If the mainstream media had any interest in impartially covering the soon-to-be-concluded “government shutdown,” then it might have on at least one occasion pointed out how it wasn’t really (or even remotely) a “shutdown.”
Seriously … 83 percent of our nation’s bloated, overreaching federal government stayed open. How is that a “shutdown?”
The MSM might have also seized on the comments of U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley – an Iowa Democrat who is the frontrunner to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, a longtime fiscal liberal.
Last week Braley bemoaned one of the most pernicious impacts of the so-caleld “shutdown” – the lack of fresh towels at the exclusive, members only Congressional gyms (which, of course, stayed open during the “crisis”).
“There’s hardly anybody working down there,” Braley told radio host Bill Press. “There’s no towel service, we’re doing our own laundry down there.”
Awwww …
Poor baby.
Of course most people weren’t aware of Braley’s whining. In fact we didn’t know about it until guest columnist Alex Thornton referenced him in this column.
Gotta love selective MSM outrage, right?
Anyway, thank God for Barack Obama, congressional Democrats and fiscally liberal Republicans like Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, John McCain and Lindsey Graham: Not only do the Congressional gyms have towel service once again, but pretty soon that government-funded Panda cam will be up and running again!
Oh, and taxpayers will no longer have to spend money cordoning off open air government monuments … although they will have to start paying for the yard work again.
17 comments
Pubs get bitch slapped in a fight? Time to blame the MSM!!!!
Easy Rush Limbaugh impersonation:
1) Ruffle some papers.
2) Mumble “Liberals!” in an angry tone.
3) Go off into small tirade about mainstream media.
Because it isn’t like 800,000 jobs were put on hold in the shutdown, nope, just a lack of towels and no panda cam.
Hope they get fresh Kleenex for the Tea Party congressional offices.
Think of it this way, it’s takes around 2.5 private sector workers to support each federal worker.
So the “hold” gave around 2 million workers the hope they won’t have to work as hard to support the 800,000.
Until that is, the sheeple discovered that those 800,000 got over 2 weeks off with back pay for doing nothing.
Doh!
and how did you compute your 2.5 to 1 ratio?
Oh, I was being quite generous using a Forbes study I was trying to locate again. I can’t, so let’s look at it with another breakdown that’s not too old:
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/economy/income/2010-08-10-1Afedpay10_ST_N.htm
So if we take out the private sector worker benefits and base their tax rate on the average for a single person making $50K, it’s around 17%, or $8500 dollars.(probably generous)
$123,049/$8500=around 14.5, so in that context it takes based on 09′ salary averages using 09′ average taxation rates for $50k about 14.5 private sector workers.
The forbes study tried to weight things subjectively, like “value” produced, etc….so it was much more optimistic.
You could also make a case that taxes taken out of the Fed worker check shouldn’t count, but you are still looking at well over 8 private sector workers even on that basis.
If you find the Forbes study showing 2.5 please link it back to me, I miss it from my files.
Btw, on the above basis I could rephrase my comment to Smirks to say “So the “hold” gave around 11.6 million workers the hope”
:)
Oh, I was being quite generous using a Forbes study I was trying to locate again. I can’t, so let’s look at it with another breakdown that’s not too old:
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/economy/income/2010-08-10-1Afedpay10_ST_N.htm
So if we take out the private sector worker benefits and base their tax rate on the average for a single person making $50K, it’s around 17%, or $8500 dollars.(probably generous)
$123,049/$8500=around 14.5, so in that context it takes based on 09′ salary averages using 09′ average taxation rates for $50k about 14.5 private sector workers.
The forbes study tried to weight things subjectively, like “value” produced, etc….so it was much more optimistic.
You could also make a case that taxes taken out of the Fed worker check shouldn’t count, but you are still looking at well over 8 private sector workers even on that basis.
If you find the Forbes study showing 2.5 please link it back to me, I miss it from my files.
Jobs that should be axed, IMMEDIATELY. #RinosFailAgain
Obama Declares National Day of Gloating
WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report) — Residents of the District of Columbia were roused from their sleep by a massive fireworks display over the White House just after midnight, as President Obama declared what he called “a national day of gloating.”
“It would not be productive for this nation, going forward, to crow about our victory over political adversaries,” he said in a nationally televised address. “So let’s get it all out of our systems today.”
Immediately after the President’s speech, loudspeakers outside the White House blasted “We Are the Champions,” and the national day of gloating began.
In addition to a ticker-tape parade, the day’s events will include a screening on the Mall of a clip reel of Texas Senator Ted Cruz’s marathon Senate speech, punctuated by sad trombone sounds.
“Starting tomorrow, my message to the Republicans is, ‘Let’s work together for the American people,’” said Obama, wearing what appeared to be a beer hat. “But today my message is, ‘We won, bitchaz.’”
Let’s not neglect to mention that what was “won” was the equivalent of the “Special Olympics”.
Yep, we are not through with that bastard yet.
—-and he’s still a piss-ant!
I wonder how many of those guys (and Barney Frank) are the creepy cracker who likes to hang out naked in the locker room.
Barney is retired.
I’ll sleep better tonight knowing our members of Congress may now dry their asses on clean towels.
That’s funny. I can still smell them all the way out here in Texas!