Barack Obama announced before his Asia trip that he would convene a jobs summit at the White House next month.
The media treated this in its customary, dutiful fashion, largely cooing about "how presidential he is!"
Serious question, though, people. Actually, two serious questions.
First, why are we almost a year into this administration, with unemployment worsening throughout, and only now the president's focus is on jobs?
And second, how seriously can we take this? I mean, Obama and the Democrat-controlled Congress have spent the last 10 months in rabid pursuit of anti-jobs legislation such as Card Check, Health Care and Cap & Trade.
Perhaps the better question is whether anyone honestly believes that liberals know how to create jobs.
And save it on the stimulus nonsense, OK? For one thing, if the stimulus was about job creation, as Democrats have claimed for nine months, why has only 14 percent of the $787 billion been spent? I mean, libs are all about looking good politically, and double-digit unemployment is about seven shades of ugly.
Those jobs saved/created that Obama keeps talking about?
Besides serving as a multi-billion-dollar goody bag for liberal causes, the stimulus bill only provided struggling states with cash for extended unemployment benefits and to save teaching and other government jobs.
Temporarily. At least a dozen of those states that slurped up that stimulus already have figured out they're in deep financial trouble as they begin attempting to craft their 2010 budgets.
And by deep financial trouble, we're talking 10- and 11-figure shortfalls.
One of two things will have to happen. There will be massive layoffs among teachers and state workers. Or the fed will have to provide another injection of billions of dollars.
Tax dollars, of course.
I suspect a good amount will come from the unspent 86 percent of the stimulus money, because several Democrats floated the "Second Stimulus" idea a couple of weeks ago, and the tremors of immediate anger from the population at large registered on the Richter Scale.
That $787 billion won't last forever, though. And that, boys and girls, is precisely what's wrong when the government's idea of job creation equates to more government.
Somebody's got to pay for it.
And in this case and in this environment, with more people out of work week after week after week and the government's source of revenue steadily diminishing, it's simply an unsustainable course.
What's ahead, in the likely event this administration continues to ignore pro-growth policies, is even worse unemployment, much higher debt and a monstrous tax burden on every American who's lucky enough to still have a job.
Showing posts with label stimulus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stimulus. Show all posts
Monday, November 16, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Hey big spender
Read it and weep folks.
God Help America and future Generations that will pay this "STICKITTOTHEM" Bill.
A partial list of things, as Obama said, "our economy desperately needs."
-- $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts
-- $380 million for the Women, Infants & Children welfare program
-- $300 million in grants to combat violence against women
-- $1.2 billion to provide "youth" with summer jobs
-- $2.4 billion for "neighborhood stabilization" activities (a.k.a. ACORN)
-- $650 million for digital TV coupons
-- $150 million for the Smithsonian
-- $34 million to renovate the Dept. of Commerce headquarters
-- $500 million for improvements to the National Institute of Health facility
-- $44 million for repairs to the Dept. of Agriculture's headquarters
-- $350 million for agriculture department computers
-- $88 million to move (that's right, move) the Public Health Service into a new building.
-- $1 billion for the Census Bureau
-- $300 million for wetlands preservation in San Francisco (Piggy Pelosi's frogs)
-- $89 billion for Medicaid
-- $30 billion for COBRA extensions
-- $36 billion for expanded unemployment
-- $20 billion for food stamps
-- $850 million for Amtrak
-- $87 million for a "polar ice breaking ship" (What about ice caps melting due to global warming?)
-- $1.7 million for the National Park Service
-- $55 million for the Historic Preservation Fund
-- $7.6 million for the Rural Advancement Program
-- $150 million for "agricultural commodity purchases"
-- $150 million for producers of livestock, farm-raised fish and honey bees
-- $160 million for paid volunteers (what is a "paid volunteer"?) at the Corporation for National and Community Service
Mind you, this is only a partial list of what I've been able to find. But the above totals $184.4 BILLION that has ZIP, ZERO, NADA to do with the economy. And that's not even one-quarter of the bill!
Are we really to believe Obama that we would not have been able to reverse our country's slide if he and Congress were prevented from ramming all this pork down our throats?
And, by the way, what happened to Obama's pledge to end pork barrel spending? In fact, at his "press conference" he bristled when asked about pork, saying there's none in this bill.
Also, what happened to his promise for "more transparent government" and the pledge that NO bill would be voted on in Congress until the public had FIVE DAYS to view it in its entirety? This bill did not even have FIVE HOURS in the public eye.
