Representatives scurried back to Washington from their summer recesses to do what they do best: spend.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) ordered the rare one-day emergency session to vote on a $26.1 billion bill to bail out state governments. The legislation passed the Senate last Thursday, after the House already broke for recess. Pelosi and her allies claim that the high-priced bill will “save teachers’ jobs and help seniors & children,” but This bill is nothing more than “a massive federal bailout for influential teachers unions and irresponsible state governments.

It’s no surprise that the leftist leadership in the House is rushing to bring the bill to a vote. Many of the jobs the bill “saves” are represented by the teachers’ unions or the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. And with the November elections just around the corner, the left can’t afford to overlook these major special interest groups.

But far more important than political trade offs is the dire economic situation our nation is in. With the federal deficit set to reach $1.5 trillion by the end of the year, we simply cannot afford more spending. Progressives insist the legislation would all be “paid for,” but a large portion of the funding will derive from $11 billion in tax hikes on U.S. companies that compete internationally. And the difference will be met with a host of other tax hikes and imaginary savings.
From his trillion dollar economic stimulus to his $3 trillion tax hike,it has become clear that President Barack Obama views the private sector the same way the Huns viewed a city – as something to be sacked and plundered for the benefit of public sector workers.”

Poll after poll after poll has confirmed that the American people believe that the economy and jobs should be lawmakers’ top domestic priority. A majority also agrees that increased federal spending – funded inevitably by more taxes – is the wrong solution.

Unfortunately, the Washington, D.C. buzz is drowning out this dose of common sense.