All those zeroes.  It’s more than the finite mind can comprehend.  Yes, I’m talking about the stimulus package that is being debated right now on the Hill.

In an effort to break it down into terms that I can understand, I dug out my calculator the other day and started running the numbers.  When something went kaboom and it caught fire, I knew we were in deep weeds.

Whatever happened to a million bucks being a big deal, anyway?  That’s chump change now, judging by the ease with which they’re throwing billions around like so much confetti.  It’s breathtaking.

Now, I don’t have an Ivy League degree.  I’m no pointy-headed economics professor who spends her days in an ivory tower, formulating business models for Fortune 500 companies.  I’ve never won a Nobel Prize, peace or otherwise, although I think I deserve at least an honorable mention for that “peace” one.

What I am is a simple American mom who helps to run a household on a budget, paying bills on time and feeding a regiment on a shoestring.  This certainly doesn’t qualify me to advise those Harvard grads in the halls of power as to the best way to spend our money and create jobs.

For instance, I’m sure there’s a perfectly sensible reason that I as a civilian haven’t yet grasped for earmarking $140,000,000 of taxpayer money for climate data modeling.  I’ve never even met a climate data modeler, and I certainly don’t know what one does.  All I know is that in my world, to gather data on the climate, I simply look out the window or step outside.  Then I model the family’s wardrobe after my scientific observations. If that makes me a bonafide CDM who would be eligible for part of that package, I’ll fill that form out posthaste.  It would certainly stimulate our small economy over here.

Another sector they’re looking to throw money at is transportation, including mass transit.  They could surely create some jobs by hiring a chauffeur for each mother.  Lord knows we could all use one.

And concerning mass transit, how about giving all families of five or more a nice, big SUV?  Believe me, something large is needed to haul a family of six around.  Yugos and VWs just don’t cut it when you have a roiling thicket of 32 arms, legs, knees, and elbows riding behind the 16 that are sitting in the front.  Now, that’s a mass in transit.

They’re also wanting to earmark some of our dollars for “water projects,” whatever that is.  I can think of one “water project” that could keep people working.  How about putting a pool in every backyard?  First of all, someone has to come and dig the hole.  Right there, you’ve employed an excavator.

Then, the pool guys show up and do whatever it is they do.  Now the XYZ Pool Company has some work.  Once that’s all finished and the little porpoises are frolicking and splashing in the summer sun, you still need chemicals to keep the water clean.  This guarantees more business for the chemical company and the pool company, their middleman.

You can see, then, how giving us each a pool would go a long way toward revitalizing at least three sectors of the economy.  But what do I know?  I’m just one little housewife.

“Scientific facilities” is another category that’s looking to get ten billion dollars.  I don’t know what they would study over there in those “facilities,” but I have a few ideas for them.

Instead of studying the migration patterns of the humpbacked whale or some such thing that has no impact on my life, why don’t they research stuff that will really make a difference?  You know, like why some males think that grunting is an actual language?  Or why a grown man is reduced to tears at the sight of a nail hole in a freshly painted wall?  Never mind that it’s a Kinkade masterpiece hanging there now.  He can’t see past the hole.

Or why don’t they research the best way to pick out the quickest line at the grocery store?  This would be life-altering for a mom on the go.  I have the lousiest luck with this.  I troll the main aisle, looking for the shortest line with the fewest groceries.  I dart in, and suddenly the whole operation grinds to a complete standstill.  They do price checks, they run for items they forgot, or the register freezes up.  It never fails.  So trust me when I say, if you ever see me in line at the store, run – don’t walk – to the register at the other end.  You’ll be at home in your jammies before I ever get out of the store.

I haven’t gotten a phone call yet from the Speaker of the House, asking my opinion on the stimulus package.  Shoot, I’m still waiting for that printing press I ordered the other week so that I can print greenbacks right and left as part of my own bailout package.  But if you see Nancy Pelosi or Mitch McConnell up on the Hill, tell them I’d like heated seats in that SUV.  I’m sure they’ll oblige.

No related posts.

Obama on Democrat Health Care Plan: “I want everyone to take another look at the [health care] plan we’ve proposed.”

Facts: House Republicans continue to oppose any effort to pass a sweeping government takeover of health care. Instead of working toward bipartisan reform that the American people can support, Democrat leaders are intent on passing legislation that adversely affects one-sixth of our nation’s economy. At a time of double-digit unemployment, the Democrat health care plan will hurt our economy when we should be focused on creating jobs.

Ø Obama on Health Care Reform: “But if anyone from either party has a better approach that will bring down premiums, bring down the deficit, cover the uninsured, strengthen Medicare for seniors, and stop insurance company abuses, let me know.”

Facts: House Republicans have a common-sense plan that reduces health care costs, without launching a government takeover of health care. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the plan will reduce deficits by $68 billion over ten years and reduce private insurance premiums by up to 10 percent. House Republicans stand by the American people in support of responsible health care reform that lowers health care costs for struggling families and small businesses.

Ø Obama on Jobs: “…Jobs must be our number one focus in 2010, and that is why I am calling for a new jobs bill tonight… The House has passed a jobs bill that includes some of these steps. As the first order of business this year, I urge the Senate to do the same.”

Facts: Last year, President Obama promised that his stimulus bill—which the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) now predicts will cost $862 billion—would create jobs “immediately” and unemployment would not rise above 8 percent. Since the stimulus bill passed, 2.7 million jobs have been lost and unemployment has soared to 10 percent. Right now, more than 15 million Americans are unemployed and 43 States lost jobs last month. Conceding that his first stimulus bill has failed, the President is now urging Congress to pass another costly federal spending package. The American people want jobs, not more government spending.

