Emergency Measures

The Wizard of 0 makes an urgent appeal for more cash we don’t have:

President Obama urged reluctant lawmakers Saturday to quickly approve nearly $50 billion in emergency aid to state and local governments, saying the money is needed to avoid “massive layoffs of teachers, police and firefighters” and to support the still-fragile economic recovery.

In a letter to congressional leaders, Obama defended last year’s huge economic stimulus package, saying it helped break the economy’s free fall, but argued that more spending is urgent and unavoidable. “We must take these emergency measures,” he wrote in an appeal aimed primarily at members of his own party.

Of course, the handouts being called for are for a very, very important cause: to keep the moola flowing into Democratic campaigns:

But the unions switched strategies. Although the change was gradual, by the 1990s, California’s government unions had decided that, rather than cultivate voter support for their objectives, they could exert more influence in the Legislature, and in the political process generally, by lavishing campaign contributions on lawmakers. Adopting the tactics of other special-interest groups, government unions paid lip service to democratic principles while excelling at the fundamentally anti-democratic strategy of writing checks to legislators, their election committees and political action committees.

While not illegal (in fact, such contributions are constitutionally protected), the unions’ aggressive spending on candidates put them on the same moral low ground as casino-owning tribes, insurance companies and other special interests that have concluded that the best way to influence the legislative process is to, well, buy it.

But voters are fed up with the government-union axis of payola:

Teachers unions and their Democrat enablers need this reality check: Taxpayers simply can’t afford perpetual increases in public education funding.

In Washington, Education Secretary Arne Duncan predicts “catastrophe” (read: unionized teacher layoffs) if states don’t get another $23 billion. That’s on top of the stimulus bill’s $100 billion for education.

In Harrisburg, the Pennsylvania State Education Association forecasts “disaster” unless Gov. Ed Rendell gets the $354 million hike in education spending in his budget proposal. That would replace Pennsylvania’s share of that $100 billion — and spare PSEA members cuts that the stimulus money’s one-time nature should dictate.

The people of the United States are being bled white by the vampires of the Democrats and the public employee unions. Which is more or less redundant, I know. But we cannot continue to subsidize the destruction of this nation for the political gains of a party that is mare enthralled with its power than it is with the people it purports to care about.

Enough. We have to stop this. They are looting our children’s futures.