Monday, December 04, 2017

A busy news weekend, but. . .

I think it can be dispensed with quickly enough. Three quick observations:

  • I tend to think there's less to the news than meets the eye. Yes, the Senate passed a tax bill, but it's going to conference, so we don't know how things are going to look in the end. I'm amused to see the Democrats screaming about how slipshod the Senate bill was, complete with handwritten additions and whatnot. Do they not remember the Obamacare process? Further proof that politicians will say any damn thing to support their current argument.
  • As for Robert Mueller claiming a scalp, it may not mean much. As has been pointed out elsewhere, most notably by Alan Dershowitz, by getting Michael Flynn to plead guilty to lying to the FBI, Mueller and his claque have established that their potential key witness is a liar. Nice work, gents.
  • In truth, the most important news, at least around here, is the giant sinkhole in Oakdale, caused by a failed water main in the area. Since I-694 will be closed in the area for days, traffic is going to be a nightmare throughout the east metro. There's a much larger story here; our infrastructure is vulnerable virtually everywhere. I thought we were going to be spending billions, if not trillions, to fix our infrastructure following the 2008 financial crisis. Sure wonder where the hell all that money went.

5 comments:

3john2 said...

As to where all the infrastructure money went, every metro region has had varying degrees of road construction hell for three years now, and it's not letting up. Our trip downtown Saturday night for dinner and a concert was enough to make me swear off ever venturing into the city for anything again. (At least we got to stay in our car for the most part, and didn't have to get out and expose ourselves to all the thugs, derelicts, mental cases and city council members wandering around.)

Bike Bubba said...

One thing I really don't like about the tax bill--and of course I've got four kids that will qualify for the child tax credit next year--is that the child tax credit is doubled, but the dependent deduction is eliminated. It strikes me that unfunded liabilities for Socialist Insecurity and Mediscare getting into the hundreds of trillions of dollars, doing exactly the opposite would be smarter--make it pay for people to take care of their own instead of dumping them on Medicaid at 62 grand per year.

(daughter #1 is a CNA working at a nursing home and knows these numbers....great work for her with good pay, but we can't pay for everybody to be there when families won't take care of their own....)

Gino said...

the problem with increased nursing home usage is lack of families to take care of the elderly. i am alone to look after an 81 yr old mother. do i quite my job to do this? nobody to share the burden with...

Bike Bubba said...

Understood. The trick is that for those who need nursing care, their chances of getting it improve if other families who do have "people to spare" take care of their own at home. No?

Reviewed a few of the provisions on my site, and conservative as I am, it's a dog's breakfast of a bill that needs to go back to the starting board. Not for the reasons the Democrats state, mind you, but for others.

3john2 said...

Assistance might be available, Gino, and even more beneficial than caring for her yourself. My wife's mother was hit by a car a few years ago while walking back from the grocery store in Tulsa. The other driver was another old lady, who had no insurance. My MIL didn't have any resources either (loooonngggg story). When she was well enough she moved back up here where her three daughters could be closer and take care of her. She moved in with one of the daughters and her husband; it was difficult for all concerned. My MIL had always had a spiteful streak deep and wide, and things weren't improved by her physical condition and her memory was also going. The sisters and their families would help out but two of the girls worked full time. Ultimately, her attitude and her physical condition were deteriorating, in part because she refused to drink enough water to maintain her health, and it became a real fight because she turned it all into a battle of wills. After over a year she finally had a bit of a health crisis and was taken to the hospital, where she was stabilized. That was more than anyone, including her, could bear, and we found a nursing home where she would share a room with another woman in exchange for her social security assistance. Turns out, the place has good food and consistent care, and without the family issues she has done well and gotten along pretty well with the staff and even improved physically (even if the cheese is a little crooked on her cracker). The public assistance has really helped; without it the cost would have been nearly insurmountable, even with three families contributing financially. It has been better for everyone.