I am getting pretty tired of the “Stimulus” plan that we are getting shoved down our throat.
$335,000,000 FOR STD PREVENTION IN ECONOMIC STIMULUS BILL — can you tell me how that is going to help our economy?
$1 billion for Amtrak, — the federal railroad that hasn’t turned a profit in 40 years ;
$2 billion for child-care subsidies — What? Where’s mine? ;
$50 million for that great engine of job creation, the National Endowment for the Arts — more urine art;
$400 million for global-warming research — Give me a break. How presumptious of us to believe that we can figure it out, and make a difference. What next, turn down the sun? ;
$2.4 billion for carbon-capture demonstration projects — I guess we’ll all be walking around with filters.
There’s even $650 million on top of the billions already doled out to pay for digital TV conversion coupons — I guess we have to watch TV, have to keep the subjects sedated.
Some $30 billion, or less than 5% of the spending in the bill, is for fixing bridges or other highway projects. There’s another $40 billion for broadband and electric grid development, airports and clean water projects that are arguably worthwhile priorities. But when will this actually happen? So much for “Ready Now” projects. Maybe 2011…
Add the roughly $20 billion for business tax cuts, and by our estimate only $90 billion out of $825 billion, or about 12 cents of every $1, is for something that can plausibly be considered a growth stimulus. And even many of these projects aren’t likely to help the economy immediately.
How do you help the economy NOW?? TAX CUTS. And the Obamanation won’t even talk about that.
Most of the rest of this project spending will go to such things as renewable energy funding ($8 billion) or mass transit ($6 billion) that have a low or negative return on investment. Most urban transit systems are so badly managed that their fares cover less than half of their costs. However, the people who operate these systems belong to public-employee unions that are campaign contributors to . . . guess which party?
Here’s another lu-lu: Congress wants to spend $600 million more for the federal government to buy new cars. Uncle Sam already spends $3 billion a year on its fleet of 600,000 vehicles. Congress also wants to spend $7 billion for modernizing federal buildings and facilities. The Smithsonian is targeted to receive $150 million; we love the Smithsonian, too, but this is a job creator?
Another “stimulus” secret is that some $252 billion is for income-transfer payments — that is, not investments that arguably help everyone, but cash or benefits to individuals for doing nothing at all. There’s $81 billion for Medicaid, $36 billion for expanded unemployment benefits, $20 billion for food stamps, and $83 billion for the earned income credit for people who don’t pay income tax. While some of that may be justified to help poorer Americans ride out the recession, they aren’t job creators.
As for the promise of accountability, some $54 billion will go to federal programs that the Office of Management and Budget or the Government Accountability Office have already criticized as “ineffective” or unable to pass basic financial audits. These include the Economic Development Administration, the Small Business Administration, the 10 federal job training programs, and many more.
Oh, and don’t forget education, which would get $66 billion more. That’s more than the entire Education Department spent a mere 10 years ago and is on top of the doubling under President Bush. Some $6 billion of this will subsidize university building projects. If you think the intention here is to help kids learn, the House declares on page 257 that “No recipient . . . shall use such funds to provide financial assistance to students to attend private elementary or secondary schools.” Horrors: Some money might go to nonunion teachers.
So here’s my deal. Who is working for who? I thought these people were public servants. They are acting like masters of the working slaves. There is a tremendous disconnect. How much more can we take? I’ve heard of spending money like a drunken sailor, but I don’t think a drunken sailor could even begin to measure up.
The economy is in the toilet. FDR economics only prolonged the problem, and here we are dong the same thing again? WHAT IS WRONG HERE? STOP SPENDING MONEY! STOP BAILING OUT BUSINESSES.
START LISTENING TO your constituents.
And they wonder why the approval rating is so low?
The elitism displayed by our politicians is making me ill.