Despite the Tea Party’s influence on policy and the S&P Downgrade, it seems that nothing has changed in terms of spending. For starters, there is this ridiculous story about the federal government’s $40 million poultry bailout. Apparently, chicken prices are simply too low, so Washington had to step in. I know $40 million isn’t a lot of money in a $3.8 trillion budget, but if we can’t cut that, what can we cut???
Then there is the debate over cost savings at the Post Office and whether to run Las Cruces mail through El Paso The Las Cruces Sun-News says “no.” I don’t get it. The Post Office ran an $8.5 billion deficit this year. Clearly, things have to change rapidly lest taxpayers be left holding the bag. In this day of email and instant communication, is having your own postmark as a city really that big a deal?
Lastly (in this list of examples, but not by any means in terms of wasteful spending), there is the essential air service debate. I lauded GOP Members of Congress for standing firm, only to watch them cave. Not surprisingly, Transportation Sec. Ray LaHood promptly promised to waive any service cuts under the program. Kinda like Lucy and Charlie Brown playing football…
Again, if the federal government keeps bailing out the poultry industry, forcing the Post Office to waste money, and subsidizing wasteful flights, what chance is there to address entitlements and the really big issues?
You’re right, nothing has changed. Tea party members have even added to the pork barrel spending list. And a few weeks ago the Republican controlled House voted to increase defense spending for next year. I don’t get it, what part of broke don’t these people understand. I also don’t understand why America continues to handout $15 to $20 billion of farm subsidies annually. Makes a few million for chickens seem like chicken feed but its indicative of the spending binge these guys are used to. Neither party is willing to rein it in because they know they won’t get re-elected if they get serious. The post office has been bleeding for years yet Congress ties their hands given they can’t do anything without Congressional approval (per the Constitution). Seems they would rather give them money than make them cut costs or even make a decision to do so. Both parties are guilty and both parties need to be sent a message. The problem though as I see it is, the majority of voters are straight party voters who believe their party is always right thus they give validation to bad actions. In the end, nothing changes.
Regarding the closure of the Las Cruces post office, there is a big wordwide move toward digital mail. Here is the link to a story about New Zealand using the Zumbox digital mail service: http://venturebeat.com/2011/04/11/zumbox-will-deliver-digital-postal-mail-for-new-zealand/
How many physical post offices will we need with digital mail?