While you're stuck at home because of the snow, you definitely need to read
Steven Pearlstein's article, "Snow-blind: What Washington's winter storm says about broken politics". Pearlstein is one of the Post's best writers (no, that isn't a backhanded compliment), and this article is certainly no exception. Here's an excerpt:
Although the politicians' offer would be the effective equivalent of "snow insurance," I can assure you that the reaction to it would be quite different. Republicans would immediate call it "the biggest tax increase in history" and declare unequivocally that it would send the economy into a tailspin while radically expanding the government. Chambers of commerce would issue press releases warning that the tax would particularly hurt small-business owners, who as we all know create every new job and would now be forced to cut their payrolls or close their doors. Virginia's House of Delegates would move immediately to kill the proposal, thereby dooming consideration by all the other jurisdictions.
It is a measure of the dysfunction of our political system that we can no longer rationally debate whether it is penny-wise and pound-foolish not to spend a little more to try to keep the Capital of the Free World from grinding to a halt every time a snowflake descends from the heavens.
So true,
check out the entire article here. Now, back to our regularly scheduled Snowmageddon.