Another interesting fact: Obama said that one of the reasons Congress must pass the stimulus bill and must pass it NOW, is to end our dependence on foreign oil. What is astonishing is that he made this proclamation about energy independence less than 24 hours after his new interior secretary canceled the oil & gas leases on 77 parcels of federal land.
We are only three weeks into this guy's term and already he and his party are out of control.
(Imported from Feb. 16, 2009)
God Help America and future Generations that will pay this "STICKITTOTHEM" Bill.
A partial list of things, as Obama said, "our economy desperately needs."
-- $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts
-- $380 million for the Women, Infants & Children welfare program
-- $300 million in grants to combat violence against women
-- $1.2 billion to provide "youth" with summer jobs
-- $2.4 billion for "neighborhood stabilization" activities (a.k.a. ACORN)
-- $650 million for digital TV coupons
-- $150 million for the Smithsonian
-- $34 million to renovate the Dept. of Commerce headquarters
-- $500 million for improvements to the National Institute of Health facility
-- $44 million for repairs to the Dept. of Agriculture's headquarters
-- $350 million for agriculture department computers
-- $88 million to move (that's right, move) the Public Health Service into a new building.
-- $1 billion for the Census Bureau
-- $300 million for wetlands preservation in San Francisco (Piggy Pelosi's frogs)
-- $89 billion for Medicaid
-- $30 billion for COBRA extensions
-- $36 billion for expanded unemployment
-- $20 billion for food stamps
-- $850 million for Amtrak
-- $87 million for a "polar ice breaking ship" (What about ice caps melting due to global warming?)
-- $1.7 million for the National Park Service
-- $55 million for the Historic Preservation Fund
-- $7.6 million for the Rural Advancement Program
-- $150 million for "agricultural commodity purchases"
-- $150 million for producers of livestock, farm-raised fish and honey bees
-- $160 million for paid volunteers (what is a "paid volunteer"?) at the Corporation for National and Community Service
Mind you, this is only a partial list of what I've been able to find. But the above totals $184.4 BILLION that has ZIP, ZERO, NADA to do with the economy. And that's not even one-quarter of the bill!
Are we really to believe Obama that we would not have been able to reverse our country's slide if he and Congress were prevented from ramming all this pork down our throats?
And, by the way, what happened to Obama's pledge to end pork barrel spending? In fact, at his "press conference" he bristled when asked about pork, saying there's none in this bill.
Also, what happened to his promise for "more transparent government" and the pledge that NO bill would be voted on in Congress until the public had FIVE DAYS to view it in its entirety? This bill did not even have FIVE HOURS in the public eye.
Another interesting fact: Obama said that one of the reasons Congress must pass the stimulus bill and must pass it NOW, is to end our dependence on foreign oil. What is astonishing is that he made this proclamation about energy independence less than 24 hours after his new interior secretary canceled the oil & gas leases on 77 parcels of federal land.
We are only three weeks into this guy's term and already he and his party are out of control.
(Imported from Feb. 16, 2009)
Now you see it, now you don't
A lot of people in this country were looking forward to even the miniscule tax "cut" they originally were going to receive out of this $800 billion "stimulus" bill. Remember the $500 (single) and $1,000 (married) tax rebate checks the government was going to mail out as soon as this bill was signed into law?
Well, not only did those figures drop to $400 and $800 in the final bill, but guess what? There aren't going to be any checks.
What the Libs decided to do (yes, the Libs, because Republicans were not involved in crafting the final bill that will be sent to the White House) is spread out that money over the course of a year in the form of a reduction in the taxes that are taken out of your paycheck.
The figure I've seen everywhere refers to this equaling $13 more per week in your paycheck ... although that math doesn't exactly add up. But let's just go with that, shall we?
Now, I'm sure a lot of folks will say, "well, that's better than nothing."
Except that it is nothing.
Here's the scam the Democrats are perpetrating:
Your withholding tax rate is going to be altered so that you have $13 less taken out of your pay each week. Over the course of a year, that equals $676. Follow me? Sounds good, right?
But at the end of the year, when you do your tax return (unlike certain members of Obama's administration), you get to the end and have to go to the Tax Table to figure out what you owe on what you made the previous year.
Let's say in 2008, after all your deductions, you made $50,000. If you're single, your tax on that amount would be $8,850. You balance that against all the withholding tax that had been taken out all year. Let's say that is $9,676. Your refund for the year then would be $826.
But what the government now is going to do is give you a tax "break" in the form of lower withholding. We're back to the $13 per week. So at the end of the year, after deductions, you still have made $50,000. Your tax is still $8,850. Only now, your withholding for the year is $9,000.
