chicus.com
have your sliced bread and eat it too.
The Stimulus Plan
Feb 04, 2009
I have to be honest, I am not a fan of Obama's stimulus plan. It has ballooned (I think that is an appropriate word) to nearly $900 billion dollars. I kind of hate to quote McCain but I think he's right. This "isn't a stimulus bill. It's a spending bill".
This morning as I was getting ready for work I heard some specifics which blew my mind. Unfortunately I cannot recall those off-hand so I had to do some searching and will try to find more which support my case.
Take this list from the Washington Post: $1.1 billion for comparative medical research, $350 million for Agriculture Department computers, $75 million to discourage smoking, $20 million in Interior Department funding, $400 million for HIV screening and $650 million for wildlife management.
Some of those are plausible uses. Comparative medical research may need an influx of cash if their grants have dried up, as I know many have. Interior Dept. funding is vague so let's give it the benefit of the doubt.
But what do HIV screening and smoking cessation have to do with an economic stimulus? Don't get me wrong, they are noble items to fund and I would like to see them funded. However, I think pushing them through on a bill to shore up our economy is inexcusable. If these are items Mr. Obama or certain senators feel strongly about let them pass on their own accord, not as parasites on a bill which needs to pass. I know the president plans to pursue a comprehensive bill to change health care. Wouldn't each of these items fit more appropriately in that bill?
I told a friend of my misgivings the afternoon and her response was "Well, there is a Democrat in office." As if that justifies it! And she is a staunch Democrat. Anyhow, I look forward to seeing this pass in a (hopefully) greatly pared down version.
On another note, it was another grueling day at work. I was walking in and saw them wheeling a man out of the office building next door on a stretcher and thought "That can't be a good omen." It wasn't, but I survived and hit the gym for a fantabulous workout and arrived home just as the UPS guy was bringing my delivery of supplies for the maibock I am going to brew tomorrow evening. I think I will call it "Not your bock". I'm frigging witty! I realized our basement is pretty dang chilly and the temperature doesn't vary much so it is perfect for brewing lagers. We'll see how that theory holds up.
The government needs to just look at the balance sheets of banks and try to figure out a way to clean those up while minimizing the amount funded by Americans. Along with that I do believe that most of the spending on infrastructure(100B) is well worth the money as it should create jobs now and even moreso down the road.
I've been waiting to read about a bipartisan plan from Nebraska Dem Ben Nelson and Main Rep Susan Collins. Supposedly they are going through and identifying the parts that won't stimulate the economy in the way this bill is meant.(like furniture for the Dept of Homeland Security...impacts very few people to be paid by the country).
Really I am hoping for a plan that helps clean-up the balance sheets of the banks so they can start lending again with some additional funding to clean energy programs and a few others that will continue to create jobs.
I'd like to say you misread my post but in fact I did put more blame than necessary on President Obama. The pork does in fact belong to all, I just fell prey to the White Knight philosophy which has surrounded him. (Though I did in passing attempt to give 'credit' to others.)
I've barely looked at a 'paper' today but it appears there is a separate plan in place for the banking and finance industries? Hopefully I'll have more time to look at that plan in tomorrow or Thursday and comment as appropriate.
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Green technology, including eco-friendly autos and pubic transit, infrastructure renewal, education, unemployment relief, healthcare...these are things I find deserving of funding. Making sausage apparently requires a lot of pork. How much actually belongs to the author of the bill and how much is comprise needed to pass a bill on the Hill?