Bottom Line: The President’s stimulus plan is not working and more of the same won’t work either.

Ø Obama on a Discretionary Spending Freeze: “Starting in 2011, we are prepared to freeze government spending for three years. Spending related to our national security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security will not be affected. But all other discretionary government programs will.”

Facts: The President’s plan to freeze some expenditures comes after a year of unprecedented discretionary increases which inflated current spending levels. In March, 2009, the President signed a $410 billion omnibus spending bill for FY 2009, and less than two months ago, in December he signed yet another $447 omnibus bill. If “stimulus” funding is included, non-defense discretionary funding has increased by 66 percent since Obama took office. The President’s proposal merely locks in these extraordinary increases. The Obama proposal will also exempt mandatory spending and discretionary “security” spending, including defense, homeland security, veterans, and foreign aid spending. According to press reports, the freeze accounts for less than $450 billion or roughly 12 percent of the $3.5 trillion the government will spend in FY 2010. While this modest freeze is a welcome concession by the President that the policies of uncontrolled spending have failed, a much more extensive approach to cutting spending is necessary to considerably reduce the enormous deficits facing our nation over the next ten years.

Ø Obama on Fiscal Responsibility: “By the time I took office, we had a one year deficit of over $1 trillion and projected deficits of $8 trillion over the next decade…But families across the country are tightening their belts and making tough decisions. The federal government should do the same.”

Facts: Despite efforts to spin the facts or blame the preceding Administration, a comparison of the fiscal situation when the Obama Administration took office is telling. The nation’s historic debt and record deficits are a direct result of the President’s big-spending agenda. The President’s spending policies have drastically increased the national debt. Since taking office just one year ago, the President has increased the public debt by $1.47 trillion or 23 percent, from $6.3 trillion to $7.78 trillion. Under the Administrations’ budget, public debt will triple, jumping to $17.5 trillion dollars by 2019. In one year controlling the White House, the President increased the annual deficit by 308 percent, from $458 billion to $1.4 trillion. In 2009 alone, House Democrats passed $862 billion in “stimulus” spending (which will also add $347 billion in interest), two omnibus spending bills totaling more than $855 billion, and increased non-defense spending by 12 percent. According to the President’s own estimates, his budget and spending plan will cause deficits to average $905 billion for each of the next ten years.

And even while the President touts his commitment to fiscal responsibility, he is encouraging Congress to pass a $1.9 trillion increase in the national debt limit, allowing the government to keep borrowing in order to keep on spending.

Ø Obama on the Deficit Commission: “The Commission will have to provide a specific set of solutions by a certain deadline. Yesterday, the Senate blocked a bill that would have created this commission. So I will issue an executive order that will allow us to go forward, because I refuse to pass this problem on to another generation of Americans.”

Facts: Yesterday, a proposal endorsed by the President to establish a deficit commission whose recommendations would be fast-tracked through Congressional consideration failed as a Senate amendment to a debt limit increase. In light of the amendment’s failure, President Obama is reverting to his plan from a week ago to establish the commission through Executive Order. If the President chooses to stick to the exact model he unveiled last week, the commission would represent nothing more than a toothless effort to provide political cover for tax increases. Under the President’s original plan, the commission would be barred from cutting discretionary spending, could not ensure a vote on any of the recommendations, and would give Democrats political cover to raise taxes at the worst possible time. Without the statutory power to ensure consideration of ideas or address appropriated spending, the commission could devolve into an empty political tactic to convince Americans that something is being done, without addressing the difficult fiscal realities.

Ø Obama on Citizens United vs. FEC Case: President Obama claimed that this week’s Supreme Court decision, Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission, “reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests—including foreign companies—to spend without limit in our elections.” He also calls on Congress to pass a bill that helps to “right this wrong.”

Facts: Foreign companies are already prohibited from influencing American campaigns. The current legal prohibitions on foreign involvement in elections are quite specific, and prohibit a foreign national from directly or indirectly contributing to a candidate or party, or paying for a broadcast, cable or satellite communication which refers to a federal candidate in the period before an election (“electioneering communications”). Furthermore, FEC regulations already prohibit a foreign national from direct, control, or indirectly participating in the decision-making process of any corporation, labor union, or political committee in their election-related activities. In both cases, the term “foreign national” includes a foreign government, foreign political party, an individual who is not a U.S. citizen, or a corporation of other organization organized under the laws of a foreign country or with its principal place of business in a foreign country. These prohibitions (except the one on electioneering communications) apply not only to federal elections but also to State and local elections. None of these protections are changed at all by the Citizens United decision. This statement is nothing other than a red herring—the creation of a problem that Democrats can claim to solve. Unfortunately, no flood can occur when the dam is still intact. It is worth noting that the Citizens United decision actually overturned a 1990 case Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce, not a 100-year old case as the President claims.

Ø Obama on Middle Class Aid: “Now, the price of college tuition is just one of the burdens facing the middle-class. That’s why last year I asked Vice President Biden to chair a task force on Middle-Class Families. That’s why we’re nearly doubling the child care tax credit, and making it easier to save for retirement by giving every worker access to a retirement account and expanding the tax credit for those who start a nest egg. That’s why we’re working to lift the value of a family’s single largest investment – their home.”

