Real Special Interest Groups

Mr. Obama tells us that the stimulus package is working as intended and with a little more time all of us will see the benefits of this wise and timely spending. Here in the America I live in, the stimulus package ARRA (pronounced erreh) has not improved the economy. Unemployment has reached 9.5% and consumer confidence is falling. That is not to say that our president is lying. He is boldly honest in telling us: “Without the help the Recovery Act has provided to struggling states, its estimated that state deficits would be nearly twice as large as they are now, resulting in tens of thousands of additional layoffs – layoffs that would affect police officers, teachers, and firefighters.” (Emphasis mine) It is clearly evident that all this ill considered spending was meant as a pay off to the special interest groups that supported his election.

Unionized labor is a bedrock constituency of the Democrat party. Government Worker Unions are the only labor unions whose membership is growing. As such they exert tremendous influence in the Democrat Party. When called upon, government unions can produce, campaign donations, protest groups, and the foot soldiers that are the basis for winning elections. After working to elect the politicians that are supposed to exercise fiscal restraint on behalf of the citizens, the unions have the power to gild contracts for their membership. This is why toll takers on the Mass Turnpike make $70,000.00, and a large percentage of their work force are issued free use transponders.

So after years of spending, spending, and more spending, state governments are in fiscal ruin and need to restructure. This sad story has been replayed in most states but only in the great state of California has it reach such epic levels as to require that state to issue IOU’s. With recession come the call for reform and a resetting of priorities. The unions are out raged. If that happens some of these sweetheart deals would surely be ended and the members of the government workers unions might loose the no-show jobs they have worked so hard to create. So the call goes out to Washington. Down in Foggy Bottom there is no need to balance a budget. So our dear leader has pushed though a trillion dollar bailout for that powerful special interest group that propelled him to the presidency. It is working as intended.