Amateur Hour In The Government

So in a rare step for me into the ways of the government, there are a few things going on that really make you wonder where we're headed in this part of the world. The democrats and Hollywood are finally happy that a democrat is in office and they got rid of Bush, but are they really getting what they wanted or would the old guy with the soccer mom have been better? Let's recap the recent weeks:

Obama and his crew took a sight-seeing photo-op ride in a 747...over ground zero, New York City...without telling the mayor. Sure they told "local authorities," but also said to keep it quiet. That means the media only reported on what they saw, and God knows, it got exaggerated. There were more than a few scared New Yorkers that morning, and more than a few evacuated their office buildings in response. That was smart.

We have a well reported "pandemic" of "swine flu", which is in reality a combination of human flu, avian, flu, and two strains of swine flu. People are scared to death. The media is having a field day with this one. The World Health Organization says that the majority of people affected with the virus made a full recovery without the need of medical attention or antiviral drugs. Our government says...wash your hands. Hm, thanks.

As an added response to this, our vice president added to not ride on crowded planes, trains, or automobiles. So what you're telling us, this soon after Earth Day, is to not use mass transit or car pools. Huh?

And to round out the babysitting of adults, my own building put out a memo encouraging employees to "help prevent the spread of viruses by frequently washing your hands, covering your mouth when coughing or sneezing and staying home if you are sick." Wow. What's amazing is people will look upon this and actually double their efforts. Personally, I did this anyway. Well, except staying home when I'm sick...not that I'm ever sick.

And then there's this supposed tax credit that Obama got into people's hands. I'm personally wondering where this is supposed to come in, and if I've seen it or not. You see, this little loop hole won't affect me, since I'm the only one in my household working, but a working stiff gets a $400 tax credit throughout the year or something. If said working stiff has two jobs, then he'll end up getting that same credit from both paychecks. Since he's only entitled to one of them, he'll owe the extra $400 next year. Smart huh?

They also threw in a consideration for people who are retired and on social security, so they get a piece of the action. 250 big ones for them as a boost to their regular social security check. But...if that retiree works, they'll get that $400 out of their paychecks and when they file next year, guess what? They went over their credit by $250. Whoops. 

So the fear mongering is on the upswing, and the media, bereft of a president they want to make fun of, is back to scaring the public in any way possible. The government is being generally silly and it seems that while our president has some good ideas (and hey, he's a great organizer), he lacks the experience to actually put them into any form that's usable for the long term.