Facts: While the President’s initiatives may be somewhat helpful, they do not and will not provide struggling middle class families with the aid they most need—a job. These provisions will do nothing to create new, long-term jobs for suffering families at a time when it is needed most. Today’s unemployment numbers are staggering. The 10 percent unemployment rate is the real cause of middle class anxiety. Among minorities, the situation is even bleaker with unemployment among African Americans at 16.2 percent and 12.9 percent among Hispanics and Latinos. Real unemployment, which includes workers who cannot find enough work to fully support themselves, is at 17.3 percent and 6.1 million unemployed workers have been without a job for over 27 weeks. The solution to these problems is policies that create economic growth in this country, not bigger government. The middle class isn’t asking for more federal assistance—they are asking for an opportunity.

Ø Obama on Trade: “We have to seek new markets aggressively, just as our competitors are. If America sits on the sidelines while other nations sign trade deals, we will lose the chance to create jobs on our shores.”

Facts: For over two years, Democrats in Washington have stalled action on approving the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement. Although free trade creates jobs without spending taxpayer dollars, approving the 2007 U.S.-Colombia agreement is clearly not on the Democrats’ agenda. Enacting the agreement would create jobs in the U.S. and lower consumer prices at home, thus expanding family budgets during a recession and providing a no-cost stimulus that would actually work. It would also bolster a key strategic ally in an increasingly hostile neighborhood in Latin America. Likewise, approving the 2007 U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement is apparently not on the Democrats’ agenda for 2010. The deal has awaited the approval of Congress for over two years. According to the U.S. International Trade Commission, enacting this deal would, at a minimum, add $10-12 billion to U.S. GDP per year, as well as $10 billion in additional annual merchandise exports to South Korea.

Ø Obama on Energy: “It means passing a comprehensive energy and climate bill with incentives that will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America. I am grateful to the House for passing such a bill last year.”

Facts: In June 2009, the House passed H.R. 2454, the Democrat cap-and-tax energy bill. The bill imposes a national cap-and-tax regime that ultimately every consumer in the U.S. would pay for. Independent researchers, CBO, and the President all agree that this cost will be passed to consumers. There is little debate that a national energy tax would outsource millions of manufacturing jobs to countries such as China and India.

Republicans support a solution that would actually create jobs and energy in the U.S. as well as clean up the environment, without imposing a national energy tax. The American Energy Act (H.R. 2846) is an all-of-the-above plan that will provide energy independence, more jobs here at home, and a cleaner environment. The American Energy Act increases our domestic supply of energy by lifting restrictions on ANWR, the Outer Continental Shelf, and oil shale in the Mountain West. Revenue generated by the sale of leases will be invested in renewable and alternative sources of energy. The plan also renews America’s commitment to clean and emissions-free nuclear energy, by laying down a national goal of ordering 100 new nuclear reactors over the next twenty years. The House Republican plan also encourages conservation through proven tax incentives. The GOP energy plan would create more than 2.5 million American energy jobs.

Ø Obama on Foreign Policy: “That is the leadership that we are providing—engagement that advances the common security and prosperity of all people.”

Facts: A cursory review of the President’s foreign policy during his first year in office reveals several troubling precedents. Regarding Iran, President Obama was late to offer the unqualified support of the American people for pro-democracy demonstrators after the tainted presidential elections of June 2009. The President also has yet to enact tough sanctions on Iran over its nuclear weapons program, although in May 2009 he said that, “We should have some sense whether or not these [diplomatic] discussions are starting to yield significant benefits” by the end of that year. In September 2009, Obama abandoned plans to place a missile defense system in the Czech Republic and Poland after Russia expressed displeasure with the idea. In general, President Obama’s foreign policy has come to be typified by muteness on democratization, freedom, and human rights abroad. The first year of the Obama Administration emboldened rogue dictators across the globe—from Tehran to Pyongyang to Caracas.

Ø Obama on Terrorism: “Since the day I took office, we have renewed our focus on the terrorists who threaten our nation.”

Facts: During 2009, President Obama took several steps to weaken U.S. national security, despite mounting terrorist attempts in the U.S. In his first days in office, President Obama recklessly ordered the state-of-the-art, multimillion dollar Guantanamo Bay detention facility to be closed. The decision to close the prison has not stopped al Qaeda from plotting attacks on Americans. The President also banned certain interrogation practices utilized by the Bush Administration in January 2009, hamstringing the intelligence community. Senior U.S. intelligence officials have said the intelligence community needs the flexibility to use a variety of interrogation methods. The Obama Administration additionally plans to transfer detainees from Guantanamo to a prison in Thomson, Illinois, and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to New York City for trial before a federal judge. If terrorists are brought to U.S. soil, they will seek to manipulate the rights provided by the very Constitution that they sought to destroy. Bringing dangerous terrorists to U.S. soil will not make our country safer.

Finally, the Obama Administration has transferred detainees to countries such as Yemen, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. The rate by which detainees are released from Guantanamo and return to terrorism or to the battlefield in order to kill Americans or its allies is alarming. According to the Pentagon, one in five detainees released return to terrorism. Combined, these actions are taking us back to a pre-9/11 mentality when acts of terrorism were treated as a law enforcement issue, and as a result, failed to prevent an attack. There were at least seven major terror attempts in the U.S. last year.

Ø Obama on Financial Services: “We need to make sure consumers and middle-class families have the information they need to make financial decisions. We can’t allow financial institutions, including those that take your deposits, to take risks that threaten the whole economy. The House has already passed financial reform with many of these changes. And the lobbyists are already trying to kill it. Well, we cannot let them win this fight. And if the bill that ends up on my desk does not meet the test of real reform, I will send it back.”

