This is the same as bundling in bridge funds into a war spending bill, or cramming in money for a golf course tax break into a crime bill............ITS CRAP

everyone join me and watch from the sidelines as our government for and by the people votes to make us more impoverished and the make the rich richer.

more of the same. if you're surprised you haven't been paying attention.

The bailout bill, in any form they've done, is not the solution to the problem we face. Sweden had a terrific solution that worked when they had the same problem in the early 1990s; why not just use their solution? It helped the people, the economy, and didn't reward people who'd done a lousy job.

But this wooden arrow tax repeal was a good, sensible thing, which I notice no one here is wondering. Shouldn't you wonder what's going on with your government and try to find out? Living in ognorance isn't a good way to run a democracy, in fact, Jefferson specifically pointed out that it can't be done. And when your ignorance can be cured with a 5 second online search it's really inexcusable. Here's why the wooden arrow tax was repealed; it's because the tax is supposed to be for hunting equipment and they realised that toy wooden arrows aren't hunting equipment, so they thought kids' toys shouldn't be used to subsidise spending for hunters' interests. Does anyone here really not agree that kids' toys shouldn't be used to subsidise spending for hunters' interests?

And Why Was the Wooden Arrow Tax Exemption Passed 93-2? Because It's Utterly Uncontroversial

Long story short: All hunting equipment is taxed, the taxes put into some sort of trust and then sent back to the states as matching grants for their hunting management/support programs.

Since toy wooden arrows are not used for hunting, a specific exception is made for them. It's really just to stop toy arrows from being miscategorized as "hunting equipment," subject to the tax, when they're obviously not that at all. It's pretty much the same as a bill saying that toy cap pistols shouldn't be hit with a general tax on firearms.

+1

Exactly Where the F is my bailout? I got bills too. Our government doesn't give a damn about the middle class. They have failed us.

I hate the bail out bill period in anyway shape or form. Reverse Robin Hood blows. The pork added on is just grainy salt added to the wound.

HOWEVER, with this not frickin' sweet, corporate handout package I will make an exception now and forever. If you were dumb enough to vote for this than you'll be dumb enough to vote for other stuff.

I don't care if we're in agreement 99.99% of the time. If you voted for this hunk of crap you will not be able to buy my vote. That would just make me a hypocrite like you. I hope those pieces of silver you sold out the country for, to the damn lobbyist who is lining your corrupt pockets while getting his/her slice of pork pie, burns a hole through your pants and ass*%$e!

I am so pissed that this piece of FUBAR piece of legislation passed. Everything is aOK in DC, SNAFU is in place everyone.

Why the sudden shock?

Tax money? (Thanks a f---ing lot)

or tell the Federal Reserve to print more money (Yay! Hyperinflation just what I always wanted.)

How come the rich get bailout, the poor get welfare....WTF does the middle class get besides getting s__t on? I mean seriously, why does the middle class ALWAYS have to be the one that sacrafices? Im tired of it.

@ordendelfai:
So a business in Oregon does good while the rest of the country gets the shaft...

Ok bad joke hopefully somebody laughed.

[wattsupwiththat.com]

And you have got to love the change from "bailout bill" to "rescue plan". Gimme a break...

Susan Davis, if there's anything I can do to ensure that you never serve in the House of Representatives again, I'll make sure I do it, starting Nov 4. John McCain and Barack Obama, you've done nothing here to demonstrate any of the "change" or "reform" you've been peddling even when given a perfect opportunity to show some sober, responsible leadership. I think a 9% congressional approval rating is generous.

if the bill doesn't pass, toy arrow makers are going to get shafted.....

Wouldn't the line-item veto help minimize some of this crap? Of course the vetos would probably fall along party lines...and the argument that it gives the prez too much power. But this is bs.

@ordendelfai: nice to see it was both a Republican and Democrat from Oregon going for it. bi-partsianship as it's best!

Hate to pick on you Marshfield (esp, since my last name is Marsh), but its adding provisions like the bicycle commuter cut out that carried this bill. Its not that I oppose the wooden arrow provision (actually it sort of makes sense as another Consumerist commentator has shown) - but this bill, having major impact on the future free market should have had the smallest amount of extraneous provisions added to it.

Fer christ's sake, the main bill was to require mental health issues to be treated the same as physical health problems. So what now... those who voted against this bail out are also against the mentally handicapped and clinically depressed?

We saw what happened on Monday when the bill was $700bil with little earmarks - it got shut down. The Senate then used a can't fail bill and amended the crap out of it to ensure it would pass both the houses of Congress... amendments that added almost $150bil to the overall cost.

This is utter horseshit.

amen

The version of the bill that I saw that had this in there also had a provision for money for bicycle commuters. Now THAT I can support! I bicycle commute nearly all the time.

