Power Is Shifting To The Upper House

[Flanders]

In bicameral legislatures, the Upper House has much less power than the Lower House. The XVII Amendment and long-serving senators turned that practice on its head in this country. Our Upper House is even writing tax legislation which is a fundamental no-no everywhere else. Bottom line: The US Senate represents the ruling class and only the ruling class. So don’t make the mistake of thinking the ruling class opposes Hussein’s Socialist agenda; they both want totalitarian government.

The only bright spot I can see in the unholy alliance is that Hussein and his successors will ram hardcore communism up the ruling class’ rear ends after they hold all of the power in their hands. Wealthy Americans obviously forgot that the Russian revolutions were funded by wealthy individuals from around the world, and Hitler would never have gained absolute power without support from Germany’s wealthy industrialists.

Midterms

Peter Ferrara details the history of midterm elections in relation to the president. At first glance it does not look good for Hussein:

As University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato and Kyle Kondik write in the March 19 Wall Street Journal,

"Since the start of the modern two-party system in the mid-19th century, the party of an incumbent president has never captured control of the House from the other party in a mid-term election. While many presidents have held the House for their party, in 35 of 38 midterms since the Civil War the incumbent's party has lost ground."​

And that is in any mid-term, not just in the more onerous second mid-terms.

But President Obama has decided to defy that history. He has decided not to try to govern with the Republican House majority, but to devote the next 18 months to political posturing and framing the issues so negatively against the Republicans that America would rally to give Obama total control of the government in November 2014, with a restored Democrat majority in the House as well, leaving no check on Obama's power at all.

XXXXX​

For that radical, socialist transformation, reflecting what the Democratic Party and their party controlled media lapdogs are really all about, he needs total control of Congress. For that he needs, effectively, a socialist, one-party state, which is actually what he is after in defying history, and seeking a restored Democrat House majority.

A second look at Hussein’s chance of taking the House and keeping the Senate reminded me of an old ballad:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8J9BEmiY5w&feature=player_detailpage]Frank Sinatra The Second Time Around LP. . - YouTube[/ame]​

Let me paraphrase the lyrics to make my point:

Theft is lovelier
The second time around
Just as wonderful
With both feet on the ground
It's that second time you hear your theft song sung
Makes you think perhaps that theft like youth is wasted on the young

Theft's more comfortable
The second time you fall
Like a friendly home
The second time you call
Who can say what brought us to this miracle we've found

There are those who'll bet
Theft comes but once and yet
I'm oh so glad we met
The second time around

If love is lovelier the second time around, then stealing elections must be paradise. In plain English, Hussein & Company do not have to rig a presidential race in 2014. All of their efforts and resources can be concentrated on a handful of House seats, and a few Senate seats. The House is the primary target for rigged elections because it controls the purse strings.

Even if the Senate is split in half Hussein wins. Conservatives will have to win the Senate big time in order to neuter the CINO factor should Hussein lose the Upper House. A Conservative In Name Only is three steps below a RINO because a CINO maintains the illusion of conservatism, while Republicans In Name Only like John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Susan Collins, et al. have not fooled anyone in two decades.

This final excerpt shows how fragile America’s freedoms are in the hands of the federal government:

Holding the line even right now are only five rapidly aging old men on the Supreme Court. Replacing even one of them with a liberal appointee will mean the end of the Reagan majority on the Court. Everything in our society will then change. Gun rights and the Second Amendment, gone in a heartbeat. Property rights and the rule of law, forget about it. Religious freedom? Only for the socialist religion.

The full implications of the power of the federal courts can be seen in socialism’s gains since the end of WWII. Unconstitutional legislation was upheld and expanded by the High Court. In addition, activist federal judges wrote Socialist legislation of their own. Every one of those judges was confirmed by the US Senate.

Finally, Peter Ferrara correctly cites the socialist religion. I want to point out that not once did either House challenge socialism on First Amendment grounds.

Here’s the link to a great piece containing much more than the important topics I talked about:

April 16, 2013
President Obama's Plan for A Socialist One Party State
By Peter Ferrara

Articles: President Obama's Plan for A Socialist One Party State

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

Very scary stuff, Flanders. Excellent post. I hope Americans are paying attention to what is going on here.

 

[Flanders]

I hope Americans are paying attention to what is going on here.