Facts: The Democrats’ financial regulatory reform plan creates a political economy by making permanent the authority to bailout large politically connected firms (e.g. Fannie Mae, Chrysler and AIG). It calls for the creation of a permanent bailout fund and gives the government the authority to break up financially healthy and well-managed firms for the sake of “financial stability.” The Democrat proposal will increase the cost of credit products and restrict the access to credit for many consumers, including small businesses, by giving government bureaucrats the authority to dictate prices and determine what products are offered. The proposal also separates the regulation of protecting consumers from ensuring safety and soundness, creating a conflict between numerous existing agencies.

Ø Obama on the Bank Tax: “I supported the last administration’s efforts to create the financial rescue program. And when we took the program over, we made it more transparent and accountable. As a result, the markets are now stabilized, and we have recovered most of the money we spent on the banks. To recover the rest, I have proposed a fee on the biggest banks. I know Wall Street isn’t keen on this idea, but if these firms can afford to hand out big bonuses again, they can afford a modest fee to pay back the taxpayers who rescued them in their time of need.”

Facts: Some institutions targeted by the tax have repaid or are on schedule to repay TARP monies, including interest (e.g. BB&T, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase). In fact, some targeted institutions did not need TARP funds, but participated in TARP under duress by the Treasury Department and government regulators. This tax will increase the costs of credit for customers and discourage lending. Most losses likely come from AIG, GM and Chrysler, and all are exempt from paying the tax.

Ø Obama on Small Business: “So tonight, I’m proposing that we take $30 billion of the money Wall Street banks have repaid and use it to help community banks give small businesses the credit they need to stay afloat. I am also proposing a new small business tax credit—one that will go to over one million small businesses who hire new workers or raise wages.”

Facts: The President’s budget contained over $1.5 trillion in crushing tax increases over the next 10 years. The tax increases which Obama has endorsed would disproportionately punish small businesses, which make up more than 99.7 percent of all employer firms and employ more than half of all private sector workers. According to the Small Business Administration, small businesses have generated 64 percent of net new jobs over the past 15 years. The President’s government takeover of healthcare would impose billions in new taxes on businesses who cannot afford to finance their worker’s health coverage. The Congressional Budget Office has confirmed that this tax on jobs masquerading in the form of a “pay-or-play” mandate “could reduce the hiring of low-wage workers,” and could also lead to wage stagnation as wage compensation is diverted to comply with new federal taxes and mandates. The President’s national energy tax would impose an across the board tax increase on all energy use, especially harmful to small firms struggling to make payroll each month.

Ø Obama on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”: “This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are.”

Facts: Democrats have assured the LGBT community that they will repeal the current Department of Defense (DOD) policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT). Legislation sponsored by Democrats, and supported by President Obama, would prohibit the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Homeland Security (Coast Guard), from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation against any member of the Armed Forces or any person seeking to become a member. Furthermore, the bill would authorize the re-accession into the Armed Forces of individuals previously separated for homosexuality, bisexuality, or such conduct. The bill would also require the Secretaries to ensure that regulations governing the personal conduct of members of the Armed Forces are written and enforced without regard to sexual orientation.

Republicans support policies that improve morale and encourage good order, discipline, and unit cohesion for our military. The burden is on opponents of the policy and the law to show irrefutable evidence that the readiness of the military will be improved by changing it, if repeal of the law or the DADT policy does not improve the readiness of our troops, then our armed service members should not have to shoulder this additional burden when they are already fighting two wars.

Ø Obama on College Affordability: President Obama promises to “take another one million students that when they graduate, they will be required to pay only ten percent of their income on student loans, and all of their debt will be forgiven after twenty years—and forgiven after ten years if they choose a career in public service” and guarantees that “To make college more affordable, this bill will finally end the unwarranted taxpayer-subsidies that go to banks for student loans.”

Facts: The President’s plan would expand the income based repayment (IBR) plan, one of the repayment options made available to borrowers under the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-84). Under current IBR requirements, borrowers are guaranteed that their monthly federal loan payments will not be more than 15 percent of their discretionary income and are entitled to loan balance forgiveness after 25 years. The President’s proposal would make the program more generous by lowering the 15 percent of discretionary income to 10 percent, and shortening the forgiveness time from 25 to 20 years (or 10 years for public servants)— effectively forcing taxpayers to pay off even more student loan debt. Many argue that making the federal government responsible for a larger share of student debt will only exacerbate already high college costs.

Earlier this year, the House passed and the Administration supported a plan (H.R. 3221) to eliminate the Federal Family Education Loan program and shift all student loans to a government-run and taxpayer financed system under the Direct Loan program. By allowing the government to take over all federal student loan originations, it would involve one of the largest expansions of a government program in recent memory. It would dismantle a system that has successfully served generations of students. Within a decade, the Federal Direct Loan Program would be a trillion dollar operation, with the responsibility for tens of millions of borrowers, making it one of the biggest banks in the world.

Ø Obama on Education Reform: “The idea here is simple: instead of rewarding failure, we only reward success. Instead of funding the status quo, we only invest in reform—reform that raises student achievement, inspires students to excel in math and science, and turns around failing schools that steal the future of too many young Americans, from rural communities to inner-cities.”

