THE YEAR IN REVIEW….I’ve been in a rotten mood lately, a feeling that I blame on the 109th Congress. Here’s a summary of their first few weeks of activity:
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Passed: A tort reform bill that makes it harder for ordinary citizens to sue corporations who harm them.
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Coming soon: A bankruptcy bill that will make it harder for distressed workers to declare bankruptcy and will increase credit card company profits by an estimated $1 billion.
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Coming soon: A transportation bill that adds two unpaid hours onto the work days of short-haul and long-haul truckers.
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In progress: Changes to Social Security that will almost certainly include benefit cuts for current workers.
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In progress: Making permanent a set of tax cuts that primarily helps the upper class.
And it’s only the middle of March. Can anyone name even one thing the Bush administration has done this year ? or is proposing to do ? that would benefit ordinary workers? Do they even pretend to care any more?
UPDATE: I’m informed that the “unpaid hours” amendment to the transportation bill failed to pass in the House and probably won’t in the Senate either. I feel better already!
