This page was last updated on March 24, 2011.
We need to worry about our country; Robert Weber; Beaver County Times; March 24, 2011.
The only previous Weber letter I found was entitled “Don’t be fooled by GOP’s rhetoric.”
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“Here we go again, sticking our noses in Libya’s business. (Could it be because of oil?)”
[RWC] I agree we shouldn’t be in Libya.
“Could it be because of oil?” might get some mileage if it hadn’t been worn out over the years. In 1990/1991, we were told our actions were about “seizing power and control of oil in” Iraq and Kuwait. It didn’t happen. The same is true for our current Iraq involvement.
“The people are in turmoil over the government. It’s happening here, too. We still have people living in trailers from Hurricane Katrina. What’s happening to them?”
[RWC] About “people living in trailers from Hurricane Katrina,” please read this. In summary, we’re talking about 600+ trailers as of December 2010 out of about 200,000.
“There are starving families here, but our government leaders don’t seem to care about them. State lawmakers get 65 bottles of water delivered to each office every day. Why can’t they drink from the water fountains? They get $165 in perdiem [sic], and after two terms they get free health insurance for life.”
[RWC] Where are the “starving families here?”
I agree with lawmakers using the drinking fountains, but I couldn’t find anything to support the “State lawmakers get 65 bottles of water delivered to each office every day” claim. According to WTAE-TV, “Every Tuesday and Friday morning at the Pennsylvania State Capitol building, 80 5-gallon bottles of water get delivered to Senate offices. That adds up to 400 gallons per week and 55,000 gallons during a two-year contract, totaling $35,750.”
The per diem of $163 (not $165) is supposed to cover food and lodging when attending General Assembly sessions in Harrisburg. This needs to end and be replaced by reimbursement for receipt-supported expenditures.
The “after two terms they get free health insurance for life” is almost correct for senators, but not representatives.
“Yet people are dying because they can’t pay for pills.”
[RWC] Who and where are they?
“Lawmakers get rental cars to use for work. Why can’t they drive their own cars? The situation never seems to end. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Other states have recently revolted over laws (Wisconsin and Ohio, for instance).”
[RWC] For official business, PA lawmakers have the option of leasing a vehicle via the Commonwealth or being reimbursed for mileage using their personal car.
What it appears Mr. Weber is talking about regarding Wisconsin, etc. is labor union management organizing protests against removal of collective bargaining privileges from public employees. As a reminder, FDR (patron saint of lefties) opposed public-sector labor unions.
“We need to start worrying about American citizens. Our own country needs help.”
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