And your refund drops to $150.
So class, let's review:
Before this "stimulus" bill that we so desperately need with its "tax cut for hard-working lower- and middle-class Americans", we received an $826 refund on our taxes at the end of the year.
Now, with the "stimulus" bill that we so desperately need with its "tax cut for hard-working lower- and middle-class Americans", we're going to get to keep $13 per week more in our paychecks, which at the end of the year equals $676.
BUT, our refund from the IRS when we do our taxes (unlike certain members of Obama's administration) is going to be $150 instead of $826 ... or $676 less.
They giveth. And then they taketh away.
Your net gain in this $800 billion "stimulus" bill that we so desperately need?
ZERO.
(Imported from Feb. 12, 2009)
Well, not only did those figures drop to $400 and $800 in the final bill, but guess what? There aren't going to be any checks.
What the Libs decided to do (yes, the Libs, because Republicans were not involved in crafting the final bill that will be sent to the White House) is spread out that money over the course of a year in the form of a reduction in the taxes that are taken out of your paycheck.
The figure I've seen everywhere refers to this equaling $13 more per week in your paycheck ... although that math doesn't exactly add up. But let's just go with that, shall we?
Now, I'm sure a lot of folks will say, "well, that's better than nothing."
Except that it is nothing.
Here's the scam the Democrats are perpetrating:
Your withholding tax rate is going to be altered so that you have $13 less taken out of your pay each week. Over the course of a year, that equals $676. Follow me? Sounds good, right?
But at the end of the year, when you do your tax return (unlike certain members of Obama's administration), you get to the end and have to go to the Tax Table to figure out what you owe on what you made the previous year.
Let's say in 2008, after all your deductions, you made $50,000. If you're single, your tax on that amount would be $8,850. You balance that against all the withholding tax that had been taken out all year. Let's say that is $9,676. Your refund for the year then would be $826.
But what the government now is going to do is give you a tax "break" in the form of lower withholding. We're back to the $13 per week. So at the end of the year, after deductions, you still have made $50,000. Your tax is still $8,850. Only now, your withholding for the year is $9,000.
And your refund drops to $150.
So class, let's review:
Before this "stimulus" bill that we so desperately need with its "tax cut for hard-working lower- and middle-class Americans", we received an $826 refund on our taxes at the end of the year.
Now, with the "stimulus" bill that we so desperately need with its "tax cut for hard-working lower- and middle-class Americans", we're going to get to keep $13 per week more in our paychecks, which at the end of the year equals $676.
BUT, our refund from the IRS when we do our taxes (unlike certain members of Obama's administration) is going to be $150 instead of $826 ... or $676 less.
They giveth. And then they taketh away.
Your net gain in this $800 billion "stimulus" bill that we so desperately need?
ZERO.
(Imported from Feb. 12, 2009)
PORK: Not just for Americans anymore
The Senate just conducted a cloture vote, the result of which was 61-36. And all the wrangling done by "bipartisan" Republicans "acting in the country's best interests" last week? For naught, of course. The final Senate bill, after being pared down to under $800 billion, now will go to a floor vote at $19 billion MORE than the House version, which I believe was in the $850 billion range. That means the Libs tossed close to $70 billion more pork into the package ... for God knows what.
What's even more infuriating ... and what needs to be told to EVERY SINGLE AMERICAN is that in the House version, at least, an amendment was added to ensure e-verify would be required for any entity receiving this stimulus ... er, pork, I mean ... so that AMERICANS and ONLY AMERICANS would benefit. It passed the House, 407-2.
But in the Senate? Senate Majority Leader DEMOCRAT Harry Reid blocked the amendment, even though it had wide support from both sides of the aisle. So the Senate version of this pork-laden piece of cow manure won't even ensure that only American citizens benefit, even though only American citizens are paying for it.
At a time when the country is hemorrhaging jobs and unemployment is jumping at least a full point every month, when members of Congress and Barry The Great himself is bemoaning how bailout money is being spent in the private sector, this DEMOCRAT refuses to even allow a vote to ensure that OUR MONEY won't turn into state benefits and jobs for illegal aliens.
And I'll take any and all bets that the legislation signed into law by our joke of a president won't have that provision, either.
(Imported from Feb. 9, 2009)
What's even more infuriating ... and what needs to be told to EVERY SINGLE AMERICAN is that in the House version, at least, an amendment was added to ensure e-verify would be required for any entity receiving this stimulus ... er, pork, I mean ... so that AMERICANS and ONLY AMERICANS would benefit. It passed the House, 407-2.
