Shadegg on Stimulus: Bernie Madoff Himself Would Blush at This Scheme

Shadegg: “Massive spending and generational debt may have won today, but the American people did not.”

In a truly rare event, today’s legislation passed without a single Republican vote – and with 7 Democrats crossing the line to join Republicans in bipartisan opposition. That is because, in crafting this legislation, Nancy Pelosi and the Democrat-led Congress put their interests before those of the American people.

Every single member who voted for this bill has to explain
themselves to people of this country. They have to explain their support for a single, ill-considered, hurriedly-passed bill that costs more than four times as much as the entire war in Afghanistan, and more than $100 billion than the entire war in Iraq. They have to explain how they could take $3,722 from every man, woman and child and give it to Washington – and $10,246 from every American family. They have to explain hurtling this nation past $11 trillion in national debt.

And for what? This bill is nothing more than a sordid wish list of paybacks, kickbacks and pork spending for special interests. There’s money for everything from global warming to sex education to an alarming expansion of Medicaid. Even the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says this headfirst plunge into debt will shrink our nation’s GDP.

In fact, this bill will stimulate only two things: the growth of government and greed of politicians.

Bernie Madoff himself would blush at this scheme.

The bill even contains more than a billion dollars for ‘comparative effectiveness,’ research – a dull phrase to describe a very harrowing process. Comparative effectiveness is used by federal healthcare bureaucrats around the world to decide which medical treatments to deny patients – whatever they think is ‘cost-effective.’ In other words: government rationing of health care.

But at the end of the day, the most alarming thing about this bill is the precedent it sets. Congress has not only launched a watershed expansion of federal power – but they have done so by silencing the voice of Members and the people they represent. Even the text of the bill was shielded from our eyes and the eyes of the country. The 1,000-plus page bill not made available until nearly 11pm last night – 12 hours before consideration of the bill began and 15 hours before the vote was held.

Massive spending and generational debt may have won today, but the American people did not.