The Scamulus and Other D.C. Games of Chance

Civics quiz: The U.S. Constitution allows the president to spend how much taxpayer money each year?

a) $1 billion b) $1 trillion c) $10 trillion d) $0

If you answered d), congratulations! I wanted to get this bit of trivia out of the way so you wouldn’t think that any of this column’s ink—or at least not much of it—would be devoted to President Obama’s continued on-the-job training, his weekly vacations, or his stubbornly high golf handicap.

No; he’s done many things, but the president hasn’t spent one thin dime since he got into office—under the Constitution he’s not allowed to. It was Congress that spent the dough.

Your dough, in case you need reminding.

So instead of taking swipes at the president, I wanted to ask if you think you got your money’s worth for the $700,000. You know—the $700K in salary (plus benefits) you’ve paid U.S. Congressman John Hall since January 2007, when he began voting on behalf of Putnam County and the rest of New York’s 19th district.

Perhaps we should break it down so you can see some of what you got for your money.

When Congressman Hall took office in 2007, for example, the national debt was around $8.5 trillion. That’s a big number, certainly. But as I write in August 2010, the national debt is around $13.3 trillion, an increase of nearly five trillion—in just the four years since Congressman Hall took office. That’s some heads-down spendapalooza, don’t you think?

And your part of the indebtedness? If you’re a taxpayer, it’s $120,000, give or take.

So just to sum up, in the four years he’s been in office, Congressman Hall has helped increase your personal debt burden by $120,000.00.

And how exactly did the congressman accomplish this? Well, for one thing there was the $700 billion TARP. That’s the acronym (and a very good one if you ask me), for the cover-up that bailed out Wall Street, while simultaneously bailing out the politicians who supported the thoroughly corrupt—and corrupting—practices of mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Down at Wall and Broad they call these schemes “pump and dumps.” Little guys (“the sheep”) get sucked in just as the fat cats are getting out. In this case the fat cats were a little late to the exits, so they had to knock on Congress’ door for a handout. The Troubled Asset Relief Program spelled relief for politicians and bankers alike, and as expected, the sheep—that’s you and me—got handed the bill.

Congressman Hall liked TARP. He voted Yes.

So how else did Congressman Hall sink you $120K in debt? Well, there was last year’s $862 billion “stimulus” bill— the “scamulus,” as my wife calls it—that President Obama promised would keep unemployment below 8% (it’s now 9.5%). In April of this year, Vice President Joe Biden said the bill would be producing 200,000 jobs a month by September. Last month the economy didn’t quite get there. Instead, a net of 202,000 more people lost their jobs in July.

Oh, well. At least Uncle Joe was close on the number, even if he did miss on whether people were hired or fired.

In any event, you’ll perhaps be relieved to know that thanks to research money of $700,000 in the scamulus bill, we’ll soon find out if monkeys feel envy when they see other monkeys getting more bananas than they do. The scamulus also includes $400,000 to research whether drinking only malt liquor makes you drunker than drinking malt liquor while at the same time smoking marijuana. And $1.9 million of the scamulus money is even now being used to study ant colonies on islands in the Southwest Indian Ocean.

The job-killing, pork-laden Scamulus bill? Yeah; Congressman Hall liked it. He voted Yes.

And although it hasn’t added to the debt yet, Congressman Hall also supported the takeover by the federal government of the $1.4 trillion U.S. healthcare industry. Among other things, this legislation means that decisions about your healthcare will very soon be out of your hands. A faceless bureaucrat in Washington will instead consult a spreadsheet about your age and chances of survival for whatever serious illness you face in the future, and make the call for you. Don’t believe it? Check the fully mature British national health system’s terrifying record for a glimpse into your dark healthcare future.

That’s right; for healthcare reform as well, according to his web site, Congressman Hall “proudly voted” in favor.

So how about it; do you think Congressman Hall has earned his $700,000?

No need to answer right away. In fact, feel free to wait until November 2 to make your decision.

Clint Sherwood is a technology writer and editor. He blogs at clintsherwood. blogspot.com.