Yesterday, I wrote a letter to my U.S. Senator, Amy Klobuchar. You might remember as of right now, we in Minnesota only have one Senator – that’s Amy – because of a little voting dispute between Challenger Al Franken and Incumbent Norm Coleman. They’re duking it out in the courts because for some reason we can’t just have a do-over to break a numerical tie. I’m sure it’s going to end someday. At least I hope so. It seems like they’re finding ballots they forgot to count all over the place, and then some are allowed, but similar ones are not. It’s all pretty twisted up now.
In the meantime, I decided to send Amy a letter about the economy and some of the other stuff we’ve been talking about around the dinner table, and on this blog, too. People are getting concerned, and wondering what a lot of this stuff is really all about.
Minnesota Nice means answering your letters. Amy answered mine right away, even though I sent it from a service site, and I just answered hers. Here they are:
On Fri, Apr 3, 2009 at 11:15 AM, Senator Klobuchar <senator_klobuchar@klobuchar.senate.gov> wrote:
Dear Betsy:
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts about our nation’s economy. Wherever I go, Minnesotans tell me how deeply concerned they are about the state of our economy. As I work with my colleagues in Congress to minimize the impact of this recession on American families it is helpful to have your thoughts and ideas.
Keeping our federal budget on a responsible course during these tough economic times is a top priority of mine for the 111th Congress. As we work with the Administration to get our economy back on track, I will continue to promote fiscal restraint and oversight, as I have throughout my work in the Senate. In the 110th Congress I supported the creation of the Commission on Wartime Contracting, which is charged with investigating and preventing waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement of funds in our wartime contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan. I also worked to reform the way Congress conducts its own business, successfully opposing pay raises for members of Congress, fighting for appropriations project reform, and working to restore pay-as-you-go rules in our budgeting process. I also support the Obama Administration’s efforts to cut $2 trillion in wasteful spending from the federal government.
I have received President Obama’s commitment to work with Congress to overhaul our financial regulatory system, so that we can better protect Main Street from the mistakes of Wall Street. I believe that we need to demand greater accountability from those receiving taxpayer dollars.
Thank you for contacting me about this important issue. One of the most important parts of my job is listening to what the people of Minnesota have to say to me. With that in mind, please do not hesitate to contact me again about matters of concern to you.
Sincerely,
Amy Klobuchar
United States Senator
Fri, Apr 3, 2009 at 2:48 PM
Re: Responding to your email
Dear Senator Klobuchar:
Thank you for your response. I read through your letter several times, and I realized I’m still not clear on a couple of things. Perhaps you or one of your staff members could explain further.
I was glad to learn that you’re committed to fiscal restraint. When the $3.6 trillion budget passed late last night some of your Democratic colleagues were saying the spending restrictions included would be thrown out in conference. Doesn’t that kind of eliminate restraint? or maybe they’re planning on going for more? Restraint, that is.
What part do the pay-as-you-go rules you mention below play in a budget that’s 10% higher than anything the Bush Administration presented, despite the recession and record deficits? I mean, if we’re already running deficits, does it really make sense to spend even more? That didn’t work too well for us when we were making two house payments after we got married. We had to cut back on everything in order to make two house payments before we sold one of them, and we still were in the red. Smaller budgets or additional income is the only way stuff like that gets paid for. And the President has said he’s cutting almost everyone’s taxes – why, we got our $17 in each paycheck already! That’s like about 3/4 of 1% of our house payment!
I am heartened by your belief that we need to demand greater accountability from those receiving taxpayer bailouts. Would you please use your influence to convince your colleagues and the President that financial triage begins with the biggest bleeders? Also, if you’d remind the White House that nationalizing industries belongs in countries like Venezuela and Chile, we’d probably see less tendency toward excessive reach among your more zealous colleagues. Couldn’t hurt, right?
When the White House begins to micro-manage publicly-owned companies, such as it appears to be doing with GM, for example, the impression the Administration inadvertently makes is that its prioritization has been cast adrift. Additionally, the attention paid to these actions obfuscates the simultaneous measures which put an unprecedented level of federal oversight into place within the private sector. It’s confusing to us, because we were told via the media that the President was overwhelmed by the magnitude of the economic crisis, and that’s why he kind of blew off Gordon Brown when he visited. Maybe they exaggerated that, but still, don’t you think a President needs to be more of a macro kind of person? You know, the big picture and all.
Now, I’m no con-law grad, but it looks like that line – I forget what they call it – which prevents the government from intervening in free markets has been elasticized lately. Your legal background better equips you to evaluate for us what appears to be some kind of politicization in Mr. Holder’s Justice Department. It just seems funny (peculiar) that President Bush could barely fire his own appointees in the Minnesota U.S. attorney’s office – wasn’t that a stink? But we’ve got President Obama replacing CEOs and Boards of Directors. Should we be concerned about his replacement appointments in those private sector positions given the difficulties some of his governmental appointees have had with personal responsibilities like paying taxes?
We were thinking better federal oversight and cash infusions were going to be bankruptcy alternatives for companies that are “too big to fail.” However, now we’re told – $17 billion later – that bankruptcy is the appropriate option for GM and Chrysler. This is somewhat confusing. Perhaps some Congressional pre-assessment could’ve saved every citizen and future generations their portion of the boggling billions of dollars this Congress has now dispensed?
I’m glad you’re in support of cutting over $2 trillion from the budget. One might presume, then, that the original budget may have been higher by that amount. If not, please would you let us know when we’ll begin to see specific efforts toward its excision?
I think that about covers it for now. Thanks for the opportunity to further the dialogue. Your work is especially appreciated since you’re our only Senator at the moment, what with the little dust-up Al and Norm are having.
