Americans to Congress: Do Your Job

Congress has been extremely unpopular for some time, but Washington's inability to pass a payroll tax cut extension before adjourning for the holidays appears to have people disgusted like never before, reports the AP. "It's just another smack in our face for the working public. We just can't get ahead," said an Illinois construction worker. "I mean, I'm at a loss for words, and I just can't understand it, why they have to keep arguing."

"I truly believe that if the sides were reversed, if we had a Republican president and a Democratic Congress, we'd still be going through the same thing," said the owner of a building maintenance business. President Obama called on congressional leaders yesterday to come back from vacation and pass some version of the tax cut bill, even if only short-term, but so far no one appears willing to compromise. "It's us, the average Joe, that's getting caught in the middle," said a retiree in Connecticut. (More Congress stories.)