To Jeri: As do I. The media is promoting the Socialist agenda, that leaves the Internet as the only hope.

Incidentally, another CINO has been identified:

Senator Arlen Toomey?
By Jeffrey Lord on 4.16.13 @ 6:09AM
One-time movement favorite under attack as Pennsylvania conservatives prepare to meet.

The American Spectator : Senator Arlen Toomey?

 

[RoccoR]

et al,

Politics, being what it is, should be more controlled and accountable. There shouldn't be a constant battle between the two principle parties that holds-up performance and focuses on party power and influence. It should be a body of leaders that works for the improvement of America.

We should introduce legislation that holds Congress accountable.

Examples:

• When Congress fails to pass the budget on time, failing to have it ready to go on 1 October, then every member of Congress should have their pay and allowances reduced by 5% for each week it is late. They can earn the 5% back in increments of one month, after the budget is passed.
  
• For each year that the average cost of college education rises then the pay of each member of Congress should be reduced by a percentage equal to the rise in costs, for the entire school year.
  
• Congress may not increase their pay and allowances independently. Any such proposal should be place on the November ballot as a stand alone item. They are representatives of the people and the people should determine their value to the nation.
  
• Congress should not have their own health care plan. They should use the same system that veterans use (the VA and Tri-Care).

Once we bring Congress back in line, we might see some positive action.

Most Respectfully,
R

 

[Flanders]

et al,

Politics, being what it is, should be more controlled and accountable. There shouldn't be a constant battle between the two principle parties that holds-up performance and focuses on party power and influence. It should be a body of leaders that works for the improvement of America.

Most Respectfully,
R

To RoccoR: More battles between the two parties are needed when they result in reducing the size of government.

Bipartisan legislation is the curse that grows government. Proof: The bipartisan Gang of Eight on amnesty for illegal aliens, and gun control bipartisanship on universal background checks.

Every time the media calls for bipartisanship you know the public is about to get screwed. Give the Democrats control and they don’t need bipartisan support to shaft Americans as they did in the Affordable Care Act.

On the other hand Republicans contolling the 3 branches of government do nothing useful for the country.

 

[jasonnfree]

In bicameral legislatures, the Upper House has much less power than the Lower House. The XVII Amendment and long-serving senators turned that practice on its head in this country. Our Upper House is even writing tax legislation which is a fundamental no-no everywhere else. Bottom line: The US Senate represents the ruling class and only the ruling class. So don’t make the mistake of thinking the ruling class opposes Hussein’s Socialist agenda; they both want totalitarian government.

The only bright spot I can see in the unholy alliance is that Hussein and his successors will ram hardcore communism up the ruling class’ rear ends after they hold all of the power in their hands. Wealthy Americans obviously forgot that the Russian revolutions were funded by wealthy individuals from around the world, and Hitler would never have gained absolute power without support from Germany’s wealthy industrialists.

Midterms

Peter Ferrara details the history of midterm elections in relation to the president. At first glance it does not look good for Hussein:

As University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato and Kyle Kondik write in the March 19 Wall Street Journal,

"Since the start of the modern two-party system in the mid-19th century, the party of an incumbent president has never captured control of the House from the other party in a mid-term election. While many presidents have held the House for their party, in 35 of 38 midterms since the Civil War the incumbent's party has lost ground."​

And that is in any mid-term, not just in the more onerous second mid-terms.

But President Obama has decided to defy that history. He has decided not to try to govern with the Republican House majority, but to devote the next 18 months to political posturing and framing the issues so negatively against the Republicans that America would rally to give Obama total control of the government in November 2014, with a restored Democrat majority in the House as well, leaving no check on Obama's power at all.

XXXXX​

For that radical, socialist transformation, reflecting what the Democratic Party and their party controlled media lapdogs are really all about, he needs total control of Congress. For that he needs, effectively, a socialist, one-party state, which is actually what he is after in defying history, and seeking a restored Democrat House majority.

