Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Want a headache?


I found a copy of the House version of the stimulus bill on the web yesterday. If you ever wanted a screaming headache then reading the full text of this is sure the way to do it. On the plus side there are a lot good ideas that this country should have done starting eight years ago like rebuild the infrastructure, but then there's the minus side. On the minus side there's no real details as to how and who will spend the money. Then there's little amendments that refer to this section or that paragraph and of course changes striking this line or that. In reading it I tried to catch the bold face headings just to get a sense of what was in it. After about an hour of reading my eyes started to water and my head started to throb. I guess that's what happens when you try to read something written by lawyers.
Maybe we could just put a team together of ordinary people like BBC, Macrum and the Monkeyfister. I'm sure it wouldn't be that hard to have them come up with a real budget and spending plan that would work. It's not rocket science to figure out what it costs to do a project. Yes there would be some cost overuns at times but nothing like what would happen compared to when corporations and congress climb in bed together.

Then there's the PCA CEO who should be charged with murder. That's my opinion anyway. Nothing like selling contaminated peanut products that you know are contaminated. The link: Bad nuts
In this case a couple of bad nuts did spoil the whole bunch. The sad part is that companies that are not associated with the recall will see a drop in sales because who wants to risk their life on a maybe. Maybe it's safe maybe it isn't. That's one lottery you don't want to loose. At 1800 products who wants to take the chance? The real problem? You don't know how far the contamination has spread and what products were produced in a plant that used the peanuts. Note on the package in small print "this product produced in a plant that also produces peanut products". That's for those with peanut allergies but who's to say the peanut products didn't cross contaminate other products.
I realize he's a busy man but this would be a golden opportunity for Jimmy Carter. He was a peanut farmer at one point.

2 comments:

BBC said...

There are a lot of bad nuts on this planet, funny I should say that as I sit here typing and eating organic peanut butter.

Oh, the nuts, I don't mean peanuts.

MRMacrum said...

I understand in the black dark world of lawyering, there is a special group who do nothing but think and write documents the rest of us will never understand. Just for kicks a few weeks ago while feeling particularily masochistic, I actually read one of those agreement things we all see when we are uploading a free program, signing up for a service, etc. Instead of my usual read a line or to and then punch the "I agree", I read it completely. I came away just as clueless as I had begun, but like you, I had a headache.

The atmosphere of deregulation has certainly touched every aspect of our lives hasn't it.