In case you were wondering what your government may be spending your tax dollars on in the future (besides putting up more signs announcing we're a wholly-owned subsidiary of China), consider this article that showed up yesterday on CNN - The $50 Question: Grant or Reagan?
Yes, a Republican Congressman from North Carolina plans to introduce a bill that will remove the picture of President Ulysses S. Grant from the $50 bill and replace it with the image of President Ronald Reagan.
This would be the same President Reagan for whom the Reagan Building is named, and for whom (at Republican insistence) Washington National Airport was renamed Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in 1998 (by the way...the next time there's a major Metro accident or problem caused by lack of money to keep the system in repair, remember that the Republican-controlled Congress required Metro to pay the full cost of the renaming - an amount estimated to be as much as $400,000...which would have bought a lot of repairs and maintenance instead of a lot of signs and maps).
Now, President Grant was a great general, but perhaps less successful as a president. Does he deserve to be memorialized on the $50 bill? I don't know. My mental jury's still out. But I also question whether it's appropriate to put Ronald Reagan's name on something else, particularly our money. My personal opinion is that history will be less kind to Ronald Reagan than those who worship at his festooned altar would have you believe. I think that much of our current economic disaster can be traced back to the cut-taxes-and-deregulate-everything policies championed by President Reagan and those who idolize him today.
Leave President Grant on the Fifty. President Reagan has enough things named after him. If you want to put someone on the money, how about putting any current member of Congress on the $3 bill? I think that's as appropriate as anything.
Expect better from your elected reprehensives, but don't be disappointed when, instead of fixing the problems that beset the nation, they waste your time and money on new ways to deify Ronald Reagan. After all, it's easier than solving real problems.
Have a good day. Cartoon Saturday is coming tomorrow...you'll need it.
Bilbo
There are so many deserving folks that could be on that 3 dollar bill.
ReplyDeleteI was expecting to see something here today about the Pentagon lockdown.
YES, newsworthy items like the Pentagon lockdown AND stimulus money going to China to create jobs over there. That is what I expected to find here this morning.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised you didn't mention the shooting incident at the Pentagon since it impacted your getting to work. I think Reagan has too many things named after him already. Grant may have been a so-so president but I'd prefer that we not spend the money to put someone else's picture on the money.
ReplyDeleteI didn't mention anything about the Pentagon shootings because it all took place after I'd already gone home for the day. Thus, the only impact on me was a screwed-up commute this morning, since I had to Metro to Pentagon City and then walk to the Pentagon. Of course, "inconvenience" is better than "death," so I'm not complaining. You can look for a post on Sunday (since tomorrow is Cartoon Saturday) dealing with anti-government lunatics and the morons that goad them on.
ReplyDeleteIt seems a lot of trouble for such a large undertaking.
ReplyDelete"I think that much of our current economic disaster can be traced back to the cut-taxes-and-deregulate-everything policies championed by President Reagan and those who idolize him today."
ReplyDeleteNail - Hammer - Direct Hit