Your friends in the House of Representatives wish you one hell of a Merry Christmas and a bitch of a New Year!

 This is a guest post by my good friend, Bob Poris

CNN Breaking News!

Speaker John Boehner said Monday morning that he expects the House to reject the two-month extension of the payroll tax cut bill that the Senate approved on Saturday.  Boehner also said he expects the House to pass legislation reinforcing the need for a one-year extension and wants the matter to be taken up by a House-Senate conference committee.  

A Senate Democratic aide told CNN that the chances were "zero" that the Senate would return to Washington from its holiday recess to continue negotiating with the House on the issue.

The payroll tax cut extension expires at the end of the year and is worth roughly $1,000 a year for an average family. 

Commentary by Bob Poris:

I assume most people reading this are not directly affected by the monumental stupidity of the House, nor are our elected representatives who created this monumental stupidity.   About 47% of our representatives are millionaires!  The rest are well paid and have taken care of themselves through their government jobs.

It is sad that so many formerly working people at all levels are now homeless or out of work - in most cases through no fault of their own!  When the government checks stop coming for those dependent upon them, I guess they will find ways to survive or die. 

Because most of the members of the House claim to love Jesus, it behooves us to ask, "What would Jesus say?  What would Jesus do?"  Charitable organizations are having a difficult time during this Great Recession with more people to help with less funding.  

A minister who belongs to a discussion group I attend told me that God has a plan and will provide.  This minister has done well with his Army retirement, his VA benefits, etc., added to his current salary as a minister. 

God has provided for him, along with help from our socialist government programs, e.g. government retirement and veteran's benefits.  He dislikes Obama and Obama's "socialist" secret goals. 

The minister is very opposed to Obamacare and wants the government to get out of his life, with some exceptions, of course.  I did not ask him what Jesus would say about such hypocrisy as he is sensitive to questions like that.  

I am lucky to live in a gated, senior community, so I do not see those in need or the sick who try to survive without health care. I do hear of many that were forced to sell and move as their retirement funds were insufficient to handle their losses in the stock market, or the depletion of their retirement agreements. 

I do not see all the children who are living in cars or motels because they have no other homes.  I don't know what happens to them when the government checks stop.   CBS' 60 Minutes did two segments that focused on the huge numbers of homeless children and families here in Central Florida. I hope the charities can help them but know they are having trouble too.
 

I am trying to learn to ignore them all but am having trouble saying that God will provide.

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From CNN:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said Monday he will not agree to reopen negotiations with House leaders on a payroll tax cut until the House passes the two-month extension already approved by the Senate.

Earlier Monday, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said he expected the House to reject the tax cut bill that the Senate approved Saturday.

Boehner also said that he expected the House to pass legislation reinforcing the need for a one-year extension and that he wanted the matter to be taken up by a House-Senate conference committee.  Reid said in a statement that, "My House colleagues should be clear on what their vote means today. If Republicans vote down the bipartisan compromise negotiated by Republican and Democratic leaders, and passed by 89 senators including 39 Republicans, their intransigence will mean that in ten days, 160 million middle class Americans will see a tax increase, over two million Americans will begin losing their unem ployment benefits, and millions of senior citizens on Medicare could find it harder to receive treatment from physicians."

The payroll tax cut extension expires at the end of the year and is worth roughly $1,000 a year for an average family. 


Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all from our wonderful representatives in Washington.