Two Americas: One Recent Example

I’ve written about the “two Americas” being government employees and the rest of us here and here. Now comes word from our own Rep. Heinrich that he rushed back to Washington recently to vote “yeah” on the latest federal bailout (aka stimulus), this one being $26 billion.

Among the beneficiaries of this new federal debt will be mostly government workers and the such, but one story caught my eye, that is that $2.5 million of the stimulus will be used to “Offset the costs of increased insurance premiums for public school teachers, administrators and teacher’s aides.” What a nice, heart-warming story, right?

But what about my health insurance? My Blue Cross rates are going up by 21% this year, but I’m not a government employee, so no bailout for me! Now, don’t interpret this as wanting a bailout… I just want the government to stop expanding at a breakneck pace and for the Obama Administration to stop greasing the palms of its favored constituencies. If Obama wants a real stimulus, he’d pare back government and give the private sector some breathing room in terms of regulations and freeing up limited financial resources. Until then, the economy will be stuck in neutral.