Congress Out to Create More Paris Hiltons

The current do-nothing Congress is about to enshrine do-nothingness. We have two wars that aren't being funded, so the House wants to kill the estate tax driving us deeper into debt. Brilliant. At the same time, we have a number of problems that should have been addressed months if not years ago but instead Congress sees fit to create more Paris Hiltons to demonstrate, I suppose, the uselessness of wealthy heirs.

If eviscerating the estate tax isn't enough, the House is giving some 'limited' line items powers to the president. In the hands of Bush and Karl Rove, I suspect Republicans have created a hammer to keep Republicans in line and to weaken the powers of Congress even further. Here's the story from Jonathan Weisman of The Washington Post:

The House yesterday approved a deep, permanent tax cut on large, inherited estates that would cost the Treasury hundreds of billions of dollars, then sought to burnish its reputation for fiscal discipline by granting the president power to rescind pet projects from spending legislation.

The twin actions, cutting taxes and approving a line-item veto, came as Congress struggles to contain stubborn budget deficits. The votes also came just days after Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) tried and failed 31 times to strike pet projects worth more than $200 million from four spending bills that passed the House easily.

(snip)

"You control the House. You control the Senate. You control the presidency, and you need help before you spend again?" asked Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.). "What is this, Comedy Central?"

Did I mention that giving the line item to this particular president simply makes it easier for Bush to demand campaign contributions in exchange for leaving in pork? Maybe I'm naive but the last time I looked, trickle-down economics doesn't work; and trusting right wing Republicans just seems to make certain people very wealthy at the expense of the rest of us. I'm sure the Chinese are happy though; Republicans just handed another of chunk of America to them in order to pay for Bush's wars.