A second look at Hussein’s chance of taking the House and keeping the Senate reminded me of an old ballad:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8J9BEmiY5w&feature=player_detailpage]Frank Sinatra The Second Time Around LP. . - YouTube[/ame]​

Let me paraphrase the lyrics to make my point:

Theft is lovelier
The second time around
Just as wonderful
With both feet on the ground
It's that second time you hear your theft song sung
Makes you think perhaps that theft like youth is wasted on the young

Theft's more comfortable
The second time you fall
Like a friendly home
The second time you call
Who can say what brought us to this miracle we've found

There are those who'll bet
Theft comes but once and yet
I'm oh so glad we met
The second time around

If love is lovelier the second time around, then stealing elections must be paradise. In plain English, Hussein & Company do not have to rig a presidential race in 2014. All of their efforts and resources can be concentrated on a handful of House seats, and a few Senate seats. The House is the primary target for rigged elections because it controls the purse strings.

Even if the Senate is split in half Hussein wins. Conservatives will have to win the Senate big time in order to neuter the CINO factor should Hussein lose the Upper House. A Conservative In Name Only is three steps below a RINO because a CINO maintains the illusion of conservatism, while Republicans In Name Only like John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Susan Collins, et al. have not fooled anyone in two decades.

This final excerpt shows how fragile America’s freedoms are in the hands of the federal government:

Holding the line even right now are only five rapidly aging old men on the Supreme Court. Replacing even one of them with a liberal appointee will mean the end of the Reagan majority on the Court. Everything in our society will then change. Gun rights and the Second Amendment, gone in a heartbeat. Property rights and the rule of law, forget about it. Religious freedom? Only for the socialist religion.

The full implications of the power of the federal courts can be seen in socialism’s gains since the end of WWII. Unconstitutional legislation was upheld and expanded by the High Court. In addition, activist federal judges wrote Socialist legislation of their own. Every one of those judges was confirmed by the US Senate.

Finally, Peter Ferrara correctly cites the socialist religion. I want to point out that not once did either House challenge socialism on First Amendment grounds.

Here’s the link to a great piece containing much more than the important topics I talked about:

April 16, 2013
President Obama's Plan for A Socialist One Party State
By Peter Ferrara

Articles: President Obama's Plan for A Socialist One Party State

Such a Socialist Obama is. Name one socialist he's named to any important cabinet position. Republicans for secretary of defense, corporate ceo's for job czar. A pro corporate free trader for Trade rep. Obama to appoint walmart exec for budget director. Obama's been favoring cutting social security since before he was president. He's been completing the trade deals that bush started including the Trans Pacific Partnership. He pushed throught bush's education agenda of no child left behind. Appointed an anti union pro charter school buddy for secretary of education. He's been talking lately about selling off the TVA, a project started by an ultra liberal prez FDR. Such a socialist.

 

[Flanders]

Such a Socialist Obama is. Name one socialist he's named to any important cabinet position. Republicans for secretary of defense, corporate ceo's for job czar. A pro corporate free trader for Trade rep. Obama to appoint walmart exec for budget director. Obama's been favoring cutting social security since before he was president. He's been completing the trade deals that bush started including the Trans Pacific Partnership. He pushed throught bush's education agenda of no child left behind. Appointed an anti union pro charter school buddy for secretary of education. He's been talking lately about selling off the TVA, a project started by an ultra liberal prez FDR. Such a socialist.

To jasonnfree: Nice misdirection.

Hussein’s lifelong associations, his indoctrination into communism by Frank Marshall Davis, plus everything he ever said and did advocates totalitarian government. If nothing else, socialized medicine, universal background checks for law-abiding gun owners, and his immigration policies, wipes out a few appointees who may or may not be for individual liberties. Most likely they were appointed for window dressing.

Incidentally, Chuck Hagel might be a Karl Rove Republican, but nobody else ever considered him anything but Biden’s sock puppet.

I suspect that everyone he appoints believes that the ruling class should live on INCOME TAX dollars which funds socialism/communism and Hussein’s parasite class from top to bottom.

And let’s not overlook all of his other appointments —— as vile a pack of Communists as ever gathered this side of the Soviet Union. These three lead the pack: Leon Panetta, self-confessed Communist Van Jones, and Mao-admirer Anita Dunn:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fi1zg2NOCn8&feature=player_detailpage]Obama Cabinet Member Anita Dunn: Mao Tse Tung "Favorite Philosopher"; Truth is subjective - YouTube[/ame]​

If any conservative ever justified admiration for Hitler media mouths would have hanged them on TV and from the nearest tree.

TPP a plus for Hussein. You gotta be kidding:

What is the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP)?

