BIDEN’S COVID RELIEF BILL AND OTHER ACCOMPLISHMENTS

President Biden has been in office for approximately one month. At this point, I think it is fair to evaluate his performance to date. Up to now, I have restrained myself and refrained from commenting on Biden’s performance, but at this point I can no longer do so. What follows is strictly my opinion. Some of you will agree; others of you will not. That’s okay. It’s a free country and all of us are entitled to our own opinions (at least I think that is still the case).

Below please find a list of his positive accomplishments:

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You will note the space is blank. That is not an oversight. That is not a typing or software glitch. Rather, in my opinion he has had no positive accomplishments. I challenge you to tell me I’m wrong. Give me one positive accomplishment. One that will benefit the country, not special interests, and not foreign countries. Just one.

Now, for the negative ones. There have been many, but time and space only allow me to list the most egregious ones.

1. Wasting weeks on another impeachment and trial of former President Trump. We can argue whether or not Trump incited an insurrection or violated any other impeachable laws, but most legal scholars agree that the Constitution does not give Congress the authority to impeach and remove a president who is no longer in office. Legalities aside, it’s nonsensical, a contradiction in terms. Ball game over on that one. Moreover, I’m sure Congress had other more pressing matters it could have been addressing, such as, for instance, dealing with COVID and the economy.
2. Halting the Keystone Pipeline. Not only did this eliminate thousands of good paying jobs that are irreplaceable, it, once again, makes us dependent on other countries for our energy, and it will raise energy costs for all Americans. We can see evidence of this at the pumps already.
3. Rejoining the Paris peace accords. We could debate the pros and cons of that, but in my view it benefits “energy wasters” and “environmental polluters,” such as China and India, not us.
4. He has presented a “soft” approach to Iran and its nuclear aspirations. Does anyone REALLY believe Iran will live up to its end of the deal? If you do, I have a bridge I can sell you.
5. He has signaled that our southern border is once again, open. It’s “come one, come all,” no waiting, no restrictions, qualify for a path to amnesty, get free healthcare and other benefits, and in the midst of a pandemic, no less.

These are bad enough, but the “topper” is the proposed COVID relief bill. The bill contains a minimal amount for COVID-related relief, such as small stimulus checks and some relief for small businesses. Fine. But, on the other hand, it is loaded with “pork” for special interests, primarily Biden supporters. In a recent news conference Biden defended the bill challenging reporters with “what would you have me eliminate [from the bill]!?” His implication was that there was nothing. Everything in the bill was essential.

Okay Joe I’m going to do you a favor. Here is a list of what you can eliminate. I provide this to you free of charge. A gift from me to you. Again, I challenge you, the reader, to defend any of these as beneficial to any but a particular special interest group.

1. Billions and billions for education, such as preparing schools to reopen. Keep in mind that public schools in many states have been open; private schools have been open, and schools in many other countries have been open, all with few, if any, cases of COVID. Most everyone knows that the teachers’ unions’ hardline refusal to go back to work is uncalled for and does a disservice to the children. The Biden administration’s refusal to pressure the teachers’ unions is nothing more than a payback for their campaign contributions.
2. $270 million for “arts and endowments.”
3. $200 million for museums and libraries.
4. $100 million for silicon valley transit (whatever that is).
5. Raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour.
6. A bridge from NY to Canada (pork for Schumer).
7. And my favorite, a “Blue States Bailout.” The fiscally-responsible states will be paying for the financial misdeeds of the profligate states.

CONCLUSION

Some of the foregoing may have some merit. Those items can and should be debated. But, they do not belong in a COVID relief bill. It’s just a cheap Dem trick to conflate the special interest pork with the legitimate COVID relief to force the GOP to vote for it. This is why the Dems delayed this bill until after the election in the hopes that they would win the presidency and have a majority in Congress.

Anyone who objects to the bill will doubtless be branded by the Dems and the media as callous toward the needy. Keep in mind that some $1.4 billion approved in previous COVID-relief bills remains unspent.

In my opinion, this bill, as written, is excessive and inflationary. We cannot continue to print money ad infinitum without consequences. The prudent and fiscally responsible course of action would be to pass the portions truly earmarked for COVID relief and table the other areas to a later date. Unfortunately, “prudent” and “fiscally responsible” will never be found in the same sentence with Congress.

Biden’s foregoing actions should not have come as a surprise to anyone who was paying attention for the past year. Unfortunately, many voters were getting their news from the “fake news” media outlets. For them, this has been a rude awakening. Unfortunately there will likely be additional bombshells prospectively.