Second Comment on Classmate Blog

While I do agree that all the arguing doesn't help to get much done in Congress, or anywhere else, at least within Congress it has an effect that the framers had in mind. The opposing sides and many checks and balances are a way to disable the possibility of one faction accomplishing their agenda unopposed. I doubt, however that the framers had in mind the amount of mud slinging that goes on today and the ease of widespread communication.
The only good thing about the bickering is that there is almost a stalemate so neither side can get their crazier proposals out into action. This does however create grudges within grudges so further votes may be influenced by those that have already taken place. A critical part of why they disagree still remains in their political beliefs and there will always be those for and those against. The lengths people will go to to support their views will always rise with the importance of the topic at hand, but I agree, it is hardly grounds to act like a child.
I think placing the blame for the current crisis could provide a good place to start looking to fix our current problems. In a perfect world, the ideas that didn't work would be replaced and those that provided those ideas would have to prove themselves to continue to be heard. Unfortunately we don't live in that world but hopefully the American people are starting to notice where all the problems are coming from.

on Sarah Satterlee's blog: http://governmentinmyeyes.blogspot.com/2011/04/way-past-time-to-get-along.html

Trillions in Ten

On Friday, a Republican budget plan with estimated effects nearing six trillion dollars was passed in the house. The proposed plan would reshape Medicare and Medicaid while cutting corporate and personal tax rates for the top earners of the country. This simply means, charging elderly and poor more for medical services while allowing those with millions to save even more money on taxes. Harry Reid, Democrat and majority leader in the senate, claimed that the senate would never allow this plan to pass. Only time can tell once it reaches the senate and luckily there are many ways the measure can be stopped. It seems strange to me that Republicans, highly voted for by the elderly, would bring forth a proposal in which plans to cost their constituents more money, which they took note of. While being a party long known for wanting lower taxes and spending for everyone, the proposal would lower taxes, just for the already rich, a long standing tradition in the Republican party. The house voted 235 to 193 for the proposal, with all except 4 Republicans for, all Democrats against. With this move towards costing the elderly money, the Republicans must whole-heartedly believe in this bill or must be really good actors pushing for a tax cut. Part of their stated reason is that they feel they must be concerned about the future, not just the next election. The other view of it from house Republicans is they believe that these programs need to be restructured so they can be around for the future, which when looked at financially will cost those using the programs more money. The tax cuts for the rich seem like a slap in the face to those dependant on the medical care of Medicare and Medicaid. The reasoning behind the tax cuts is that it is believed to help spur U.S. economic growth which sound ridiculous to me and comes from fiscal conservatives. Much of this is in response to a Obama proposing raising the taxes of the wealthy and changes to social programs which was signed into law on Friday.  
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/16/us/politics/16congress.html?_r=1&ref=politics
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13101527

Comment on Classmate Blog

Although I too, believe that many elected officials have little to no understanding over many of the topics they have the duty to make decisions over, at the same time it is hard to stay informed of all the issues at hand. Often it takes lobbyists to bring attention to many issues like this since it is so out of the line of sight for many in their positions. Sometimes representatives are faced by issues they may not have even known existed before they are proposed. When a stubborn belief such as how members of congress view nonprofits as run by volunteers which means funding is unneeded is a real shame but hopefully something easy to enlighten someone about. Maybe since it is such a simple thing to learn, there are other reasons behind their reasoning and this belief is just something simple to go by. If anything, it would seem like more funding is needed since the recession with more needing help while more have less time to volunteer because of the need to work more hours. I realize that this goes against the very definition of a nonprofit, but it seems like without funding, they may have to adapt and find a way to make money (selling arts and crafts, etc.) as well as rely on volunteers without benefits. It would really be a shame if it came down to that though.

Her blog:http://msmason-usgovernment2305spring2011.blogspot.com/2011/03/congress-out-of-touch-with-americas.html