Also in the interest of fairness they added 2 more years of letting sales-tax only states residents deduct their state sales tax from their income on the 1040. Why that isn't permanent is beyond me.

Are you ridiculing Michigan's pop can deposit program? Because that would just be stupid. Every state should have a deposit program.

No, the wooden wagon wheel issue will be revisited in about 3 months when Paulson comes back asking for more money.

Here's the story. There is a federal excise tax on arrows (and other hunting equipment I believe) that goes to support like the department of the interior, or some department in the federal government that ensures there is wildlife, etc. Now a few years back some of the larger arrow manufacturers that were making aluminum and carbon arrows were upset about this excise tax (something like 3% or such), when their arrow shafts were costing $10-15 per shaft. So, the lobbied to get a flat tax implemented at like 50 cents or something. Well, the wooden arrow boys their shafts only sell for like $2-3 a piece, so this unfairly hit them more than it hit the other guys. So, they now sell their wooden shafts as "hobby dowels" and such. So, this lowers the excise tax to a more reasonable amount for them. It actually is probably a good thing to have implemented, but this is by far the worst place to put it.

Are there any subsidies for wooden wagon wheel makers???

Oh wait... this bailout/rescue doesn't do anything of the sort?... damn... we're all still pretty screwed

At least we're keeping the pirates at bay - more rum?

@thelushie: I'm not against training emergency workers for mine accidents, but don't you think in a rational system, that would be under some bill called "Motion to train Emergency workers for mine accidents" or some such, instead of being part of an economic stimulus plan which it has NOTHING to do with?

Just sayin...

Now, now... make sure one of the incumbents didn't vote against this crap bill. Wouldn't want to send the wrong message.

key verb that.

nice way to be irrational though. i guess i'll just everyone from congress since they're all minorities one way or another.

Its the equivalent of free pepsi and a cool tshirt.

@parkavery: yes, thank you for clarifying for me.

Wyden is such a joke. I'll bet DeFazio is in on this too...

Hopefully something good will come out of this bill -- perhaps Formula One will come back to the US!

Or is ok with you to exclude minority groups that you aren't in?

@johnnya2: It's great we have other choices, but how many of them are realistic? I don't forsee any change from a "two-party" system in my lifetime.

I don't really want to argue whether this bill (and really, I only mean the bailout portion of it not the sweeteners) is what's good for America, but the bill is ridiculous. If this is truly what America needs, does America need their wooden arrow tax break at the same time? Why is this in here???

A question....all those accountability issues with the first one....are they addressed in this one? At all? Or is this the equivalent of giving away a free pepsi for signing up for a new 29.99% APR credit card?

or any religious holidays at all.

Not more then 2 attachments to a bill which must be clearly named in the title of said bill?

This isn't the pork, this was the bill. They tacked the bailout money onto an existing bill in order for it to be passed by the Senate. Something about no funding initiatives can begin in the senate, but they do have the abilitiy to add funding to an existing bill.

Now why all this stuff was in one bill to start with is an entirely different question.

@johnnya2: I'm sure most people here realize that add-ons to legislation is pretty much par for the course. Speaking for at least myself, I expected the gravity of the situation to make this the one time this didn't happen.

I'm writing in Ron Paul.

And he voted for this bill.

Ugh.. here comes the vote.

@Shadowman615:

Umm, no. I did see the cosponser was someone named Smith. That's the only information I had and considering it was easier for me just to look up the less common name of Wyden, his was the only one included. So thank you for finding the other name of the Senator and including him. I don't consider myself partisan (just lazy)when I'm calling out any pork, they are both jerks in my book.

@ThickSkinned: Not everyone who voted yes is up for re-election next month. Most Americans will just forget by 2010 and 2012.

Maybe its like communism. In theory, it works great. Its when it comes to practice that things get fucked up.

The senate did an end run around the constitution here. The senate can not orignate spending bills. They MUST come from the house. The senate is cheating this by attaching the bailout package to a bill with a bunch of comparitvely little things (small SEC rule change, this lump of pork). This tax cut was part of a trivial bill not one of the "sweeteners" in the bailout package.

BTW... this provision was put in the minor bill before the senate knew that the the bailout pork would get attached by the Honorable Gentleman for Oregon Mr. Wyden. (Interestingly he rejected the final bill with the bailout package attached)

Good info - but it still should not be on this bill.

Here is a good article:
[www.swamppolitics.com]

The Oregon senators were the initial sponsors of the provisions. According to Bloomberg News, the provision would be worth $200,000 to Rose City Archery in Myrtle Point, Oregon

A little online searching informs you (if you don't want to be ignorant all your life) why this tax was repealed, and it makes perfect sense for it to be repealed:

Long story short: All hunting equipment is taxed, the taxes put into some sort of trust and then sent back to the states as matching grants for their hunting management/support programs.

