Jeff Miller: Weightless in Washington

After six years of voting for every budget-busting tax cut for the wealthy Bush proposed, the most expensive and disastrous war in history, and all the federal corporate welfare give-aways he could find, Northwest Florida's ineffectual congressman Jeff Miller (R-Chucklehead) tells the PNJ he opposes having the federal government play any role in rescuing the economy. Herbert Hoover could do no worse.

No help for banks, none for the auto industry, none for home owners, none for the unemployed.

Miller, who voted against the bailout plan, said he doesn't support government rescues of Wall Street — or automakers, for that matter. The government also should stay out of various mortgage modification programs now being hammered out throughout the country.

Presumably, too, Miller opposes help for college students seeking loans and small businesses needing credit lines... opposes federal help for cities "to help pay for infrastructure improvements, pensions and short-term borrowing"... won't help Navy families struggling with burdensome mortgages and no prospect of selling their homes when ordered to transfer... and backs Pentagon-run credit unions who are feeling the crunch as they raise their account charges, and tighten lending rules. Military veterans hit especially hard by the credit crisis are on their own, as far as Miller is concerned.

Wedded to a discredited ideology of free market greed capitalism, Jeff Miller offers nothing to any of his constituents. Luckily, he also has no influence -- and knows it:

Miller said his opinion carries little weight.

"It's all up to Democrats. They are the ones in charge of the committees," he said. "Chairman Frank will have to be the decider on that as to what they put forward."

Which raises the question, why are we paying Miller $165,200 a year to sit in Washington D.C. and do nothing?