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a secretive, multi-national trade agreement that threatens to extend restrictive intellectual property (IP) laws across the globe and rewrite international rules on its enforcement. The main problems are two-fold:

(1) IP chapter: Leaked draft texts of the agreement show that the IP chapter would have extensive negative ramifications for users’ freedom of speech, right to privacy and due process, and hinder peoples' abilities to innovate.

(2) Lack of transparency: The entire process has shut out multi-stakeholder participation and is shrouded in secrecy.

https://www.eff.org/issues/tpp

Get your facts straight on NCLB. Even the liberal Huffington Post has it right:

Joy Resmovits
Huffington Post Education Reporter
No Child Left Behind: Bush Law Gutted By Obama Administration Turns 11
Posted: 01/09/2013 12:54 pm

Joy Resmovits: No Child Left Behind: Bush Law Gutted By Obama Administration Turns 11

 

[jasonnfree]

Such a Socialist Obama is. Name one socialist he's named to any important cabinet position. Republicans for secretary of defense, corporate ceo's for job czar. A pro corporate free trader for Trade rep. Obama to appoint walmart exec for budget director. Obama's been favoring cutting social security since before he was president. He's been completing the trade deals that bush started including the Trans Pacific Partnership. He pushed throught bush's education agenda of no child left behind. Appointed an anti union pro charter school buddy for secretary of education. He's been talking lately about selling off the TVA, a project started by an ultra liberal prez FDR. Such a socialist.

To jasonnfree: Nice misdirection.

Hussein’s lifelong associations, his indoctrination into communism by Frank Marshall Davis, plus everything he ever said and did advocates totalitarian government. If nothing else, socialized medicine, universal background checks for law-abiding gun owners, and his immigration policies, wipes out a few appointees who may or may not be for individual liberties. Most likely they were appointed for window dressing.

Incidentally, Chuck Hagel might be a Karl Rove Republican, but nobody else ever considered him anything but Biden’s sock puppet.

I suspect that everyone he appoints believes that the ruling class should live on INCOME TAX dollars which funds socialism/communism and Hussein’s parasite class from top to bottom.

And let’s not overlook all of his other appointments —— as vile a pack of Communists as ever gathered this side of the Soviet Union. These three lead the pack: Leon Panetta, self-confessed Communist Van Jones, and Mao-admirer Anita Dunn:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fi1zg2NOCn8&feature=player_detailpage]Obama Cabinet Member Anita Dunn: Mao Tse Tung "Favorite Philosopher"; Truth is subjective - YouTube[/ame]​

If any conservative ever justified admiration for Hitler media mouths would have hanged them on TV and from the nearest tree.

TPP a plus for Hussein. You gotta be kidding:

What is the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP)?

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a secretive, multi-national trade agreement that threatens to extend restrictive intellectual property (IP) laws across the globe and rewrite international rules on its enforcement. The main problems are two-fold:

(1) IP chapter: Leaked draft texts of the agreement show that the IP chapter would have extensive negative ramifications for users’ freedom of speech, right to privacy and due process, and hinder peoples' abilities to innovate.

(2) Lack of transparency: The entire process has shut out multi-stakeholder participation and is shrouded in secrecy.

https://www.eff.org/issues/tpp

Get your facts straight on NCLB. Even the liberal Huffington Post has it right:

Joy Resmovits
Huffington Post Education Reporter
No Child Left Behind: Bush Law Gutted By Obama Administration Turns 11
Posted: 01/09/2013 12:54 pm

Joy Resmovits: No Child Left Behind: Bush Law Gutted By Obama Administration Turns 11

His associations in the past are meaningless. None of them have been around for a long time. Van Jones wasn't around very long that's for sure. Anymore liberals and socialists he's appointed? ACA is a mandate for people to buy insurance from private corporations. This is not socialism, more like corporatism. If Obama were even a liberal much less a socialist he would have pushed single payer. He didn't allow it to even be mentioned. My issue is the right complaining about his socialist agenda. He has none. Not even a liberal agenda. The O administration is looking to privatize the TVA. So we have a corporate blue dog pushing charter schools and selling off the TVA, completing free trade agreements started under bush, and for sure I have a bet going that the XL pipeline will get his approval. NCLB has been granted waivers but it's still around. Now if he would start to nationalize some industries like oil which is what Chavez did, and what some scandinavian countries did, I might agree and with you and say Go Obama Go.
Hey, how about Obama joining paul ryan in pushing granny over the cliff to reward her for voting him in four more years? Is this his socialist agenda? Thanks for courteous response but you're way wrong about Obama.

