Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Surprise! (not) More hypocrisy in government

"When times are tough, you tighten your belts," the president said. "You don't go buying a boat when you can barely pay your mortgage. You don't blow a bunch of cash on Vegas when you're trying to save for college." - President Barack Obama (source)

This is very true, but the President obviously doesn't believe his own words.

(Side note: and what, exactly, does the President have against Vegas????)

The most recent proposal by Obama is to limit the amount of monthly payments graduates have to make on student loans and forgive them after 20 years - reduced to 10 years if you happen to go into 'public service.'

If you know that you're not going to have to repay all your college loans, why not go to Vegas? If you're not going to be responsible for paying off your debt, you can take out as many loans as possible and then spend your 'other' dollars - well, in Vegas, if you want.

As for buying a boat when you can't pay your mortgage, the message is the same.

While people may not be buying boats, they know that if they just stop making their mortgage payments, the banks, which are being forced by governments to renegotiate loans, will have to do something to relieve homeowners of their contracted obligations. This leaves homeowners free to spend those dollars elsewhere.

The message coming from federal, state and local politicians is that you are not to blame for not being able to meet the obligations you entered into - it's all someone else's fault. It's not your fault you borrowed more than you could repay, you were taken advantage of by evil .... (fill in the blank).

Then those same politicians start allocating other people's money to 'help' you because it 'purchases' your support at the next election. And you, being grateful for their magnanimous behavior, no longer have to honor your obligations. So you have all that extra money for boats or trips to Vegas ...

Think this is just the lunatic rantings of a raving conservative? Look at what one individual had to say about free cell phones from the government:

"If they would give us free phones, that would be fantastic," said Lester Frasier, outside a welfare center in Los Angeles. "It will free up more money for me, that's one less bill for me."

The President's words tell you to spend your money wisely, but his actions tell you that you don't have to worry about doing so because they'll bail you out if you don't.

And what happens inside the logic-free zone of Washington D.C. is completely contrary to those very same words. The new Obama budget is outrageous in terms of spending, despite what he claims are cuts.

In what Obama and many members of Congress claim is the worst economy since the Great Depression, the federal government's payroll is at a record 2.15 million.

And when it comes to those same politicians actually acting in the fiscally responsible manner they tell you that you should adhere to - forget it!

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) says he's not a 'big supporter' of freezing congressional pay until after the budget is balanced. And the worst part about Congressional pay is that increases go into effect automatically, unless Congress votes to freeze them. How convenient!

You all know the joke about how to tell when a politician is lying...(his lips are moving). You also know that actions speak louder than words - so be sure to pay attention to what these politicians actually do while preaching to us and spout off about fiscal accountability.

No comments:

Google Analytics Alternative