We are now thirteen months into the current recession. Since World War II, none of the recessions that have hit the U.S. economy have lasted more than two years. Most have lasted 12 months. The new mega-injections of government “investments” championed by Obama are intended to “break the momentum” of a recession we’re probably more than half-way through suffering. The Congressional Budget Office crunched the numbers and concluded that a huge bulk of the federal spending orgy wouldn’t actually kick in until the recession is waning – if not already over.
Take a stand against Holder and the Obama-Pelosi false stimulus bill.
This plan is the old-style pork-barrel spending -- not stimulus:
• $6 billion for colleges/universities -- many which have billion-dollar endowments.
• $166 billion in direct aid to states -- many of which have failed to budget wisely.
• $50 million in funding for the National Endowment of the Arts.
• $44 million for repairs to U.S. Department of Agriculture headquarters.
• $200 million for the National Mall, including grass planting.
House Democrats’ plan will cost each household $6,700 in debt, which will be paid for by our children and grandchildren. Create or save 3 million jobs -- which means this plan will spend $275,000 per job.
It is crucial to recall the reality that lies behind the rhetoric. The media is still cocooned in a warm comfort zone of infatuation with America’s answer to god himself. We should be long past applauding politicians of any color. They got us into this mess. The best deserve a probationary opportunity to prove themselves, the worst should be in jail.
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Yo, if states don't get aid and start laying off garbage collectors, mailmen, cafeteria ladies, and court clerks en masse, you're going to see enemployment explode and we'll fall into a depression. The stimulus bill is a disaster, but we need it badly.
ReplyDeletehttp://img.ragea.net/uploads/1234010029.jpg
It amazes me that you consider money spent funding our nation's schools, directly giving money to aid states (if you haven't noticed, Kentucky is in a $455 million deficit and has cut programs across the board already) and funding arts education (proven to increase capability in math, reading, and science) as "pork barrel spending." What would you propose we use the money for? Oil drilling?
ReplyDeleteOil drilling? Nope. I want it used to do what it is intended to do. Stimulate our economy. It just looks as if it stimulating the Democrats agenda.
ReplyDeleteAhem...
ReplyDelete200 million for the National Mall, including grass planting.
How much of that $200 million is used for grass planting, and how much of it is used for building maintenance and repair for any of the 17 buildings on the national mall? It doesn't hurt to spend money maintaining your national capital's treasures.
ReplyDeleteExplain to me how improving education and helping states through their budgetary disasters doesn't stimulate the economy.
$1 billion for Amtrak, which hasn’t earned a profit in four decades.
ReplyDelete$650 million for coupons to help consumers convert their TV sets from analog to digital, part of the digital TV conversion.
$600 million to buy a new fleet of cars for federal employees and government departments.
$75 million to fund programs to help people quit smoking.
$20 million to re-sod the National Mall, which suffered heavy use during the Inauguration.
$335 million for treatment and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases.
$400 million for Global Warming research.
$20 billion for Food Stamps
80% of the package is pork.
It was my understanding that the Job Stimulus Bill was an Infrastructure Bill. Not a Green Technology Research and birth control funding...
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 37% favor the legislation, 43% are opposed, and 20% are not sure.
ReplyDeleteTwo weeks ago, 45% supported the plan. Last week, 42% supported it.
Opposition has grown from 34% two weeks ago to 39% last week and 43% today."
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Senator Nelson of Florida was on with Chris Wallace the other day...
His office has received over 30 thousand calls about the stimulus bill. 7 to 1 were against it.
He is ignoring that outcry and voting for it. He was asked about TARP II. He admitted that like TARP I there were no guarantees it would work and do what it is intended to do but that it needed to be passed anyway.
He admitted that esentially every House member and Senator had some issues with some aspect of the stimulus but that it should be passed anyway.
He sat there with a blissful expression and said these things.
And did you see Barney Frank on Meet the Press? He said if we didn't pass this stimulus bill that more police men and firemen would get laid off? So tell me how funding for STD'S allows them to keep their job.
I mean it doesn't take a genius to know that spending $650,000,000 on digital converters doesn't save a single job.
And Carl, You do understand first off, that the federal intrusion into education is minimal, generally less than 10% funding nationwide, as education matters fall generally under state and local government. The federal government generally covers areas such as special education, free and reduced lunches, no child left behind, ESL, and a few other items.
ReplyDeleteAre they going to build new schools? No. You can say, they are going to hire painters to paint the old schools. Fine, I'll concede that...but let's look at the amount.
This is a democrat wish list...
Haha, I thought it was $200 million for grass planting? And now it's $20 million for the national mall?
ReplyDeleteAnd what else did you call pork, let's see...
Amtrak (infrastructure)
Digital TV converters (it's a mandatory thing that we have no control over, and, believe it or not, some people can't afford a now necessary expense like that on their own)
New government cars (How old were the old ones? And how energy-efficient? Up for speculation, but it would have happened under another bill, if not this one)
Anti-smoking programs (cuts down on smoking, which cuts down on health problems, which cuts down on hospital visits, which eventually makes health insurance more affordable. Seems like a worthy investment.)
STD treatment and prevention (Cuts down on unprotected sex, which cuts down abortion rates, which helps population control, which helps save resources in the long run. Not to mention it's a hell of a lot better than Bush spending money on abstinence education)
Global warming research (If you don't think there's anything irregular about our weather patterns or climate, you need mental help)
Food stamp benefits (helps people sustain themselves in economic downturn. I qualify for them. Doesn't make me an automatic ward of the state)
Given, some of these don't count as "Economic Stimulus" per se, but this bill is a way of consolidating all of those costs into one. And in fact, a lot of these are solutions I proposed in my most recent blog entry. You should read it.
I'll also be writing soon on why this stimulus needs to be passed, and more importantly on why right-wing partisan bickering will only slow necessary progress and change (although I know you conservatives aren't a fan of either progress or change)