Saturday, December 18, 2010

Political Tricks

This U.S. Congress is coming to an end. There will be no S.1645 for "everyone" to get behind. This bill has the same fate as all its predecessors, S889 and S.1720. This time, however, there will be no Senator Specter to "sponsor" a new bill.

What were the odds of any (S889, S 1720 and S1645) passing. Totally disregarding merits, there is a 3% chance of any bill becoming law.

Some states have similar problems. In an article "Albany Handshake":

This surfeit of hopeless legislation clogs the
system: New York State lawmakers during
2008 proposed a record 18,000
bills—7,000 more than the U.S. Congress
and more than any other state
legislature. Only 9 percent passed. The
laziness, the corruption, the shameless
posturing, the unchecked power of the
leadership—that’s the deal in Albany;
that’s the handshake.


This is not to say, nothing can be done but, the chances of new legislation are pretty slim.

1 comment:

  1. Lip service is all the common men get in Washington as the money comes in the back door to assure status quo in the dairy industry. It is all about the balance of profit and power. I hate to say it John but you are right to be pessimistic about Washington. Dairy farmers do not have the will to really stand up together in this business because we are so dependent on our coops to represent us through National Milk. Maybe someday they will but there will be a lot less of us by then. Time is not on our side.

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