Facts: President Obama supports merit pay (performance pay) and this is a laudable goal. Unfortunately, Democrats in the House have yet to bring a bill to the floor that would encourage merit pay, and “only reward success.” Furthermore, while the effort to reform is admirable, it needs to be thorough in his quest for reform—challenging the educational system to become more competitive and accountable. Republicans understand that student achievement only grows in good classrooms where resources are spent responsibly, and we look forward to working with the President to reform ineffective programs and reduce waste in the educational system.

Ø Obama on Rewarding Wall Street: “Some are frustrated; some are angry. They don’t understand why it seems like bad behavior on Wall Street is rewarded but hard work on Main Street isn’t; or why Washington has been unable or unwilling to solve any of our problems.”

Facts: On March 17, 2009, The Politico reported, “Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) blamed Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner for letting bailed-out insurance giant American International Group pay $165 million in bonuses to its employees…” On March 20, 2009, Roll Call reported, “House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) added a fresh welt to the bruised political hide of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner…Hoyer criticized his failure to stop the bailed-out American International Group from going forward with $165 million in retention bonuses to executives who helped drive the finance giant into the ground.”

Ø Obama on Transparency of Financial Rescue: “So I supported the last administration’s efforts to create the financial rescue program. And when we took the program over, we made it more transparent and accountable.”

Facts: On November 17, 2009, the Special Inspector General of the TARP (SIGTARP), Neil Barofsky, reported that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York decided to pay AIG’s counterparties par value. The report further stated, “[O]fficials recommended to President Geithner that Maiden Lane III transactions go forward without haircuts because it would be impractical to obtain haircuts from all counterparties. Mr. Geithner concurred and it was decided that NY Fed would cease efforts to negotiate haircuts…” Geithner made the decision to pay the counter-parties one hundred cents on the dollar, ensuring that politically connected Wall Street banks incurred no loss for their poor investment decisions. On January 7, 2010, Bloomberg reported, “The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, then led by Timothy Geithner, told American International Group Inc. to withhold details from the public about the bailed-out insurer’s payments to banks during the depths of the financial crisis, e-mails between the company and its regulator show.”

Related posts:

1. Hey, go ahead and become a snitch We should have posted this Wednesday when it happened. From...
2. The Medicare fallout begins Here’s a sign of things to come. The Mayo Clinic...
3. Change you can believe in? Monthly Abortion Premiums From House Republican Leader John Boehner’s official blog What is...

“Not only has the stimulus failed in its goal of curbing rising unemployment, the administration has relied on imprecise statistics and a significantly overstated number of jobs created to justify their spending,” Souder said.

“While the Web site has been recently updated, Recovery.gov originally reported spending millions of dollars in Indiana’s 10th and 18th congressional districts—at least until the next census, Indiana only has nine congressional districts,” Souder added. “These discrepancies and inaccuracies point to a much larger problem: overall lack of accountability.”

Within the original Recovery Act, there is a provision that allows for the establishment of a Recovery Independent Advisory Panel (RIAP). Despite Congressman Joe Wilson’s request that this panel be appointed by December 1, 2009, President Obama and his administration failed to act.

Now, H.R. 4219 would ensure this bipartisan commission is created and would require full accountability of taxpayer dollars spend under the stimulus. The commission would also investigate the actual effects of this “stimulus” bill and the true number of created jobs.

Following introduction yesterday in the U.S. House of Representatives, H.R. 4219 was referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor for further action.

No related posts.

Response to Drudge Item on Recovery Act Funding
Statement from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack

[...]

The references to “2 pound frozen ham sliced” are to the sizes of the packaging. Press reports suggesting that the Recovery Act spent $1.191 million to buy “2 pounds of ham” are wrong. In fact, the contract in question purchased 760,000 pounds of ham for $1.191m, at a cost of approximately $1.50 per pound.

Drudge fired back with this headline:

Agriculture Sec. Vilsack: ‘Purchased 760,000 Lbs of ham at cost of approximately $1.50 per pound’…
FOOD LION: $.79 Lb…

Who’s running this country?

Related posts:

1. Obama can’t even talk the talk.. This video below depicts the real intentions of the liberal...
2. The Journal Gazette is all wet on Obamacare I don’t know if Tracy Warner or Dan Klugman at...
3. Indoctrinate them while they’re young Update 2: Someone else had the foresight to grab it....

Click to enlarge
Source: Carl Rove

So just how’s that stimulus thing working for you Barry?

Related posts:

1. Obama’s stimulus plan: Pass the pork Obama and the democrats are bragging about the $825 billion...
2. Obama: Please don’t break the China China’s Premier Wen Jiabao is worried about their investments in...
3. Protectionism is going to cost us plenty A lot of people moan about jobs going overseas in...

From WaPo:

Ordered by Congress to “buy American” when spending money from the $787 billion stimulus package, the town of Peru, Ind., stunned its Canadian supplier by rejecting sewage pumps made outside of Toronto. After a Navy official spotted Canadian pipe fittings in a construction project at Camp Pendleton, Calif., they were hauled out of the ground and replaced with American versions. In recent weeks, other Canadian manufacturers doing business with U.S. state and local governments say they have been besieged with requests to sign affidavits pledging that they will only supply materials made in the USA.

Makes you wonder how much more we spent ripping them out of the ground? Canada is firing back.

Outrage spread in Canada, with the Toronto Star last week bemoaning “a plague of protectionist measures in the U.S.” and Canadian companies openly fretting about having to shift jobs to the United States to meet made-in-the-USA requirements. This week, the Canadians fired back. A number of Ontario towns, with a collective population of nearly 500,000, retaliated with measures effectively barring U.S. companies from their municipal contracts — the first shot in a larger campaign that could shut U.S. companies out of billions of dollars worth of Canadian projects.

