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Mike’s Musings: Problems galore, but Congress takes six weeks off

Welcome back Congress, I hope you enjoyed your six-week vacation. That’s right while two wars commanding our attention, an economy that is not well, and a border that is actually borderless, our elected leaders took six weeks off.
Of course they do it every year, without fail. It is part of the perks you receive when elected to office along with free health care, officeholder’s stipend and so much more. They also took off several weeks during the Christmas holiday season as well.
For these generous benefits they also receive a $174,000 salary. Not bad for a part-time position, aye? And don’t forget it is we, the taxpayers, that are paying it.
My beef is not the wage or the time-off, but the fact that both The Senate and the House of Representatives felt it necessary to take off so much time this year when we face so many problems as a country, and our leader, Joe Biden, has dementia.
We need Congress to step up and address the issues that are facing us. We can’t have them act as if this is a normal year with normal problems. But that’s what they have done. I suppose that is their thought process because this is a presidential election year and well, every member of the House, is up for re-election and they don’t see the need to act until after the Trump-Harris race is decided.
That would not be my approach. If I was a representative of the people, I would be hard at work, just like I am at the newspaper. I might take a few vacations, but they would be for 3 or 4 days, not months. I would do everything in my power to resolve the issues that plague this great nation, and not fritter away valuable days at the beach or in a mountain retreat.
But Congress, much like our current president, doesn’t see the need to solve the issues. I suppose it’s much like the endless wars we engage in. If we broker a peace treaty, the neocons who make much of their money from producing weapons and ammunition, would go broke, or at the very least cut production to a fraction of what they produce during war time. In the same vein, if Congress resolves all the issues facing us, what use will they be? So continuing the never-ending border crisis or wars keeps them in power.
I don’t think Congress should receive special privileges just because they represent us. If they are truly a part of “us” they should act and do as we do. That means work fulltime, not parttime, and stop voting yourselves free benefits that your constituents cannot have.
Some will say I’m jealous, and maybe deep down I am, but the time off afforded our elected officials is ridiculous, particularly this year. I work very hard as a small businessman and cherish my occasional weekend off. I expect the same from my elected officials. You should be setting an example. Instead, you are doing the opposite.

2 Replies to “Mike’s Musings: Problems galore, but Congress takes six weeks off

  1. Maybe you should do some actual research, Mike. America’s economy has recovered faster than any other country after COVID. Our GDP has returned to pre-pandemic trends while the rest of the world has experienced a much weaker recovery. Inflation is now down to 2.5% and the Fed is looking to drop interest rates. Joe Biden saved us from a recession that every talking head said was inevitable. And, speaking of Joe Biden, do you have inside information about his health that the rest of us don’t have? Biden does not have dementia but it’s typical of your “Breitbart” style of reporting to print that he does.

  2. Dude – they had a border deal that was put together by Republicans but your orange liar told them NO. They’ve had 4 years to accomplish something but they don’t/can’t/won’t. Just endless baseless “investigations”. And blaming the Congressional mess on Biden is ludicrous. I think you just have your panties in a bunch because your hero came off as the demented fool he is last night. You now find yourself having to jump on the “if you’ve got nothing else call them names” bandwagon. You are truly one of the deplorables.

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