Dec. 18, 2011

COLUMBUS: Congress is still arguing over the Social Security tax relief for wage earners. Senate Democrats want it for 2 months, House Republicans for 12. They may be delaying a decision just so President Obama gets a late start on his 17-day, $4,000,000 Hawaii trip. If he was only going to Chicago, they would have let him go sooner.
Of course, Congress is hoping for a full month’s vacation. Rick Perry’s plan for Congress to work a few months every other year appeals to some of those folks. For others it would mean more work than they put in now.
Mitt Romney was on TV making his case to be nominated for President. The difference between him and President Obama kinda boils down to what you mean by the words “free” and “fair”. Mitt says he believes in free enterprise and fair taxes, while the President believes things should be free, paid for by the rich paying their fair share.
Romney offered a jobs plan; “If you want to increase employment, make tractors illegal. All farm work would have of be done by horses and plows.” Of course, he was just making a point. But I’ll go even further with his silly plan: eliminate all weed control products and hybrids and genetically-modified crops. If we did, to do the hoeing, corn shuckin’, cotton pickin’, and other chores it would require the entire population of Mexico. More than a quarter of our farm land would be needed to feed the horses and extra farm workers.
Even with all our modern technology, farmers need more workers. And the government is threatening to take away some of the most dependable workers they have: farm kids. The Labor Dept says if you’ve been driving a tractor since you were 8 or herding cattle on horseback since you were 6, you’ve got to quit. From now on they want you to wait until you’re 16.
If the Occupiers want to meet the real “one percenters”, go to a farm. Roughly one percent produce enough food that the other 99 percent of us can earn a living without having to farm too.
Time magazine named the Protesters their “Person of the Year.” In response to that recognition, the Occupy Wall Street protesters took over a church-owned piece of land, shouted obscenities and got arrested. Meanwhile in Des Moines, a band of Occupiers demanded that military spending be cut in half. In Iowa? Shucks, you could cut half of what the U.S. military spends in Iowa and it wouldn’t amount to a drop in a bucket.
Meanwhile in Egypt, Protesters are being beaten and killed. Egypt’s troops are not as kind to people hurling insults and rocks at them as our police forces are. Those folks appear to be protesting for freedom and free elections. Ours are protesting for free college degrees, free home loans, and (in one case) a living wage for tattoo artists.

Merry Christmas to you. Or Happy Hanukkah or Happy Holidays if you prefer.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“Well, there is lots more good cheer this Christmas than last (or the last three) and it’s not all out of bottles either. It’s in the heart, in the confidence and in the renewed hope of everybody. Course there is an awful lot of folks that are not working… But I believe even the most down and out, while he might not see a turkey Christmas Day, he can see one in the future.” DT #2306, Dec. 24, 1933