On spending, Congress can't agree on easy stuff

WASHINGTON — Congress is once again allowing shutdown politics to bring the federal government to the brink of closing.

For the second time in nine months, lawmakers are bickering and posturing over spending plans. The difference this time is that everyone agrees on the massive barrel of money to keep the government running for another seven weeks.

From the article:
The current standoff raises a question: If lawmakers can't even agree to help victims of natural disasters, how are they going to strike a deal to cut $1.5 trillion in spending this fall in the white-hot climate of presidential and congressional politics?

Faulty premise.

The parties agree that there should be money to help victims of natural disasters. That's not in question at all.

The parties also agreed in July on a spending cap for the year. While we didn't know at the time where all of the disasters were going to be, we did know that there would be disasters.

Now, one party wants to say that disaster aid doesn't count toward that spending cap.

Sorry, spending is spending, and a cap is a cap. If they need to spend more on disaster relief, it's fair that they spend less on something else.

Democrats are now willing to shut down the government to protect loan guarantees for "green energy" and for "alternate fuel vehicles."

This is about protecting the gravy train for engery subsidies, for auto unions, and for auto makers (especially the one mostly owned by unions and the government). What this is not about is disaster aid.

Is this not why we (are supposed to) adhere to the Constitution?

These differences of ‘opinion’ would be irrelevant. The vote-buying would be impossible. The cronyism wouldn’t prosper.

But, hey, it’s more fun to play games with people’s lives.

This is actually the third time.

The first was for the 2011 budget, which was passed late this spring.

Then there was the debt ceiling bit in Aug.

So the 2012 budget is go #3.

After all of the hoopla over the other two, less than 1% of the budget was cut.

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