Since toy wooden arrows are not used for hunting, a specific exception is made for them. It's really just to stop toy arrows from being miscategorized as "hunting equipment," subject to the tax, when they're obviously not that at all. It's pretty much the same as a bill saying that toy cap pistols shouldn't be hit with a general tax on firearms.

Here is a good article:
[www.swamppolitics.com]

The Oregon senators were the initial sponsors of the provisions. According to Bloomberg News, the provision would be worth $200,000 to Rose City Archery in Myrtle Point, Oregon

The Oregon senators were the initial sponsors of the provisions. According to Bloomberg News, the provision would be worth $200,000 to Rose City Archery in Myrtle Point, Oregon

What do you mean, "following a Republican president"? This bill is being drafted by the Democrats - you know, the party that's controlled both houses of Congress for the past two years.

Because you can shoot an arrow across state lines... that makes it federal. :)

it'd be a shame if they ever pased a law limiting the number of items that could be includd in a bill.

Of course, I'd hate to se how much pork would have to be on that one to get it passed.

I supported the "bailout" in the begining but this is downright ridiculous. Turns out that the favorable tax benfits to "sweeten the pot" was nothing more then a ton of washington pork.

As others pointed out the wooden arrows is just part of it. $100 million for race track owners, $148 for wool research, $192 for Rum (which we're all going to need more of so maybe that wasn't so bad). If there was ever a bill that should of lived or died on its own merits it was this bill. If it had to be sweetened with pork none of those people deserve a job anymore.

Can we add an earmark where people with natural red hair get $75 billion? I mean we are one of the smallest minorities and it really would benefit me to offer more employment opportunities.

The Michigan can thing DOES work, if you do it on a small scale. (Say you take back 70 cans a trip and can buy yourself a free lunch.)

Of course, you have to be making the trip anyways.
Say you are from Wisconsin and go to school in Upper Michigan, for example.

Don't ask me how I know this...

And this wooden arrow is disgusting. I want to know who introduce this and other porky items into the bill so I can send them letters too. >:-(

You're not too far off from Rep. Dan Lungren ... "She [Lungren's 91 yr old mother] has no pension; she has what my dad left her,". He's voting for the bill to "save his 91-year-old mother's finances." [economix.blogs.nytimes.com]

"A bill, or any resolution carrying the force of law, could only deal with a single subject, which had to be stated in the title."

Just think what would happen if we implemented that today.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederate_States_Constitution
Its in the Changes from U.S. constitution section.

[www.swamppolitics.com]

I will be taking note of all the senators and reps who represent me and be sure to send them a letter telling them they lost my vote for any future elections because they voted yes on this shit.

What's utter bullshit is that due to that ~115 billion, this will probably get passed - only adding on to the overall cost to the tax payer.

Senator: "Mr. Speaker I have a small rider I would like to tack on to the bailout bill as I think it would both ensure that the bill passes and it will do a lot of good in ButtPoke WestArmpit. This rider will redirect all the monthly bills for Visa, Mastercard and Amex for myself and my immediate family, extended family, relatives, close buddies, friends, hangers on, and anyone else who's vote I can buy with this legislation. The bills will be redirected to the Federal Government who will pay them in full and on time so as not to adversely affect our credit reports. Thank you"

Senate Speaker:"You are welcome Senator. NEXT!"

@beboptheflop: he should be dragged out into the street and beaten with a stick or better yet, stoned. f%^&$#ing greedy b$%#@ard!

Arrr! A vote for Bailout be a vote for Rum!!!!

@xspook:

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon)

$ estimates range from $112-115 BILLION dollars in pork inserted into the bill, and people say i'm unfairly anti-government.

I know it's a lot of fun to point at silly laws as an example of Washington's stupidity, but in this case I think this tax exemption is a good thing. A case of them correcting a previous error. Isn't that what we want them to do?

Suttin: You may want to start getting your news from real sources instead of comedians.

@scoosdad:
Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon)

$192 Million for Rum. I guess we've got the pirate vote this November -- Gentleman talking at the time.

GreatWhiteNorth: Considering the alleged "financial emergency that may take down the world economy" that we have on our hands, it is irresponsible to be putting ANY pork into that bill. I don't begrudge the the dowel manufacturer, but there are far more appropriate places to insert that language.

Damn special interests groups ruining the American economy! Last time this happened it was the brass plated drawer-pull guys who were responsible.

Anyone know how to find out who introduced the pork to the bill?

Is this some sort of joke? Really, Is there some senator out there that is owned by the All Wood Arrow Shaft Commission or the AWASC? Last I heard the AWASC is worse than PETA.