Ides of March! Bad day for Caesar, even though it could have been just preview of the year 2020. We all know what it feels like to have been bitten in the asp for an entire year. On to better things!
The congress and our new President have approved the Covid-19 relief bill. I heard that about 85% of our country will be getting a stimulus check deposited into their accounts beginning last night. Along that same thought, I have heard a lot of griping, especially from my Republican friends, that they think this is a bad idea. One Republican Senator suggested that the patriotic thing to do would be to return the check to the government. That is a truly interesting thought. However, it has been my experience that “talk is cheap” and the reality of ANYONE sending money BACK to the government is fairly remote.
I do understand that most politicians won’t have to worry about the problem of receiving the stimulus check as they all make too much money to qualify. A friend of mine posted a chart on Facebook that I will repost below. It does a great job of telling the story and the problem that exists in our Government today.
As you can see, our Government is being run by old White Men. Don’t misunderstand, I like old WhiteMen as I am one, but maybe having them run the show is not actually the best idea. Maybe we should start there in changing how our government is organized. We also require people to be over 35 to run for President. How about if we put a limit on the other end also, say “65”. No one may run for President after the age of 65 and they must have a running mate of a different sex. Wouldn’t that shake up the apple cart. Or how about if there was a law that says members of congress must represent the demographic of the state where they reside. Essentially, if your state is 65% African American, then 65% of their representatives in Washington must be African American. I know there will have to be some rounding up or down but you get the idea. Then we could also require that all the cabinet members represent the demographics of our country as well. Believe me, there are plenty of smart people in every race to do the job. We know they won’t be worse than we have right now. My next change would be the ability to tack things on to legislative bills. To me, this is a major problem. We are seeing this every time legislation is approved, what we start with is NEVER what we end up with. A COVID-19 relief bill that addresses something besides COVID-19 is just wrong, and it is deceptive from the word go. Anyway, I pretty sure that no one in the Government reads this blog, so it is definitely falling on deaf ears.
Okay, back to those that don’t like their stimulus checks. Please take the money and give it to one or all of the following: 1. Your local food bank 2. Red Cross 3. Salvation Army 4. Cancer Society 5. St. Judes Children’s Hospitals 6. Shriners Hospital for crippled children 7. Your local High School Band Program (I had to include that as a possibility) 8. Any organization that is specifically designed to help underprivileged children 9. Your local Senior Center and last but not least, 10. Send it to ME! I will then donate it equally to the organizations listed above. I have a feeling that none of the people griping about the checks will actually give their checks away, but I thought it would be good to at least present some options.
Have a great Saturday and Blessed Sunday!
The Gospel of Mark (Not the Saint) 