Disappointed but not surprise, that was my reaction to the House vote on the stimulus package. I was disappointed but not surprised by the recalcitrant right-wingers who now make up the Republican Party, and, sadly, disappointed but not surprised by the Democratic leadership who allowed the bill to be larded up with goofy stuff that has little or nothing to do with rebuilding infrastructure. And disappointed but not surprised by my own member of congress who seems to have learned everything she knows about politics and economics from Rush Limbaugh and James Dobson. I have some small amount of hope that the Senate will do better, providing decent fodder for the conference committee to come up with a final draft that has real merit.
I am disappointed but not surprised that Wall Street continues to hand out exorbitant bonuses of taxpayer cash to incompetent executives. I am disappointed but not surprised that other large but troubled corporations can both lay off thousands and continue extravagant spending for executive perks. It’s hard to imagine that they can be so utterly disconnected from the rank and file of the nation’s workers and small business owners, but there it is. I’ve poked around on some of their websites and see that they have built effective ramparts to make it all but impossible for ordinary citizens, or even shareholders, to contact top executives. I have some small hope that the administration might be able to bring down the hammer on all of that.
What does any of this have to do with theology? I’ll say it again. Read Amos.