This type of protectionism in the end will cost American jobs, (see more below). On top of that, how much more will we pay for the U.S. made products? How many companies that cannot replace their vendors with American made products are going to start losing American supply contracts and ultimately, American jobs?

Take, for instance, Duferco Farrell Corp., a Swiss-Russian partnership that took over a previously bankrupt U.S. steel plant near Pittsburgh in the 1990s and employed 600 people there.

The new buy American provisions, the company said, are being so broadly interpreted that Duferco Farrell is on the verge of shutting down. Part of an increasingly global supply chain that seeks efficiencies by spreading production among multiple nations, it manufactures coils at its Pennsylvania plant using imported steel slabs that are generally not sold commercially in the United States. The partially foreign production process means the company’s coils do not fit the current definition of made in the USA — a designation that the stimulus law requires for thousands of public works projects across the nation.

In recent weeks, its largest client — a steel pipemaker located one mile down the road — notified Duferco Farrell that it would be canceling orders. Instead, the client is buying from companies with 100 percent U.S. production to meet the new stimulus regulations. Duferco has had to furlough 80 percent of its workforce.

“You need to tell me how inhibiting business between two companies located one mile apart is going to save American jobs,” said Bob Miller, Duferco Farrell’s executive vice president. “I’ve got 600 United Steel Workers out there who are going to lose their jobs because of this. And you tell me this is good for America?” More [here].

And just how is that creating/protecting American jobs? Also noteworthy, we’ve not heard a whimper from the United Steel Worker’s union.

In the end, we’re robbing Peter to pay Paul. American-based suppliers to government contracts that buy foreign goods and resell them here in the U.S. will be left out in the cold if they fail in finding competitive American made products. Jobs will disappear, only to maybe reappear elsewhere. That’s not job creation.

It may look good in the short-term, but history has proven that protectionism hinders job growth and in the case above, cost American jobs.

Related posts:

1. Yes you can.. Promises, promises …get up off your ass and go to work! Obama...
2. Obama: Please don’t break the China China’s Premier Wen Jiabao is worried about their investments in...
3. We don’t really know how many jobs we saved, but we lost 467,000 in June The Obamassiah is now 3.4 million jobs below where they...

Analysts estimate that nearly half of China’s $2 trillion in currency reserves are in U.S. Treasuries and notes issued by other government-affiliated agencies.

Washington is counting on China to continue buying Treasuries to fund its $787 billion stimulus package. Last month, visiting Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sought to reassure Beijing that government debt would remain a reliable investment.

“They are worried about forever-rising deficits, which may devalue Treasuries by pushing interest rates higher,” said JP Morgan economist Frank Gong. “Inside China there has been a lot of debate about whether they should continue to buy Treasuries.”

From Bloomberg :

Ten-year notes headed for a weekly decline as Japan and China signaled they will take additional measures to boost their economies. China, the U.S. government’s largest creditor, is asking “the U.S. to maintain its good credit, to honor its promises and to guarantee the safety of China’s assets,” Wen said today in Beijing.

If you recall, back in January Treasury Secretary Timmy Geithner said President Barry believes China is “manipulating” its currency. That’s something American manufacturers have long sought to combat the soaring U.S. trade deficit with China.

So what happens if China is seen as a currency manipulator? Under U.S. trade law, that designation could result in U.S. economic sanctions against China. Let the trade wars begin. Barry has plenty to be worried about. The trade gap with China increased to $20.6 billion in December, up from $19.9 billion in November as U.S. exports to China dropped faster than imports.

Obama’s failed “Buy American” plan is still lurking in the minds of many countries that export to the U.S., and they fear the Obamassiah will implement some form of “trade protectionism.” He only needs to look back at the last economic depression for the answer.

From Stewart Patrick:

In the 1930s, global recession had catastrophic political consequences—in part because policymakers took exactly the wrong approach. Starting with America’s own Smoot Hawley Tariff of 1930, the world’s major trading nations tried to insulate themselves by adopting inward looking protectionist and discriminatory policies. The result was a vicious, self-defeating cycle of tit-for-tat retaliation. As states took refuge in prohibitive tariffs, import quotas, export subsidies and competitive devaluations, international commerce devolved into a desperate competition for dwindling markets. Between 1929 and 1933, the value of world trade plummeted from $50 billion to $15 billion. Global economic activity went into a death spiral, exacerbating the depth and length of the Great Depression. More [here].

Yet through all of this, Obama continues to talk about punishing companies that send manufacturing jobs overseas. Speaking of seas. Obama’s budget contains a 13% excise tax on offshore oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico. Oh great! Lets punish the American oil and gas producers. What a great way to send more of our money overseas. But hey, we can always borrow more from China, right? Even the Russians are are running low on cash. They’re signing a 20-year deal for oil sales to China in return for a $25 billion loan.

Meanwhile, back at sea… China says we’re spying on them and the US Navy has dispatched destroyers to escort our non-weapon equipped surveillance voyages. I guess you can hold a gun to your banker’s head.

Maybe Obama could get some guidance from Wal*Mart? Oh wait, I forgot. Evan Williams, one of the kids that co-founded Twitter was summoned by Barry to a summit in Washington DC to discuss the current economic crisis. Barry can sure pick them. Twitter doesn’t even have a revenue model. That’s right, while Twitter is wildly popular, they live off of venture capital, i.e. loans, (read:no income).

