Sunday, February 8, 2009

Stimulus

I realize I have been very remiss in posting to this blog of late, and I have been keeping quiet on the political front which is totally unlike me, however due to the condition of my knees since my accident, which I will have to blog on later, I have not felt much like writing. I have to credit the recent reconnection with an old friend that has re stimulated my desire to write. She was actually an old girlfriends room mate.

Now for the topic of this blog. One of the things Obama promised us when he got elected was that he would undertake a stimulus package that would put Americans back to work. Well let's look at how some of that money is to be spent that is in the stimulus package. The following excerpt is from Glen Beck

"We're never going to recover if we don't get the $50 million for the National Endowment For the Arts, we may never recover if we don't get $380 million in the Senate bill for the Women, Infants and Children's program, we may never recover if we don't get $300 million for grants to combat violence against women, we may never recover if we don't have $6 billion for university building projects, we may never recover if we don't have $1.2 billion to provide youth summer jobs, and this bill defines "Youth" to people up to the age of 24. You'll be paying for those. We will never recover if we don't have $2.4 billion for neighborhood stabilization activities. We may never recover if we don't have $650 million for digital TV coupons. We may never recover if we don't get $150 million for the Smithsonian. We may never recover if we don't have $34 million to renovate the Department of Commerce headquarters. We may never recover if we don't have $500 million for the improvement projects for the national institute of health facilities. We may never recover if we don't have $44 million for repairs to the Department of Agriculture headquarters or $350 million for agriculture department computers. We may never recover if we don't have $88 million to help move the Public Health Service into a new building, not for a new building. To help them move to a new building. We may never survive if we don't have that $88 million for a moving truck! We may never survive if we don't have the money to convert federal auto fleets to hybrids. This country may never recover if we don't have a billion dollars for the census bureau. We may never recover if we don't have $89 billion for Medicaid or $30 billion for COBRA extensions or $36 billion for expanded unemployment or $20 billion for more food stamps. We may never recover if we don't have $850 million for Amtrak, a train that hasn't turned a profit in 50 years. America as we know it may never recover if we don't have $87 million for a polar ice breaking ship, never recover. Let's not look too deeply into why we would need a polar ice breaking ship if the poles are melting and won't have any ice! We may never recover if we don't have $1.7 million for the national park system or $55 million for the historic preservation fund. We may not survive if we don't have $7.6 million for the rural advancement program or $150 million for the agriculture commodity purposes or $150 million for producers of livestock, farm-raised fish and honeybees. We may never survive. We may never recover unless we have $160 million for paid volunteers at the Corporation for National and Community Service for the community volunteers, the National -- wait a minute. Why are we paying the volunteers?

Look, we may never survive if we don't get serious about renewable energy. Our planet has a temperature. It's very sick. We have to do everything we can. For instance, would be ridiculous for, you know, me, the president, to take Air Force one out on its maiden flight, to take a 747 jumbo jet from Washington D.C. for an out-and-back excursion to the House Democratic caucus retreat at the Kings Mill Resort and Spa in Williamsburg, Virginia, where the 747 is parked in Virginia. It would be crazy to take a 157-mile trip in a 747 jumbo jet when you've got teleconferencing there in the White House, because the Earth has a temperature and that's why America may not ever recover if we don't act now and pass $2 billion for renewable energy research or $2 billion for clean coal power plants in Illinois or $6.2 billion for a weatherization assistance program which basically is weatherstrips for underneath your door! We may never survive if we don't have $3.5 billion for energy efficiency and conservation block grants or $3.4 billion for the state energy program or $200 million for state and local electric transport projects or $300 million for the energy-efficient appliance rebate program or $400 million for hybrid cars for state and local governments or $1 billion for the manufacturing of advanced batteries or $1.5 billion for green technology, loan guarantees or $8 billion for innovative loan guarantee program or $2.4 billion for carbon capture demonstration projects or $4.5 billion for the electricity grid or $79 billion for the state fiscal stabilization fund. We may never recover if we don't do these things right now. Don't think. Do it now! Or we may never recover. Is anyone insulted?
"

I was reading in the New Hampshire Sunday News about how different communities want to apply the stimulus package... a 2.4 billion dollar wish list....
117 towns, municipalities, or districts have submitted lists for projects they want to complete. The city of Laconia wants $3 million for their river walk project, The town of Lempster wants 3.1 million for a municipal complex 3.1 million dollars for a town that during the 2000 census had a population of 971 people even figuring the rtown doubled in size (highly unlikely) that is still under 2000 people that is over 1800 per person in town. Franconia NH wants 3.85 million for a town wide water system, guess what Franconia is a booming metroplis of 1036 residents estimated in 2006, that is almost $4000 per person in town figuring an average of 3 people to a house why not give 12,000 to each house and let them drill a well and buy a new HDTV while they are at it.

As I look through the list I wonder how many jobs is this really going to create, a lot of the projects on the list would employ only people already working for the town and no one else, and if it does then they either lay the person off when the project is done or keep the person on at taxpayer's expense to do other work. Shouldn't the stimulus package help the average American realize the American Dream of succeeding in their own right. Use the money to hand out low interest or no interest loans to start businesses or grow businesses that will create real long lasting jobs and employ people in the private sector where they can support themselves instead of being on a government handout. Put successful business people in charge of administering the funds rather than government hacks that are just concerned about their jobs. I would love to start my own business and a loan of $150,000 would go a long way to helping me put the infrastructure in place that would make the business successful. I would gladly pay the money back as my business grew, and guess what with my initial idea I would employ 4 to 5 people in addition to myself but that does not get the politicians the type of recognition they "deserve" They would rather be able to stand in front of the citizens of Laconia and hear the mayor say without so and so's support this project would never have come about, so people can walk along the river, who cares about putting 4 to 5 people to work in a lasting job.

This stimulus package is just one huge pork barrel spending plan. The American people voted for change. the change they got was more of the same...spend spend spend.

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