 

[Flanders]

Anymore liberals and socialists he's appointed?

To jasonnfree: My, my, you are a glutton for punishment:

Obama Surrounds Himself with the Most Extreme Appointees in American History

My particular favorites are Cass Sunstein & his wife Samantha Power. See this thread:

http://www.usmessageboard.com/general-global-topics/238318-matched-pairs.html

My issue is the right complaining about his socialist agenda. He has none. Not even a liberal agenda.

To jasonnfree: Find a new issue:

22 Things Obama Has Done Which Are CLEARLY Socialist // Mr. Conservative

Finally, let’s go back to his college days:

Obama’s plan hatched at Columbia University
By: Wayne Root
4/14/2013 07:00 AM

Obama?s plan hatched at Columbia University says classmate

 

[RoccoR]

Flanders, et al,

There is no substantive difference in the overall performance between the two parties. They are each, just as ineffectual as the other. Neither is acting in the best interest of the people.

et al,

Politics, being what it is, should be more controlled and accountable. There shouldn't be a constant battle between the two principle parties that holds-up performance and focuses on party power and influence. It should be a body of leaders that works for the improvement of America.

To RoccoR: More battles between the two parties are needed when they result in reducing the size of government.

Bipartisan legislation is the curse that grows government. Proof: The bipartisan Gang of Eight on amnesty for illegal aliens, and gun control bipartisanship on universal background checks.

Every time the media calls for bipartisanship you know the public is about to get screwed. Give the Democrats control and they don’t need bipartisan support to shaft Americans as they did in the Affordable Care Act.

On the other hand Republicans contolling the 3 branches of government do nothing useful for the country.

(COMMENT)

The size of government is not as important as the policies and programs they manage and over see.

Neither party focuses on what makes America strong; and each exhibits the same measure of misfeasance and nonfeasance as the other. Part and parcel to the problem of revenue and unemployment/underemployment is the fact that Congress does not look after America and reinvest in foundational projects that makes America strong.

• Aviation
  
  Despite the effects of the recent recession, commercial enplanements were about 33 million higher in number in 2011 than in 2000, stretching the system’s ability to meet the needs of the nation’s economy. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) estimates that the national cost of airport congestion and delays was almost $22 billion in 2012. If current federal funding levels are maintained, the FAA anticipates that the cost of congestion and delays to the economy will rise from $34 billion in 2020 to $63 billion by 2040.​
• Dams
  
  The average age of the 84,000 dams in the country is 52 years old. The nation’s dams are aging and the number of high-hazard dams is on the rise. Many of these dams were built as low-hazard dams protecting undeveloped agricultural land. However, with an increasing population and greater development below dams, the overall number of high-hazard dams continues to increase, to nearly 14,000 in 2012. The number of deficient dams is estimated at more than 4,000, which includes 2,000 deficient high-hazard dams. The Association of State Dam Safety Officials estimates that it will require an investment of $21 billion to repair these aging, yet critical, high-hazard dams.​
• Drinking Water
  
  At the dawn of the 21st century, much of our drinking water infrastructure is nearing the end of its useful life. There are an estimated 240,000 water main breaks per year in the United States. Assuming every pipe would need to be replaced, the cost over the coming decades could reach more than $1 trillion, according to the American Water Works Association (AWWA). The quality of drinking water in the United States remains universally high, however. Even though pipes and mains are frequently more than 100 years old and in need of replacement, outbreaks of disease attributable to drinking water are rare.​
• Energy
  
  America relies on an aging electrical grid and pipeline distribution systems, some of which originated in the 1880s. Investment in power transmission has increased since 2005, but ongoing permitting issues, weather events, and limited maintenance have contributed to an increasing number of failures and power interruptions. While demand for electricity has remained level, the availability of energy in the form of electricity, natural gas, and oil will become a greater challenge after 2020 as the population increases. Although about 17,000 miles of additional high-voltage transmission lines and significant oil and gas pipelines are planned over the next five years, permitting and siting issues threaten their completion.​
• Hazardous Waste
  
