Misdirected Spendulus Funds
Tags: Tax and Spend Liberalism.
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The news story:
Counties suffering the most from job losses stand to receive the least help from President Barack Obama’s plan to spend billions of stimulus dollars on roads and bridges, an Associated Press analysis has found.
Although the intent of the money is to put people back to work, AP’s review of more than 5,500 planned transportation projects nationwide reveals that states are planning to spend the stimulus in communities where jobless rates are already lower.
One result among many: Elk County, Pa., isn’t receiving any road money despite its 13.8 percent unemployment rate. Yet the military and college community of Riley County, Kan., with its 3.4 percent unemployment, will benefit from about $56 million to build a highway, improve an intersection and restore a historic farmhouse.
Altogether, the government is set to spend 50 percent more per person in areas with the lowest unemployment than it will in communities with the highest.
The AP reviewed $18.9 billion in projects, the most complete picture available of where states plan to spend the first wave of highway money. The projects account for about half of the $38 billion set aside for states and local governments to spend on roads, bridges and infrastructure in the stimulus plan.
Because government can’t get it right – its just not possible. You see, where the money is going to get spent is where the pull is the strongest…and poor districts just don’t have a lot of pull, ya dig? Even supposing that stimulus would improve the economy (it won’t, but for the sake of argument…), the plain fact of the matter is that like all government expenditures it will give an overwhelming amount of its aid to people who don’t need it. Who in heck needs a restored historic farm house? It ain’t some single mom who just had her hours cut. You think affirmative action actually helps poor, black people? What rock have you been living under?
Its a gigantic boondoggle passed on the run by corrupt, liberal Democrats who only care about one thing – getting re-elected…and you don’t get re-elected by helping poor people. Don’t you liberals understand that, at all? The only thing helping poor people gets you is that immense feeling of love and satisfaction…heck, do it enough and you might wind up a Saint with Our Lord saying, “well done, good and faithful servant”…and just what use is that at election time? To get re-elected – under liberalism, especially – you need to grease the wheels. You need to take care of certain people. Some of your backers need “walking around money”, don’t you know? Every penny spent actually helping the poor is a penny less spent helping you get re-elected…
Figure it out, liberals – you’re being scammed. You think your side is all about goodness, sweetness and light. Its not – its a disgusting, nauseating thing scurrying around on slimy legs…
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11 Responses to “Misdirected Spendulus Funds”
Caucus of Corruption
Is anyone actually surprised by this? Anything that is agreed to without being read completely is not going to turn out exactly the way the people who signed off on it. Also anything the government runs is always going to be run badly.
County of Los Angeles is at 11.1% unemployment rate. http://www.google.com/publicdata?ds=usunemployment&met=unemployment_rate&idim=county:CN060370&q=los+angeles+unemployment+rate
County receives 780,000,000 of the 1.6 billing spent on transportation projects in CA.
The money is going to those who need it most. But for someone mining for the negative, for someone doing contortions to find the negative in every last move that Obama makes, its always wrong. What ever.
cam,
Its an AP story – hardly part of the Vast, Right Wing Conspiracy…and it doesn’t say that no money is going to high unemployment areas but that most of the money isn’t…
Mark,
I did not have to try hard to find that example. Makes me wonder about the validity of the point you are trying to make. I suspect that the highest number of unemployed are in cities. That is where people are. And roads and bridges tend to be where the people are. So its not rocket science. If you want to put people to work, go to where the people are.
cam,
Take it up with the AP – given that they are a left-leaning news outfit, I’m saying that if they are critical of Obama, then they probably have their facts straight. In order to dispute you’ll have to go find far more than one example – they did a study of a lot of things, you rooted around for one example. Give me proof that most of the money is going to the highest unemployment districts…if you can’t do that, then you’ll have to accept the AP story, and thus my analysis stemming from it (and I know that is the hardest thing for you to swallow…the fact that your side actually doesn’t give a rat’s patoot about the poor).
So,
You are saying that the best way to create jobs is to send road funds to a small county (35,000 in last census) over a county like LA? Yeah makes sense to me. And how many roads does a place like that have?
As the article explains, they analyzed only the “first wave” of stimulus projects, which have to be shovel-ready. Unfortunately, as the article explains, many struggling communities don’t have projects waiting on a shelf. They couldn’t afford the millions of dollars for preparation and plans that often is required. Finally, the article also points out that it is the states that are ultimately responsible for recommending the projects. So, shouldn’t the onus be on the states for not providing funds to the stuggling communities in them to do the required preparations? Or should the federal government do that, too? Wouldn’t that circumvent state’s rights?
So, shouldn’t the onus be on the states for not providing funds to the stuggling ….
Already making excuses for an admin who “promised” to target these funds. And if you think states rights have not already been circumvented, then you’re just not paying attention.
cluster: And if you think states rights have not already been circumvented, then you’re just not paying attention.
Actually, that’s not what I think. As I’ve said before more than once, I think states should have the ability to decide which portions of the stimulus package they accept or reject. Likewise, I think the states should have the ability to decide which projects to recommend for federal assistance. What I don’t think is that the federal government should be criticized for the states’ decisions.
How about you?
So then criticizing FEMA over Blanco’s decision to hold off on assistance during Katrina was wrong?
Good to know.
the whole katrina thing was a failure off management from the inside up…really….its central managment structure was engineered by the clinton administration…