Go figure.

AWB

Related posts:

1. Obama: Killing the country So now the great one and his chief of staff...
2. Socialism: Obama is clear on the concept I just read an interesting article by Caroline Baum at...
3. Meet Doc Obama, the ear nose and throat specialist Can anyone believe that he’s actually qualified to make the...

From Political Pitstop

The bill, which critics slammed as larded with pork, has big bucks to combat putrid stenches in the heartland, with $1.7 million for “Swine Odor and Manure Management Research.”

That’s on top of $1.9 million in each of the last two years, or nearly $6 million over the last three years.

The swine research center, at Iowa State University in Ames, got funds through the Agricultural Research Service, and aims to improve the smell of animals and the lagoons where waste is stored.

How in the hell does that stimulate the economy and “create” jobs? I’m surprised there’s not a plan on how to improve the odor of smelly people riding inner city buses.

AWB

Related posts:

1. USDA admits they’re “stupid,” paying almost twice as much for ham as you can get at your local grocer In response to Drudge “outing” the USDA for spending stimulus...

Another good source of information is SimulusWatch.org. The Fort Wayne listings as submitted by the mayor’s office as “shovel ready” projects can be seen here. The total cost of all the projects submitted by Fort Wayne is $573,317,630.

No related posts.

Since November 4th, when the Obamassiah was elected, the Dow has tumbled over 25%. As Obama and company continue their march towards socialism, Wall Street continues to respond with a big “no confidence vote”. When you consider the bulk of Obama’s porkulus screwing of the U.S. economy is going towards social programs, its no wonder. On top of that, this so-called “stimulus bill” contains 9,000 earmarks.

Obama is raping the system that has worked for decades in this county. It’s called capitalism. Instead of rewarding America’s job creators, he wants to punish them. Instead of incentivizing those disinclined to work, he’s giving them a reason to sit this one out on their collective asses. Someone else will pay the bills for them, why should they worry?

His foreign policy is fast becoming one of holding hands with those that embrace communism, fascism and dictatorial rule. He’s sent olive branches to Iran and Moscow, and is now going to send $900 million dollars of your money to Palestine.

He’s also turned his eye on socializing the U.S. healthcare system. As a direct result, healthcare stocks are the newest victim of Obama’s economic tailspin, and are shedding value with each passing day.

Today Obama is sending his Treasury secretary and budget director to Capitol Hill to defend his plan to start taxing industries on greenhouse-gas emissions, also known as cap and trade. If he succeeds, your electric bill will purportedly increase anywhere from 15% – 40%, gasoline prices up anywhere from 9% -145%, and natural gas prices from 12% -50%, all within the next 6 years.

Obama’s supporters, always wrapped up in class resentment, can’t see the forest through the trees. The love the über-partisan environment on capital hill, and walk blindly following “The One” down the path of failure.

He’s not going to change, and Limbaugh doesn’t need to hope he’ll fail, he’s well on his way.

AWB

Related posts:

1. Obama report card : D- Obama’s Report Card After 11 Days in Office FROM THE...
2. Gamaliel prays “hear our cry Obama, deliver us Obama” This is beyond belief. Now Obama has replaced the “Lord’s...
3. Obama: Please don’t break the China China’s Premier Wen Jiabao is worried about their investments in...

He [Mayor Henry] hopes to improve that mark this year by working more aggressively to improve the economy and to jump-start Harrison Square and other lagging big-money projects started by his predecessor, Graham Richard.

“For those naysayers out there who are criticizing Harrison Square as a bad idea … I’m going to have to take them to task on that. (But) we need to get the hotel finished. We need to complete Harrison Square,” Henry said Tuesday during an interview with The News-Sentinel and NewsChannel 15. “I’m hoping it will be built sooner rather than later.”

Get the hotel finished? It hasn’t even started. Why does the city of Fort Wayne need to complete Harrison Square? Beyond the stadium, it’s a private enterprise project. Hmmm.. makes you wonder if the stench of more subsidized HS welfare is wafting through the 9th floor.

Henry said the city may try to coordinate the effort to obtain financing for the projects by bringing a pool of potential lenders to the table.

Developers say they remain committed to the behind-schedule projects, but some have criticized the city for not doing more to contractually assure their timely performance by the developers. But Henry said penalizing the city’s private partners now might do more harm than good.

“We have fall-back positions, certainly,” he said “But what does that get us, really?”

Fall-back? I can hear it now, let’s rob the city’s light-lease fund, then loan some money to White Lodging so they can complete the project. They can call it Fort Wayne’s economic stimulus plan. After all, we can collect interest on it and then we can also start paying White Lodging the guaranteed profits we promised.

If White Lodging and Barry Real Estate cannot deliver, maybe it’s time to put the call out to other developers and see what ideas they can bring to the table. Maybe that will light a fire under someone’s posterior.

AWB

Related posts:

1. What are we going to put in them there holes? It appears from many accounts that White Lodging is spinning...
2. Ron Reinking on Harrison Square Reprinted with permission Harrison Square Doubts Were Well-Founded By Ron...
3. What about Barry? All has been quiet on the Barry Real Estate, Harrison...

The Party of No
CNN has a list of stimulus proposals deemed “wasteful” by GOP leadership. Some of my favorites:

-$1.4 billion for rural waste disposal programs.

-$500 million for flood reduction projects on the Mississippi River.

