Election night thoughts

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/10/27/health.care/index.html

http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Filibuster_Cloture.htm

Just wanted to share a few of my thoughts on this election night of 2009.

From what I have read and seen there is a growing concern over the government deficit, the economy, and jobless numbers. Often the complaints about the growing deficit AND bad jobless numbers are coming from the same group. Well I would like to know which is more important to them: jobs or deficit. Jobs are created by the government and by private industry, but as lay-offs and the unemployment rate attest the private sector isn’t producing enough, if any, new jobs. As a result the government is left to fill in the gap because if it doesn’t then the government AND the economy suffer. In order to create jobs, money MUST be spent. Ergo, the deficit will undoubtedly rise. So would these people rather the government spend nothing and try to reduce the deficit, but as a result unemployment skyrockets, or not? We all know that no jobs means no money to be spent which means a terrible economy. Talking about raising taxes (even on the people who can afford it) is political suicide normally and even more toxic in a recession. We put the government between a rock and a hard place because no matter what it does it pisses someone off, even if those same people benefit from government action.

As for the current state of the health care debate, I have a little to add. First off, I say if Sen. Lieberman (I Rhode Island) wants to try and filibuster the health care bill then Sen. Reid should let him, however, Reid should use his power to limit only one person to filibuster (aka Lieberman) and not the larger group. The leader of the Senate is allowed to make such a requirement when it comes to filibusters. I would love to see Sen. Lieberman speak for hours and hours without a break. Somehow I think the filibuster wouldn’t last very long (the longest was just over 24 hours). Also, I love how people are so anal about the cost of this bill, which saves lives, and yet at the same time they have no problem spending MORE within a matter of months on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. I understand that the idea is to reduce the threats to this country (which may or may not actually be happening) but you are also killing others. Is it really that much easier to spend money on war than it is on something that could drastically improve life in this country?

I don’t think this country, and the world for that matter, can make the next leap forward until we realize that we are ALL human and we are ALL responsible to one another. Until we realize that this person has the EXACT same rights (including the right to medical care without being forced to choose between health and bankruptcy) as a person on the other side of the globe. As an agnostic I think it’s rather sad that I understand this more fully than a lot of people who claim they are devotedly religious. It is self destructing to fight and kill over which book is true or not, what color a person’s skin is, what gender they prefer to bond with, etc. Until we all truly grow up, this world will not change for the better.