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Tire Patches on the State Budget: Hot Air in Congress

Here is how it works:  Congress decides where to spend money; you know, a little war here, another there, a nice program to benefit drug companies, a little left-over subsidy to big oil companies because they are trying to hard to please and get members of Congress re-elected, some money for the poor suckers out of work.  That kind of thing.

Then Congress calculates how much money the government has available:  not enough.  But members of Congress are not dummies.  In fact, they think we are.  So they cut taxes for the people and companies that make the most money.  "It will trickle down", they say, "and we will all get rich, and even with lower taxes government will have even more money!"

It doesn't work that way, of course, but we have bought the bullshit, so we all say, "Yes!"

The bills get really big, and the revenue doesn't keep up.  We have to borrow.  But we have an old fashioned law that says Congress has to agree to do what it has already decided to do.  It is called, "Raising the debt ceiling".  It means that Congress has already decided to spend the money, and refuses to increase taxes to pay for it, and has to borrow the difference.  But Congress is principled!  "No!", it says.  "We will not agree to authorize the debt!"  And then, they have the gall to argue that they need a Constitutional Amendment to prevent them from doing what they are doing!

Here in Minnesota, where Tiny Tim Pawlenty was Governor before he decided to become our next President--a journey that is beginning with a stumble-step--one of the big rating agencies has downgraded the State's credit rating from AAA to AA+, not just because the State is shutting down for lack of a budget agreement, but because (the rating agency said) the State has, for years, just been patching the budget with short-term fixes.  The favorite fix is just to borrow money intended for the public schools, while promising to pay it back someday, maybe, we will see, things are tough, we have to do what we have to do, and all that.

I have had three flat tires on our lawn tractor, while mowing at our log house.  Tires on a lawn tractor are tissue-paper thin, intended only for Blue Grass and Fescue and la-de-da-clover.  The grass at the log house was once a cow pasture. The flats have been caused by real-life-stalks and up-your-innertube weed stems.  But I as smart as any member of Congress you ever saw!  I had tubes put in the tires, and when they go flat, I have patches put on the tubes.  The next step is to put patches on the patches.

What I really need is an honest tire; not one of those State Fair balloon things with knobs.  But I would have to pay real money for real tires, so I patch things up, instead.

Someone should stop me.  I need to be saved from myself.  I think the only way out is to pass a Constitutional amendment that will not allow me to do what I am doing.  That is why I am unalterably opposed to raising the debt limit.

But I goofed up, somewhere.  I was supposed to authorize buying the tires first, and then vote against going into debt to pay for them.

I might as well be honest:  those politicians are smarter than I am.  Anyway, the dealer said, "No cash, no tires!"
I guess the rating agency got to them first.

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