Sincerely,
Betsy Wuebker
I just got to thinking about when Joe the Plumber was asking those questions and then all those people dug into his personal stuff, and I thought, huh. Maybe I shouldn’t put myself out there like that. But then I thought, oh, that was just pre-election stuff. We’re still allowed to ask questions of our leaders, right?
I’ll let you know if Amy writes me back.
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Peter and Betsy Wuebker are location-independent professionals who share what they know about travel, simplicity and integrating work with life. 
Great letter Betsy! I don’t think Amy will be writing back. It’s pretty impossible to explain to your constituents that you’re still trying to decide how to tell them we’re all going to be a socialist country in four year and none of this will matter anyway. But good luck. Sure sounds like her letter is a form letter.
Keep fighting, Betsy! EVERY DAY brings more news to be fearful of from this Congress and Administration. I agree with Becky that Amy’s letter seems to be the one sent to those complaining about our over-reaching government. Couldn’t she get someone to write something at least a bit believable? As far as you being worried about being harrassed by the press (or FBI?) for your comments, I heard a rumor that some people who sent teabags to their representatives might find themselves in just that predicament. Can you believe it?
Hi Becky – Thanks – I’ll bask in your praise, as you’re someone whose writing I highly admire. None of this might matter indeed:
The Cybersecurity Act of 2009 (PDF) gives the president the ability to “declare a cybersecurity emergency” and shut down or limit Internet traffic in any “critical” information network “in the interest of national security.” The bill does not define a critical information network or a cybersecurity emergency. That definition would be left to the president.
The bill does not only add to the power of the president. It also grants the Secretary of Commerce “access to all relevant data concerning [critical] networks without regard to any provision of law, regulation, rule, or policy restricting such access.” This means he or she can monitor or access any data on private or public networks without regard to privacy laws. http://cdt.org/security/CYBERSEC4.pdf
Hi Mary – I wish I could say I didn’t believe that. And I agree – Amy’s letter was a whole lotta nothin’. But it sounded great. Hmmm. Sense a trend?
Thanks.
You write with such aplomb, Betsy! It’ll be very interesting to see if you get a reply. Very interesting indeed!
And what’s that about sending teabags?? How am I missing this stuff? Oh right, — I’m either blogging, playing guitar, eating muffins and / or doing the fandango in the soup aisle.
I’ll return for the next report.
Jannie Funster´s last blog post..Happy Birthday, Me!
Fantastic letter – and a template response. Keep asking them – though.
My greatest fear is that common people are being taken for a ride. First the financial institution took them for a ride and now politicians are doing the same. (Disclaimer – I am part of financial industry)
Personally, I think Us govt needs to spend despite increasing deficit. But it needs to spend to save common people and not a faulty system. For example, it needs to save the farmer and those who are hungry – but not the grain merchants. (imagining a very simplistic farm economy). Currently government is bailing out the merchants who are happily accumulating wealth – while hungry people are still hungry and farmers are still without seeds.
Rahul Deodhar´s last blog post..Auto Bankruptcy will worsen the slowdown
Hi Jannie – The tea party movement is growing. Tax day, April 15th, is going to be a big day, but it won’t stop there, I’m sure. Remember, over the past eight years we’ve been told dissent is patriotic.
Thanks.
Hi Rahul – Welcome to PassingThru! How much less expensive your solution would be! Or, conversely, what a load of cash every man, woman and child would have if the total distributed to the people was the same as the amounts gone down the bailout rabbit hole!
You’re right of course: the financial bailouts did nothing to loosen credit. Instead, consumer credit tightened and draconian policies – like universal default and arbitrary reduction of available credit – are in full swing. This is what’s strangling the economy, and ruining people who have operated by the book. People and businesses can’t spend. The sales tax deduction on a new car is a baby step in the right direction, but if I can’t get a loan, it doesn’t really help me, does it? Thanks, it’s nice to see you here from Triiibes.
Well, I’m glad I’m not the first to say it looks like a form response. Somebody said, “Send the economy email to this one.” Your second email might get a real response, but you want to discuss things in detail and senators hate to get pinned down because it makes them look bad later when they trade those positions away.
Dot´s last blog post..Silva CDs 7 and 8
Hi Dot – Yeah, I can’t get over the idea that someone should be specifically accountable in a representational position.
It seems that these canned responses presume all of us outside the Beltway can be mollified by vague assurances. Despite some assertions to the contrary, I think the American people care very much about every last million dollars of their tax money, as well as their civil liberties and constitutional rights. Thanks.
Good letter Betsy,
My Senators are hard at it too – I think two women are going to make a difference and they are calling for investigations and not more of the same people being forgiven and just redoing the same thing.
William Black (Kansas City fellow) was on Bill Moyer’s Journal this weekend and what he said really made sense.
I walked the lake with the Governor this weekend and she agreed with me “In terms of the economic crisis no mother would let her children get away with hurting other people so horrendously and that Congress must think we are all stupid?”
I still think the citizens are not organized enough and that the citizen voice is totally missing from this Democracy….
This is very upsetting stuff.
Patricia´s last blog post..Opening Day
Hi Patricia – I just read the interview that William Black did with Bill Moyers; there is a lot of buzz about it. http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04032009/profile.html Particularly the part where Black said the law requires that you do a receivership, not nationalization. Geithner, having skated out of Wall Street with his own hide intact, now wants to be able to fire bankers (presumably not the ones whose hides he’s already saved) at will. This is all crazy! And there is so much happening simultaneously that a lot of it goes unnoticed. The citizens are definitely organizing – it is a groundswell. The mainstream media just isn’t picking it up. Perhaps this is one situation where bipartisanship will erupt at the citizen level. Thank you.
I don’t like all this messing around with our/my money…William Black did the Savings and Loan stuff. He just makes sense.
Patricia´s last blog post..Opening Day