A View From the Deck: It's the Same ol' Song and Dance

NOTE: The following is OPINION. In such, it is the author's point of view and his alone.

That memorable hit from our friends in Washington, ‘Sequestration Woes,’ has been playing nonstop for over a month, and it’s reached the point that the three branches of government need to pull their heads out of their collective kiesters and get their priorities straightened out.

In the latest example of the Obama administration’s misplaced loyalties, it has been (quietly) announced that 500 million in aid will be given to Palestine, in the ‘hope’ of ‘regional peace and security,’ with an additional 200 million already before congress and expected to pass approval. This, while the government has slated the closure of 149 FAA-contract Airport Control Towers,  as well as the furlough of many FAA employees, in order to ‘cut back’ on spending, which has the potential to make the ‘Wild, blue yonder’ even riskier than before. Let’s not even talk about the estimated 68,000 private-industry jobs this will end, adding to our already ‘manageable’ unemployment level. Bribing Palestine to insure ‘peace and security’ is akin to telling Lindsay Lohan to stop partying. It’s just not going to do any good.

In another example of ‘Sequestration Woes,’ the administration has (again, quietly) given our ‘ally’ Pakistan over 47.2 million in aid for ‘expanding higher education,’ while cutting educational funding for American veterans. Pakistan. Seriously? Another bribe? Is this what our foreign policy has become?

Still doubt this administration’s priorities are misplaced? The government furloughed hundreds of USDA Meat inspectors, the people that are responsible for insuring that the meat you consume is free of harmful bacteria, in a further bemoaning of ‘Sequestration Woes’, while giving Mexico millions in aid to assist with that country’s Food Stamp Program.

I guess it’s part of ‘Immigration Reform.’ If we bribe people to stay in Mexico and receive Food Stamps funded with OUR TAX DOLLARS, then we won’t have any reason to secure that ‘silly border.’ At least, that appears to be the thinking around ‘Wonderland on the Potomac.’

The ‘Sequestration woes’ lamented about by the Obama administration seem to be targeting the function of American industry and safety, while quietly channeling billions in OUR TAX DOLLARS to questionable ‘allies’ such as Palestine and Pakistan. Americans now have to wonder if the burger they’re chewing on contains e. coli, or if that Cessna circling over their house is going to end up as a piece of landscaping décor in the backyard (hopefully while little Johnny isn’t playing on the swingset). Meanwhile, American veterans, who have sacrificed in ways that those who haven’t served cannot imagine, are unable to receive their contractual education benefits in order to better their lives.

And yet, the administration continues to sing ‘Sequestration Woes,’ determined to push it to the top of the charts.

Would any of this be taking place if the administration truly had an interest in putting Americans back to work, or ‘looking out for the middle-class?’

Perhaps it’s time to consider sequestration of foreign aid. American taxpayers provide billions of dollars each year to nations where hatred for America is the norm, not the exception. This is done in the name of ‘Diplomatic Relations.’ In all honesty, it’s nothing more than bribery, which is a felony, under most circumstances.

Also, given the fact that the overwhelming majority of our elected representatives have forgotten they are supposed to vote with the constituency, maybe it’s also time to reinstitute an old method for passing budgets and bills that call for OUR TAX DOLLARS to fund them: The National Ballot. Naw, bad idea. That would entail getting out among the dirty masses and having to listen to We, the People whine and complain. Who needs that?

Regardless, Washington’s spending has reached a level that is unsustainable, despite whatever spin the administration puts on it. In just a few weeks from now, they will be calling for yet another rise in the ‘debt ceiling.’ Government now has become like an addicted gambler, but using OUR TAX DOLLARS to place risky bets, and calling for additional credit from loans sharks such as China, to cover the debt that they, and they alone, are responsible for. And who gets that visit in the middle of the night come time to pay it back? Yup, you and me, in the form of the IRS.

One also has to wonder if the administration is taking notes in how to seize private bank accounts, such as occurred in Cyprus only a few days ago. Some will certainly argue “Well, they can’t do that.”  Uh, huh. Right. Remember the decision by the (not so) Supreme Court of the United States in Kelo v. City of New London? Ya never thought THAT would happen either, didja?

But, why should they care? It’s not their money they’re playing with, after all. To our so-called representatives, it’s nothing more than a big, wild, high-risk game of Monopoly, where the only losers are the American taxpayers. Were they stock investment councilors or private individuals, they would ‘Go to jail. Do not pass Go. Do not collect overly-compensatory lifetime benefits,’ for their actions.

If only.

We put our faith in a system that was supposed to look out for, and carry out the wishes of We, the People. That system has been compromised by Special Interests and Political Donors, and is now out of control in its spending and regulation of issues that, quite honestly, it has no business being involved in. The waste is despicable, and the outright bribery of hostile nations is an insult to We, the People.

Washington, take note. Each of you swore to ‘Uphold and Defend the Constitution of the United States.’ The UNITED STATES, NOT Pakistan, Mexico, Palestine, or any other foreign nation.

With America in massive debt, and the government cutting essential jobs in favor of ‘Diplomatic Relations,’ maybe it’s time for this great nation, in the form of We, the People, to collectively state: “To hell with the rest of the world,” and bump 'Sequestration Woes' from the charts once and for all.

But I presume this will fall on deaf ears in Washington and among those that believe that ‘Government is the answer,’ until they are found singing ‘Sequestration Woes’ in the unemployment line, where they are all certain to end up, unless they pull their heads out and get their priorities in order.

“Brother, can you spare a dime?”

“Here’s a quarter, Mr. Senator. Now shut up. I’m tired of that song.”