Bi-Partisanship

I don’t know about any of you, but I am sick and tired of the “if you’re not on my side you’re an ignorant scumbag who cares only about him/herself and not the American People” attitude in Washington and elsewhere.  Just because someone doesn’t agree with you doesn’t mean that they are out to get you or those you think need protecting.  Along these lines is the refusal to compromise on things, great or small.  The worst example of all this is the United States Congress (both House & Senate) over the past 10 or so years.  Yeah, I get it that you all have your own pet projects/causes/whatever, but just look at where not compromising has gotten us.  I’m all for fighting over what you think is right, but when it just keeps driving us further and further into the hole then what good does it do?

I think a great example of all sides working together is the recent Pension/Healthcare reform that happened in New Jersey.  There was a problem where the Pension system was grossly underfunded (no, I’m not going to get into whose fault it was because it was just about everyone at the State level for about 20 years) and the State couldn’t afford to keep paying for the vast majority of the Healthcare premiums.  No one wanted to deal with the other side, initially to the point that the House Speaker said that nothing would be done on the plan as it was.  Eventually, though, rational thought won the day and a compromise was reached, passed in the Senate & Assembly and signed by the Governor.  Is it perfect?  Nope.  Did everyone get everything they wanted?  Not by a long shot.  But it’s a damn site better than what we had and the problem is now on the path to being solved.

Why can’t this happen more often?  Yeah, there are people that are upset by the outcome, but just remember that little axiom.  “You can’t please all of the people, all of the time.”   The result was as just as it could be, it had input for all sides and was passed in a decent amount of time (not rushed through and not stalled in some committee).  It’s not that hard of a thing to do, is it Congress?