Democracy and Power 113: Vote Trading“I’ll vote for your legislation, if you’ll vote for mine.”

Capitol Hill Update, 27 January, 2014

Capitol Hill Update, 3 December, 2013House & Senate/Schedule: The House is in session this week, and is only scheduled to be in town through the end of next week (the 13th) before adjourning its session for the year.  The Senate, meanwhile, is out of town this week, and is theoretically scheduled to remain in session through the end of the month.

This week, I decided to research the Farm Bill to write a little bit about some of the “reforms” House Republicans who support the bill are so proud of. The CBO estimates savings of $35 billion over the next ten years (vs. the current baseline). The CBO is also notorious for underestimating costs, and it looks like this time won’t be any different. 

This summer has been one of valuable education and clarification for me. In writing my last post on PolyFace Farms, I mentioned that I am spending the summer with friends on their working farm, Dazi Acres.

Democracy and Power 107: Counting VotesSuccessful … politicians are insecure and intimidated men. They advance politically only as they placate, appease, bribe, seduce, bamboozle or otherwise manage to manipulate the demanding and threatening elements in their constituencies.-Walter Lippmann (1889-1974), American Journalist and Author