Details, Smetails....
While a much-talked about $8.19 billion federal stimulus package is still in the works in Washington, D.C., how might the money promised in the bill impact cities, schools and the county?
While there are many possibilities and ideas out there, local officials say there are also many questions...
Savage City Administrator Barry Stock is known for his conservative budgeting style, so when asked if the stimulus package will have any local impact, he promptly shakes his head back and forth and frowns as he says “nope.”...
Prior Lake’s public works director, Steve Albrecht, said the city is not banking on a whole lot of money coming from state agencies via the stimulus package, but he’s “cautiously optimistic” about city-related projects getting funding via Scott County....
Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District’s Business Manager, Mark Stotts, is waiting for the final details to come out before he starts counting on the extra capital...
While Prior Lake-Savage Area School District officials are hopeful a federal stimulus package passes the U.S. Senate in the coming weeks, Director of Business Affairs Margo Nash says the district isn’t counting its chickens before the eggs hatch...
Shakopee Schools Superintendent Jon McBroom isn’t setting his hopes too high...
Why are these local administrators so pessimistic about the prospects of the "stimulus" money. Because they know that the money is not going to projects designed to stimulate the economy. Instead the money is going to things like...
- $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts
- $380 million in the Senate bill for the Women, Infants and Children program
- $300 million for grants to combat violence against women
- $15 billion for boosting Pell Grant college scholarships
- $650 million for digital-TV coupons;
- $90 million to educate “vulnerable populations”
- $1 billion for the Census Bureau
- $89 billion for Medicaid
- $850 million for Amtrak
- $55 million for Historic Preservation Fund
- $7.6 billion for “rural community advancement programs”
- $150 million for agricultural-commodity purchases
- $79 billion for State Fiscal Stabilization Fund
That is why this "spendulus" package needs to be completely scrapped. Educating people about the GOVERNMENT MANDATED conversion to DTV is not going to create a single job. The NEA does not hire tradesmen or build houses. The money for Amtrak may save a few jobs, but that money could be better used in creating inner city jobs, don't you think? Instead of historic preservation, how about putting that money into much needed roads and bridges? Heaven knows Scott County is not the only county in this country with road needs!
My plea to the President and to the Senate is scrap this bill...get rid of the garbage and do it RIGHT - not fast! That really is what is best for the country.
Labels: Out of Control Government
posted by The Lady Logician at
9:57 AM
5 Comments:
You're right. Let's not save the economy. If we have another Great Depression nobody is going to blame the Republicans for it. "Let it fail" says Rush Limbaugh, the brains of the GOP.
Spend $1 trillion+ on an unnecessary and counterproductive invasion and occupation of Iraq, Republicans think that's OK. Throw away $700 billion bailing out Wall Street billionaires, no problem.
But try to help the real economy, try to save jobs, and the minority party wants to nitpick.
So far in the Bush Recession, we've lost 3.6 million jobs. Unemployment is at 7.6% and 11.6 million people are out of work.
What's the Republican plan? More tax cuts for the rich!
By
rmwarnick, at 11:09 AM
OK, here’s the list of Republican tactics we’ve got so far:
1. Cherry-pick. Find a tiny line-item that you can make sound frivolous and complain about it endlessly, even after it's taken out of the bill due to your whining (e.g. National Mall restoration).
2. Inflate. Complain about what’s not in the bill. It gives you an excuse to oppose it, and if the Dems cave and put your extra stuff in there you’re even better positioned to complain about the overall size of the bill.
3. Stall. “This is going too fast, make it take way longer!” Because you know that the longer a bill goes through the sausage-grinding process, the uglier it ends up. Waiting only benefits the opposition. Never mind that real people are really suffering.
4. Lie. When 1-3 don’t work, make crap up. There’s a secret CBO analysis that says the opposite of what the CBO’s published report said? Pretend the report doesn’t exist and that the analysis does. Nobody on cable news will challenge you on any of it.
By
rmwarnick, at 5:01 PM
Let's remember that the appropriations listed are ADDITIONAL appropriations which will then be factored into the budget baseline for next year's budget.
Let's remember that some of this money goes for worthy-sounding causes but is actually wasting money. For instance, one expenditure is for $88,000,000 for building new schools in Milwaukee, WI. Sounds great, right? It does until you find out that enrollment has been declining for years & that there's FIFTEEN schools sitting empty already.
Let's also remember that this bill, as currently configured, will cause inflation to spike. Economists that I've talked with call inflation spikes a hidden, regressive tax on us all.
The net result will be people being able to afford less & less. The net result will mean a legislative tax increase to pay for some of this wasteful spending.
Is that your vision for America? It isn't mine.
By
Gary Gross, at 9:53 AM
OMG really? A conservative local administrator says Obama's stimulus plan won't help local communities? Seriously? Well by all means then, yank that legislative emergency brake, because everyone knows the best authorities to seek advice from when it comes to economic stability are local leaders who belong to the opposition party! They are always so objective, and well versed in economic theory!
C'mon, LL.
By
Jason The, at 3:26 PM
Jason - what the paper does not tell you is that the City Manager of Prior Lake and the School District spokespeople interviewed (who all said the same thing BTW) were not "conservative" in their spending styles.
Richard - this bill will do little to save or create jobs. Most of the money in this bill won't be spent until 2011. How does that save the economy now? It doesn't. Please show me how any of the spending that I pulled out of the bill will do a darned thing to stimulate the economy.....IF YOU CAN.
LL
By
The Lady Logician, at 6:57 PM
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