DC Snow Storm Symbolic of Standstill

Washington, D.C. has been a mess, and still is, with the recent snow storms. Some of the side roads I use to get to work haven’t been plowed since the first dumping of snow, leaving over two feet of snow on many roads. This was the first day our offices have been open in more than a week.

I came in last week to stay at a hotel downtown so I could make it in to get some work done. With 40-mile-an-hour winds and snow on the sidewalks up to my shins, it took me 30 minutes to walk the few blocks from the Hyatt to our offices. There were no cars on the usually busy streets, so I was able to walk right down the center of New Jersey and Massachusetts Avenues.

The snow that brought Washington to a standstill is somewhat symbolic of what has been going on behind the scenes here. D.C. was already in a standstill in a lot of ways.

I wrongly thought that passage of a modest jobs bill was pretty much a done deal. Before Christmas, the House had passed an ambition bill by a five-vote margin. Senators Max Baucus and Chuck Grassley were driving forces behind a Senate bill, and I was confident that something would move forward with their leadership. However, last Friday it all fell apart.

Congress is out this week. I am anxious to see how they can pick up the pieces and move a jobs package when they return.

With the forecast calling for warmer temperatures in the coming days, I am also anxious to see where all the water from the melting snow will go!