But in the Senate? Senate Majority Leader DEMOCRAT Harry Reid blocked the amendment, even though it had wide support from both sides of the aisle. So the Senate version of this pork-laden piece of cow manure won't even ensure that only American citizens benefit, even though only American citizens are paying for it.
At a time when the country is hemorrhaging jobs and unemployment is jumping at least a full point every month, when members of Congress and Barry The Great himself is bemoaning how bailout money is being spent in the private sector, this DEMOCRAT refuses to even allow a vote to ensure that OUR MONEY won't turn into state benefits and jobs for illegal aliens.
And I'll take any and all bets that the legislation signed into law by our joke of a president won't have that provision, either.
(Imported from Feb. 9, 2009)
The politics of fear
A doctor was eating at a fancy restaurant one night when, during his meal, a wealthy man sitting at the table next to him began to choke. The doctor sprang into action and dislodged a shard of bone from the dying man's throat. Relieved, the man gasped, "You saved my life! How can I ever repay you? I'll tell you what, let me buy your dinner!" The doctor thought for a second and replied, "Better yet, give me half of what you'd be willing to pay if that shard of bone were still lodged in your throat."
Barack Obama campaigned on a series of promises. Remember? He was bringing CHANGE to Washington.
And HOPE.
And what he's giving us, barely one month into office, is fear.
Yesterday, Obama played on the nation's sense of fear by telling us that "the time for talk is over; the time for action is now" on this record-shattering, pork-laden bill erroneously dubbed a "stimulus" package.
If we don't get this thing passed, NOW, he warned, we'll be plunged into an irreversible recession.
He's got Nancy Pelosi out there repeatedly saying that we're "losing 500 million jobs every month" that this doesn't get done.
I'm happy to note that at least one mainstream media reporter cited the fact that there are only about 300 million people living in the United States.
My point is, the willingness and extent to which one will agree to something lies in direct proportion to one's need. Obama knows this. He also knows there is a great deal of fear in this country about the economy. This, subsequently, is the optimal time to strike.
The only "hope" that can be attached to any of this was the Democrats' hope that they'd be able to shove this gargantuan turd through without anyone seeing it for what it was.
Doubt me? There's a reason why the House passed this bill so quickly. As the Democrats have done since taking control in 2006, the bill was written in committee ... a committee comprised entirely of Democrats ... then rushed to a floor vote without giving anyone time to read it or debate it.
As this 600-plus page piece of legislation moved to the Senate, more and more people began looking beyond Page 2. And they began seeing page after page after page after page of spending, spending, spending and more spending on every Democrat special interest that ever was.
Short of several hundred thousand construction and engineering jobs for "green" initiatives and roads and bridges, there isn't anything that will stimulate jobs. In fact, when one looks at the jobs that ARE being lost every week, the new jobs that will be created (years down the road, by the way) will be outnumbered in mere weeks because of what this bill WON'T stimulate.
The billions in tax cuts and incentives that could actually stimulate anything? Instead of real tax incentives that would breathe life into the economy and grow business and create jobs, we have tax rebates for people who don't pay taxes in the first place, including illegal aliens, and incentives for people who buy cars and houses.
While that might "stimulate" the housing market and help automakers in less volatile times, I'm not sure that while we're hemorrhaging jobs in the tens of thousands per week, people are rushing out to make major purchases.
That's like telling a man with no legs, "Buy this suit, and we'll give you a pair of shoes for half price!"
So the more scrutiny this bill got, the less anyone liked it. In the span on one week, public sentiment plunged to approval numbers in the 30s. The San Francisco Examiner... IN LIBERAL MECCA, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! ... ran an editorial denouncing the bill for what it was.
Which is why Obama and the Democrats want this thing passed NOW.
We were told back in late summer/early fall that we desperately needed a $750 billion bailout bill for banks and financial institutions. So that got shoved through without anyone explaining exactly HOW it would work. And voila! It hasn't.
Now they want $900 billion MORE?
The funny thing is, Democrats have control of both houses of Congress and the White House. They could pass this thing entirely on their own, as they did in the House, where not one Republican voted for it.
Why in the Senate, where Democrats have the clear majority, won't they just put the thing to a vote? So what if a handful of moderate Democrats say no? They still have numbers.
It's because they want ONE Republican signature. That way, they can absolve themselves of future blame by saying it was a "bipartisan" bill when, a year or two from now, we see that it did nothing but plunge the country into deeper debt, which in turn will drag up inflation and make money ... and jobs ... even more scarce.