  There has been undeniable success in the cleanup of the nation’s hazardous waste and brownfields sites. However, annual funding for Superfund site cleanup is estimated to be as much as $500 million short of what is needed, and 1,280 sites remain on the National Priorities List with an unknown number of potential sites yet to be identified. More than 400,000 brownfields sites await cleanup and redevelopment . The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that one in four Americans lives within three miles of a hazardous waste site.​
• Inland Waterways
  
  Our nation’s inland waterways and rivers are the hidden backbone of our freight network – they carry the equivalent of about 51 million truck trips each year . In many cases, the inland waterways system has not been updated since the 1950s, and more than half of the locks are over 50 years old . Barges are stopped for hours each day with unscheduled delays, preventing goods from getting to market and driving up costs. There is an average of 52 service interruptions a day throughout the system. Projects to repair and replace aging locks and dredge channels take decades to approve and complete, exacerbating the problem further.​
• Levees
  
  The nation’s estimated 100,000 miles of levees can be found in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Many of these levees were originally used to protect farmland, and now are increasingly protecting developed communities. The reliability of these levees is unknown in many cases, and the country has yet to establish a National Levee Safety Program. Public safety remains at risk from these aging structures, and the cost to repair or rehabilitate these levees is roughly estimated to be $100 billion by the National Committee on Levee Safety. However, the return on investment is clear – as levees helped in the prevention of more than $141 billion in flood damages in 2011.​
• Roads
  
  Forty-two percent of America’s major urban highways remain congested, costing the economy an estimated $101 billion in wasted time and fuel annually. While the conditions have improved in the near term, and Federal, state, and local capital investments increased to $91 billion annually, that level of investment is insufficient and still projected to result in a decline in conditions and performance in the long term. Currently, the Federal Highway Administration estimates that $170 billion in capital investment would be needed on an annual basis to significantly improve conditions and performance.​
• Schools
  
  Almost half of America’s public school buildings were built to educate the baby boomers – a generation that is now retiring from the workforce. Public school enrollment is projected to gradually increase through 2019, yet state and local school construction funding continues to decline. National spending on school construction has diminished to approximately $10 billion in 2012, about half the level spent prior to the recession, while the condition of school facilities continues to be a significant concern for communities. Experts now estimate the investment needed to modernize and maintain our nation’s school facilities is at least $270 billion or more. However, due to the absence of national data on school facilities for more than a decade, a complete picture of the condition of our nation’s schools remains mostly unknown.​
• Transit
  
  America’s public transit infrastructure plays a vital role in our economy, connecting millions of people with jobs, medical facilities, schools, shopping, and recreation, and it is critical to the one-third of Americans who do not drive cars. Unlike many U.S. infrastructure systems, the transit system is not comprehensive, as 45% of American households lack any access to transit, and millions more have inadequate service levels. Americans who do have access have increased their ridership 9.1% in the past decade, and that trend is expected to continue. Although investment in transit has also increased, deficient and deteriorating transit systems cost the U.S. economy $90 billion in 2010, as many transit agencies are struggling to maintain aging and obsolete fleets and facilities amid an economic downturn that has reduced their funding, forcing service cuts and fare increases.​
• Wastewater
  
  Capital investment needs for the nation’s wastewater and stormwater systems are estimated to total $298 billion over the next twenty years. Pipes represent the largest capital need, comprising three quarters of total needs. Fixing and expanding the pipes will address sanitary sewer overflows, combined sewer overflows, and other pipe-related issues. In recent years, capital needs for the treatment plants comprise about 15%-20% of total needs, but will likely increase due to new regulatory requirements. Stormwater needs, while growing, are still small compared with sanitary pipes and treatment plants. Since 2007, the federal government has required cities to invest more than $15 billion in new pipes, plants, and equipment to eliminate combined sewer overflows.​
  ---> SOURCE: ASCE | 2013 Report Card for America's Infrastructure

If there is a connection between the size of government and its inefficiencies, it would be with Congress and its inability to handle the nations problems; balanced against their need to seek-out and attain influence and power.

One must understand that politicians think they are patriotic just by virtue of the name in their profession. They are not patriotic in the sense that they owe an allegiance to the electorate. Their first allegiance is to get re-elected, and the second is to the party. The needs of the nation come last.

Most Respectfully,
R