ROSKAM DISSATISFIED WITH FISCAL POLICY

The title of last Wednesday's article (in Glen Ellyn News, February 25, 2009) on Congressman Peter Roskam's economic views might lead one to think he finally understands how the fiscal policies of the last eight years of Republican rule have put America into the economic collapse we new endure.

But no, the Congressman wants us to essentially return to those policies of enormous tax cuts for the wealthy and let the marketplace unravel the mess it got us into, with a great assist from the Bush administration, in the first place.

The free market failed because those in charge, including Roskam, allowed sensible and sane regulation be swept aside so economic pyramid schemes like fraudulent mortgages and indecipherable financial instruments could destroy our critical credit system, while companies were allowed, even encouraged, to outsource American jobs to pump up the bottom line and the stock market.

Roskam's iconoclastic economic philosophy prevents him from recognizing his and its role in the collapse of our economy occurring right before our eyes. His support of two senseless and self destructive wars costing four hundred millions of dollars daily adds further fuel to our economic funeral pyre.

In fact, the Obama stimulus package may be insufficient to fully jump start our economy precisely due to his willingness to water it down with Republican demands for additions and subtractions. This magnamomous effort at true bi-partisanship resulted in zero Republican votes in the House and just three in the Senate, albeit, enough to prevent a filibuster and guarantee passage.

The Congressman should also realize the election is over and electioneering hyperbole must end. His statements such as asserting Obama "got rolled" and that the Democrats are "running roughshod over our ideas because they have an R at the end of the name" do not move the debate on our economic salvation one iota.

Originally published on Jerry Moore's blog Suburban Shoutout at http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/ March 2, 2009

HANG WIFF 'UM, ROLAND

Republicans and Democrats in the state and in the Congress should stop calling for newly minted Illinois Senator Roland Burris to resign.

Burris will crack neither the ten best nor ten worst from Illinois' long roster of 47 Senators going back to 1818. He will be a loyal member of the Democratic caucus as a new administration tries to dis-entangle America from two catastrophic wars and a collapsing economy, brought on, in part, by those catastrophic wars.

He is a target of Republicans who want nothing more to than to spend fifty millions of unavailable dollars for a slim chance to grab a Senate seat out of the Blagojevich scandal for a mere twenty-one months. He is a target of Democrats who are so embarrassed by the Blagojevich scandal they want to undue the legal appointment of Burris by a soon to be impeached Governor.

Both groups say they are tired of the political freak show that is Illinois politics. They can end the freak show by just shutting up and getting down to the business of trying to salvage Illinois and America from becoming the third rate political and economic entities they are rapidly becoming.

Originally published in Chicago Tribune, March 1, 2009