Right Rants

Republicans could sleep easy last night knowing that the stimulus is entirely in the hands of the Democrats. For good or ill, the Republicans have no part in it.

For the past several days. Operation Melt the Phones has been taking place, with free-market conservatives across the country calling their representatives and pleading the case against the stimulus. Clearly it worked, because the House Republicans unanimously voted against the $800+ billion dollar bailout.

This can now be known as a principled stand, perhaps the first one the GOP has taken in years.

The Democrats believe the only way to get the economy back is to throw money at it. But it’s all government money - it isn’t spending by the individual. Whereas tax cuts allow the average voter to spend a bit more cash at a restaurant or at Home Depot, the stimulus goes ahead and bypassed the voter and gives the money to the companies, the theory being that the companies will continue to employ the individuals. Whether or not it will actually work remains to be seen.

In other business news, while Starbucks is cutting jobs and shutting stores down left and right, their CEO Howard Shultz is collecting a salary of $10,000/year. This is $9,999 more than he asked for while the company goes through its hard times.

I propose we question all companies that are planning to suck from this economic stimulus teat just what they’ll be paying their CEOs during the recovery period. What bonuses will be paid? We can start with Detroit’s Bit Two automakers (Ford has already said it doesn’t need the government funding, thankyouverymuch). Will the CEOs of Chrysler and GM work for between $1-10,000? How about the union bosses that are making all the demands? Will they agree to a $10,000 annual salary till the industry picks up again?

*cue chirping crickets*

If you need me, I’ll be at Starbucks, dropping $7 for a latte.

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