In the spring of 1946, the USA was in the grips of an unprecedented work stoppage of its railroad system. This was before air travel was the most common means of long-distance travel, so nearly all passenger and freight delivery was brought to a halt for more than a month. President Harry Truman, disgusted with the inability of railway workers to reach a settlement, announced that he intended for the government to take control of -- to "nationalize," if you will -- the railroad system, and to draft striking workers into the military. They soon after reached an agreement on Truman's terms, just as he was making the case for assuming this authority before the Congress. While his actions were politically damaging at the time, history has generally vindicated this President.
At a congressional hearing earlier this week, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) proposed to do the same with the nation's petroleum industry, in the face of rising prices at the pump -- which include a $0.46 per gallon federal tax, by the way. One cannot help but notice her difficulty in coming up with big words like "nationalize." Can one assume her proposal has been nearly as well thought out as that of Truman?
Nah, didn't think so.
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1 comment:
I can't believe that this will be their last attempt to do something stupid like this.
Ideas have a way of appearing very stupid the first time you hear it that they don't the hundredth time.
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