVID-19 measures make the headlines, but the legislation contains such oddities as a modification of the ceiling fan energy conservation standard, an appropriation to combat cogongrass, and the entire Christmas wish list of studies for big tech and e-commerce.
What American facing economic hardship from a pandemic isn’t relieved by federal studies to advance blockchain technology, artificial intelligence, internet of things manufacturing, quantum computing, unmanned delivery services, and three-dimensional printing?
Somehow the 64-page Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act of 2020 also made the cut. It’s almost as if an exceptionally powerful Kentuckyian was involved in crafting the COVID-19 omnibus.
To be clear, we’ve known we had a devastating pandemic since March, and we also regularly fund the federal government. A high-stakes last minute piece of legislation isn’t necessary this year or any other.
We’ve elected leaders with pandemic-proof jobs who can’t be bothered to actually work for us. Their job is simple: Read proposed legislation, debate it, and vote on it. We also supply each of them with a paid staff fully capable of doing any of the uncomfortable thinking.
And yet we keep falling for the same failed leadership over and over.
When Trump stood up and scolded legislators for the COVID-19 omnibus, he cited foreign spending, the Kennedy Center, and Smithsonian as just a few examples of unnecessary expenditures that could be removed to increase payments to individual Americans. It sounded great. On the way out the door, Trump seemed to stand against a measure that should indeed evoke a righteous anger from the American people.
He failed to mention that the line items he railed against are also contained in his FY2021 budget request. In short, Trump asked Congress to spend the money, they did it, and then he feigned outrage.
Oh, and those dollars for gender programs in Pakistan that everyone is upset about? Trump asked for those as well.
Our politics are high on drama because most of our politicians know we’ll pay attention to the theatrics, become outraged at the other side, and never bother with the details.
Whether the relief check from the government is $600 or $6,000, your children are going to pay for it. In fiscal year 2020, which ended in September, the federal government spent almost twice ($6.6 trillion) as much as it received ($3.4 trillion). That doesn’t account for the most recent COVID-19 behemoth or any other “relief” measures coming our way in 2021.
The money isn’t there, so we might want to be a little more targeted and thoughtful about how we spend it. Instead, the latest monstrosity sailed through the House and Senate because failing to pass it would allegedly cause widespread devastation.
The whole situation is a fabrication from politicians who expect us to clap for them procrastinating, bickering, and then doing a poor job at the last minute. Even Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, not exactly known for her fiscal conservatism, suggested that “Members of Congress need to see & read the bills [they] are expected to vote on.”
That’s an exceedingly low bar that the federal political class can’t seem to overcome right now.
Yes, there were leaders who had the sense to reject this hot mess, but not enough. If you’re looking to be entertained, watch The Mandalorian. Don’t get distracted by politicians who tell you they’re fighting evil while they mortgage America’s future. Expect more and elect people who meet those expectations.
And remember, it’s not the other guy. It’s you. It’s the politicians you voted for who are selling you a bill of goods. If we want a better future for our children, it begins by supporting leaders willing to tell us the truth even when we don’t like it. If we can’t do that, we have only ourselves to blame for America’s decline.