In Case You Missed It
In Just a Thought, March 8th, 2010
What is “pay-go” and who is Jim Bunning?
Recently the liberals in the Senate went into orbit in mock concern for 400,000 Americans who would not receive their unemployment benefits because one conservative Senator blocked a vote to spend $10 billion to extend their coverage.
Hold your judgment. Here the “rest of the story”. Congress feigning concern for their unsustainable deficits, passed a “Pay-Go” bill saying that any further increases in spending would have to be accompanied by corresponding cuts—they must “pay as they go.”
On the very next spending bill, a $10 billion bill to extend unemployment insurance, they waived their own requirement to find offsets for the new expense.
Senator Jim Bunning who is retiring after this session refused to simply go along. He stopped the bill and called attention to the hypocrisy of the Pay-Go Congress. He was mauled in the press.
Principled stand or meaningless gesture…you decide.
