Furlough Rantings..

I'm covered with poison ivy rash and feeling quite irritaable, so I wrote this poem to vent about the upcoming furloughs.  The image pretty much sums it up.

(Cartoon: John Darkow, Columbia Daily Tribune)

 

We’ll cut your pay by 20%,
That’s what they said to me
It’s been signed into law – we have no choice
Here in the land of the free.

We know there is waste, yes, waste galore
But to cut all the waste would be “hard”
You see all the people who feed on this waste,
would hate us, and then we’d be barred.

Barred from the jobs that we’ve so come to love
The ones where we “serve” all you folks
And from which during crises we “recess” for weeks
Ignoring your pleas, sneers, and jokes.

So the easier way is to blame all our foes
Those parties – the ones we abhor
It makes no difference on which side we stand
Pointing fingers is what we adore
“They’re being unreasonable,” one side will accuse
And a similar volley comes forth
“My way or the highway,” we cry from on high
And rational discourse is scourned.

So you’re stuck they informed me
With wasteful expense - like bridges to nowhere and such
Those folks at Citizens Against Gov’t Waste
Can just hide in the bushes and watch
Watch while we take the easy way out
And penalize all of you schmucks.

All you folks who work hard every day of your lives
And struggle to make your ends meet
No matter how much you protest and complain
Our ineptitude still reigns supreme
So we’ll cut your pay while we golf and cavort
And we’ll leave it to you to survive
We’ve exempted ourselves with a process well-honed
Have no worries - we certain to thrive.

It’s really your fault – you must be aware
After all you’re the ones who did vote
We’ve structured this thing so there’s nowhere to turn
From each side you will surely be smote

Until you despair and throw us all out
And take back what you’ve given away
This waste and this graft will continue to shine
In the land of the free and the brave.