Congress Actually Passes A Bill

Over 15 million people are out of work in this country, and that doesn't count those underemployed or those who have given up on finding work.   All together, these people make up about 18% of the workforce -- a figure that's nearly the jobless totals recorded in the Great Depression.  

Add to this the facts that the country is in the midst of a serious recession, corporate outsourcing is continuing every day, women and minorities aren't fairly paid, too many Americans are denied equal rights, the country is involved in two wars it can't win, the country has an unfair and unworkable immigration system, far too much wealth and income are concentrated in the top 1% to 2% of the population, racism is still rampant, homelessness and hunger are rising, private insurance companies are dictating medical decisions instead of doctors, state and federal deficits are ballooning, pollution and climate change are reaching a crises point, and the Supreme Court has declared that money and speech are synonymous.

With all these problems (and many others I haven't listed), a person would think the Congress would have plenty to do.   They should be cranking out bills to solve the country's problems.   They should be working to make this a better country with equal rights and a decent standard of living for all Americans.   They should be, but they're not.

After failing in the past few weeks to stop job outsourcing, insure women receive equal pay, end inequality in the military, institute a sensible energy policy, extend benefits for the unemployed, or pass a bill to stimulate job creation, the Congress has finally passed a bill and sent it to the president for his signature.   The problem is this bill will do nothing to make life better for ordinary Americans or solve any of the nation's problems.

The bill passed will make advertisers on TV lower the volume of the audio on their ads to no more than the audio volume of the shows they are advertising on.   Wow, what an accomplishment!   I admit the volume on some ads are annoying, but people have been putting up with that annoyance for decades now and no real harm has been done (since the annoyance can be easily handled by hitting the mute button).

But this is the kind of thing we can expect for at least the next two years -- worthless bills that accomplish nothing.   With the Democrats controlling the Senate and White House, and the Republicans controlling the House of Representatives, we are going into a period of gridlock where no real problems will be solved.

And gridlock may be the best outcome we can hope for in the current situation.   With power that equally distributed, both parties should come together and work out some compromises for the good of the country.   The Democrats have said they are willing to compromise, but the Republicans are adamant that they will not compromise on anything and are willing to shut down the government if they don't get their way.

Since it was the same policies the Republicans are currently pushing that put this country in the current economic recession, we can only hope the Democrats don't give in and continue those Republican policies.   It would be better to have a gridlock that accomplishes nothing than to continue the Republican policies and make the economy even worse.

So I guess we can consider ourselves lucky the bill passed was a rather innocuous one, which at least doesn't make things worse.   It's pathetic that this is the best Congress seems to be able to do, but as weak as the Democrats have shown they really are, this is probably the best we can hope for.   How sad is that?