Welcome to 2012, an election year. I am already so tired of hearing "we can't do that, it is an election year" I am about to scream. Hiding behind the convenient smoke screen of the Republican primaries, Congress is about to sell us yet another bill of goods. I hate to remind you, but just before Christmas, Republicans caved in and voted to kick the can two months. Now it is about time for John "No More Tears" Boehner to buddy up with Barack "We Don't Need No Stinking Budget" Obama. Together they will convince Americans it is really in our best interests to combine two of the stupidest things we could do right now in one piece of legislation. What they are about to do makes no sense economically, and I would argue is immoral, but, it is an election year, and their cushy jobs are on the line.

First, for working Americans Congress is about to extend the employment tax cut. Otherwise, "every working American would have about $1,000 less to spend this year". What that means is that the Social Security system will have several billion dollars less than it would otherwise have if Congress let the employee portion of FICA go back to where it was before it was reduced "for just one year to stimulate the economy". Guys, the cat is out of the bag. Think back to last summer, Obama told us that unless Congress increased the debt ceiling by Friday, he couldn't guarantee Social Security checks would go out on Monday.   In other words, Social Security would be bankrupt in forty-eight hours if we didn't borrow more money to prop it up. Even better, for seventy years we have been told that if the government didn't seize some of our money every year and put it in a "safe place" we wouldn't save for our retirement. Now we are being told we should take the $1,000 that should go towards our retirement and buy a new flat screen TV, or a new video game or whatever. What possible economic sense does it make to extend the decrease in funding for an already bankrupt system that was put in place to protect us from ourselves? Oh yeah, almost forgot, it is an election year.

Second, for non-working Americans Congress is about to extend unemployment benefits. Otherwise, "millions of Americans will be unable to pay their heating bills this winter". Or put another way, those same Americans will be forced to find a new line of work, probably making less money than they were before they got laid off. What possible economic sense does it make to borrow money to pay people not to get back to work, even if they have to change careers, or move, or even make less money? Oh yeah, almost forgot, it is an election year.

Welcome to 2012, an election year, and we do have a choice. Shall we reelect incompetent, or incapable? Or shall we start over with a new team?

Keep the faith,

Bob McConnell

beawatchman@aol.com