Recess, Regress

As we said earlier, it should be so simple. Investment begets growth. And our economy needs more growth. So why aren't we investing more?

Again, "TEA" powered politics intervene.

“It has been an open and transparent debate thus far, a return to regular order, something that I have heard virtually everyone here urge us to do,” she said. “Nevertheless, some senators are intent on preventing this legislation from moving forward, despite the fact that this bill is not the final version of the transportation and housing appropriations bill. It is only one step in the process but an essential step.”

The crux of the disagreement is that Republican leaders insist on setting domestic spending at levels ordered by sequestration. Democrats, by contrast, want to replace the automatic, across the board cuts and instead set spending at levels agreed to in the 2011 Budget Control Act before sequestration slashes them further. [...]

“It would be so unfortunate if we go home to our constituents in August and are forced to tell them that we’re unable to do our job,” Collins said before the vote.

Indeed, Members of Congress will have to face their constituents this month along with some very tough questions. In particular, Republican Members of Congress will have to answer questions on why they object to critical investment in our communities along with very basic governance. Senator Dean Heller (R-Office Space) voted against both when he jumped on board the G-O-TEA filibuster of the transportation and housing appropriations bill.

So once again, we have Scandal-mania and manufactured crises and a whole lot of pomp & circumstance. What we don't have is basic governance. What we don't have is sound economic policy.

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Congress is about to go to recess. And there's still no agreement on a budget. The G-O-TEA seems to love the crises while using them to demand more austerity.


Our economy, on the other hand, is only hurt by more manufactured crises and more austerity. If Congress can't even pass a budget to maintain our public infrastructure (and create jobs in the process), what can it do? This is the problem