-$10 million to inspect canals in urban areas.

-$1.2 billion for “youth activities,” including youth summer job programs.

-$500 million for state and local fire stations.

At least we know what the priorities of the national GOP don’t involve. Their priorities don’t involve protecting farmlands from pollution or flood prevention. Their priorities don’t include helping out our nation’s young. The GOP apparently considers it wasteful to fund local fire stations.

None of the above programs are going to stimulate the economy or create any worthwhile or long-term employment.

In traditional leftard fashion, Mr. Skinner hand picked a few items from the article, and left out the balance. Here’s the entire list:

• $2 billion earmark to re-start FutureGen, a near-zero emissions coal power plant in Illinois that the Department of Energy defunded last year because it said the project was inefficient.

• A $246 million tax break for Hollywood movie producers to buy motion picture film.

• $650 million for the digital television converter box coupon program.

• $88 million for the Coast Guard to design a new polar icebreaker (arctic ship).

• $448 million for constructing the Department of Homeland Security headquarters.

• $248 million for furniture at the new Homeland Security headquarters.

• $600 million to buy hybrid vehicles for federal employees.

• $400 million for the Centers for Disease Control to screen and prevent STD’s.

• $1.4 billion for rural waste disposal programs.

• $125 million for the Washington sewer system.

• $150 million for Smithsonian museum facilities.

• $1 billion for the 2010 Census, which has a projected cost overrun of $3 billion.

• $75 million for “smoking cessation activities.”

• $200 million for public computer centers at community colleges.

• $75 million for salaries of employees at the FBI.

• $25 million for tribal alcohol and substance abuse reduction.

• $500 million for flood reduction projects on the Mississippi River.

• $10 million to inspect canals in urban areas.

• $6 billion to turn federal buildings into “green” buildings.

• $500 million for state and local fire stations.

• $650 million for wildland fire management on forest service lands.

• $1.2 billion for “youth activities,” including youth summer job programs.

• $88 million for renovating the headquarters of the Public Health Service.

• $412 million for CDC buildings and property.

• $500 million for building and repairing National Institutes of Health facilities in Bethesda, Maryland.

• $160 million for “paid volunteers” at the Corporation for National and Community Service.

• $5.5 million for “energy efficiency initiatives” at the Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration.

• $850 million for Amtrak.

• $100 million for reducing the hazard of lead-based paint.

• $75 million to construct a “security training” facility for State Department Security officers when they can be trained at existing facilities of other agencies.

• $110 million to the Farm Service Agency to upgrade computer systems.

• $200 million in funding for the lease of alternative energy vehicles for use on military installations.

Funny, when the GOP acts with intelligence and responsibility and outs the Democrats for being the wasteful spend-free liberals we all remember, the lefties get up in arms.

According to the democrats we need to help the hollywood left buy motion picture film, buy furniture for Homeland Security headquarters, buy hybrid vehicles for federal employees, spend $125 million for the Washington sewer system, (why not give Fort Wayne the money they need??), and among the most stupid, $160 million for “paid volunteers” at the Corporation for National and Community Service?

Sorry, that’s quite oxymoronic. “Paid volunteers?”

If you want to stimulate the economy, stimulate it by creating wealth and jobs, not social programs and more federal spending on the kingdom.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

AWB

Related posts:

1. Obama’s stimulus plan: Pass the pork Obama and the democrats are bragging about the $825 billion...
2. Yes you can.. Promises, promises …get up off your ass and go to work! Obama...
3. The Obama Big Brother Move I’m surprised the leftards haven’t gotten up in arms over...

$50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts

A quarter billion dollars to fix State Department computers

$200 million to spruce up the National Mall

$670 million to rebuild restrooms and other buildings in national parks

$8 billion for renewable energies

$6 billion for mass transit

$4 billion for community activist programs such as ACORN

$2 billion for child care subsidies

$650 million for coupons for digital TV conversions

$400 million for global warming research

$335 million for STD prevention

How will any of the above items stimulate the economy? They won’t.

$50 million might seem like a drop in the hat when you’re talking about $825 billion, but if people want the arts to succeed, donate and patronize.

How is the $8 billion going to be spent on renewable energies? 1/2 billion of it is set aside solely for expense of implementing the program. Read: more government jobs. $800 million is set aside to advance the storage output of batteries. One would think the battery industry is already working on that. $4.5 billion is to be set aside for grants, that’s nothing but pure pork.

$4 billion for community activist programs? What the hell is that?? $2 billion for child care? That’s not going to create any jobs. $400 million for Al Gore and company? Screw global warming. It’s been proven time and again, it’s not happening. Over 31,000 scientists and climatologists have publicly signed a petition stating they do not agree with Al Gore & company.

And Pelosi’s pet pork project, $335 million for STD prevention. Maybe that will create a few jobs for the homeless. They can go around and handout free condoms.

According to Pelosi, “if we reduce the number of STDs, we reduce our aggregate health care expenses, which in turn stimulates the economy”. Maybe what she means is there won’t be so many people stuck up at home with the clap, gonorrhea and syphilis and they’ll jackupoff the economy by being able to get out of the house and spend their stimulus checks.

This is not the time for Republicans to sit down and shut up.

If you’re really bored, you can read the entire bill here.

Related posts:

1. Liberal garbage From Reverent & Free: The Party of NoCNN has a...
2. Obama report card : D- Obama’s Report Card After 11 Days in Office FROM THE...
3. Yes you can.. Promises, promises …get up off your ass and go to work! Obama...