It’s a Long Way to November
Actually, it’s really not…less than 100 days until election day, barely three months. Yet it’s going to seem like forever, given the political climate.
Radio and TV ads have been constant in the U.S. Senate race from the moment we knew who the two major party candidates would be…add in super PACs, and the airwaves are pretty crowded…and it’s not even August.
Remember when general election campaigns really got going after Labor Day. How quaint that seems now.
And it’s a certainty that nothing of any substance, and nothing of which anyone will be proud, will come out of Washington between now and then. Congress is out most of August for the summer recess. They take lots of time off in October for campaigning. And it’s not like they agree on the shape of the table, to use a half-century old reference, much less agree on what legislation to pass to help the American people.
The spin and blame game tied to unemployment, for example…Democrats falsely claim that Republicans are cutting benefits, while Republicans say people aren’t going back to work because the government is paying them more to stay home. Again, unemployment benefits are paid by states. The payment at issue was a temporary $600 extra dollar a week payment, which if carried out to a full year would be more than $31-thousand above and beyond unemployment. It may have been needed then, it’s not to that level now…but rather than having a reasonable discussion about how much it costs to live in one part of the country or another, to help figure out if help is needed, instead we hear those on the left say unemployment benefits don’t provide enough for a person to live.
Right…because if it did, who would work? That was never the point of unemployment payments, just as a minimum wage is not a guarantee of a certain lifestyle, as some now say.
But back to the main point…you don’t hear rational conversation about the issue because it serves professional politicians’ purposes more to stick to narrow partisan talking points…and to have nothing actually get done so you can blame the other side.
We deserve better, but until the current ruling elite is moved aside, we may not get it. See, this last two minutes no doubt seemed like ten. Welcome to campaign season 2020.
