... for Obama. The wealthy and powerful seem determined to stand in his way. May I be cynical for a moment? May I generalize? Those Republicans! What chutzpah! They vote as a bloc in the House, no exceptions, against the economic recovery bill, then turn around and start blaming the Democrats for partisanship. And now those Wall Street fat cats, awarding each other $18 billion in bonuses even as they bilk the taxpayer for bailout money. (Here I must make a confession: I have to believe that they're not all fat cats. A very close relative of mine--no fat cat!--who has a niche profession as a translator of Japanese business reports into English, was more than relieved to receive his much reduced bonus this year; his wife, in the same business but working for a different company, received none. I know that in this case, the "bonus" has always been understood to be a part of annual income.) Even so, this whole thing fails to pass the smell test, and Obama is right to be outraged. It remains to be seen what he can do about the partisanship and greed that threaten to paralyze the chances of real change.
Well, we ourselves have managed to escape the city this past week. Who can complain too much about events in the world out-there when the sun sets so beautifully every evening in clear view of our balcony?
On the other hand... they did choose just this week to finish repaving our little dead-end street. After many postponements because of weather, they arrived this morning to lay down the asphalt, so we hope that today will be the last.
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2 comments:
The whole concept of "bonus" escapes me. If they are part of regular income, then call it salary. To me a bonus comes at the end of a job very well done. It's an unreliable extra. To be giving bonuses now, in the face of an economic catastrophe that they themselves have wrought is the height of arrogance and ignorance. I heard Jonathan Alter say to Keith Olbermann last night that it might be possible to recover some of that $18 billion with a congress approved clawback. I would like to see something like that happen.
Beautiful sunset - I love sunsets.
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