There's an undercurrent of moderate Republican ... the RINO faction ... trimming going on. They're attempting to cut a hundred billion or two. So what? A 700-pound bag of cow manure being dumped on your head is better than having it be 900 pounds?
The real change to this bill that would make it more effective won't happen. Why? Because, as Obama says, he won the election. He gets to do what he wants, when he wants.
So much for the Great Uniter and A New Tone In Washington crapola that he also campaigned on, huh?
Well, I say let him have it his way. But let it be completely, 100 percent a Democrat undertaking. I urge everyone and anyone who has five minutes to email or call Republican senators, especially the Olympia Snow and Susan Collins types, and say NO to this massive slab of pork in ANY form.
It's easy and not very time-consuming. And it's critical. Here's a link that will provide everything you need:
If the Democrats want this so much, let it be on their heads and their heads alone.
(Imported from Feb. 6, 2009)
Barack Obama campaigned on a series of promises. Remember? He was bringing CHANGE to Washington.
And HOPE.
And what he's giving us, barely one month into office, is fear.
Yesterday, Obama played on the nation's sense of fear by telling us that "the time for talk is over; the time for action is now" on this record-shattering, pork-laden bill erroneously dubbed a "stimulus" package.
If we don't get this thing passed, NOW, he warned, we'll be plunged into an irreversible recession.
He's got Nancy Pelosi out there repeatedly saying that we're "losing 500 million jobs every month" that this doesn't get done.
I'm happy to note that at least one mainstream media reporter cited the fact that there are only about 300 million people living in the United States.
My point is, the willingness and extent to which one will agree to something lies in direct proportion to one's need. Obama knows this. He also knows there is a great deal of fear in this country about the economy. This, subsequently, is the optimal time to strike.
The only "hope" that can be attached to any of this was the Democrats' hope that they'd be able to shove this gargantuan turd through without anyone seeing it for what it was.
Doubt me? There's a reason why the House passed this bill so quickly. As the Democrats have done since taking control in 2006, the bill was written in committee ... a committee comprised entirely of Democrats ... then rushed to a floor vote without giving anyone time to read it or debate it.
As this 600-plus page piece of legislation moved to the Senate, more and more people began looking beyond Page 2. And they began seeing page after page after page after page of spending, spending, spending and more spending on every Democrat special interest that ever was.
Short of several hundred thousand construction and engineering jobs for "green" initiatives and roads and bridges, there isn't anything that will stimulate jobs. In fact, when one looks at the jobs that ARE being lost every week, the new jobs that will be created (years down the road, by the way) will be outnumbered in mere weeks because of what this bill WON'T stimulate.
The billions in tax cuts and incentives that could actually stimulate anything? Instead of real tax incentives that would breathe life into the economy and grow business and create jobs, we have tax rebates for people who don't pay taxes in the first place, including illegal aliens, and incentives for people who buy cars and houses.
While that might "stimulate" the housing market and help automakers in less volatile times, I'm not sure that while we're hemorrhaging jobs in the tens of thousands per week, people are rushing out to make major purchases.
That's like telling a man with no legs, "Buy this suit, and we'll give you a pair of shoes for half price!"
So the more scrutiny this bill got, the less anyone liked it. In the span on one week, public sentiment plunged to approval numbers in the 30s. The San Francisco Examiner... IN LIBERAL MECCA, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! ... ran an editorial denouncing the bill for what it was.
Which is why Obama and the Democrats want this thing passed NOW.
We were told back in late summer/early fall that we desperately needed a $750 billion bailout bill for banks and financial institutions. So that got shoved through without anyone explaining exactly HOW it would work. And voila! It hasn't.
Now they want $900 billion MORE?
The funny thing is, Democrats have control of both houses of Congress and the White House. They could pass this thing entirely on their own, as they did in the House, where not one Republican voted for it.
Why in the Senate, where Democrats have the clear majority, won't they just put the thing to a vote? So what if a handful of moderate Democrats say no? They still have numbers.
It's because they want ONE Republican signature. That way, they can absolve themselves of future blame by saying it was a "bipartisan" bill when, a year or two from now, we see that it did nothing but plunge the country into deeper debt, which in turn will drag up inflation and make money ... and jobs ... even more scarce.
There's an undercurrent of moderate Republican ... the RINO faction ... trimming going on. They're attempting to cut a hundred billion or two. So what? A 700-pound bag of cow manure being dumped on your head is better than having it be 900 pounds?
The real change to this bill that would make it more effective won't happen. Why? Because, as Obama says, he won the election. He gets to do what he wants, when he wants.
So much for the Great Uniter and A New Tone In Washington crapola that he also campaigned on, huh?
Well, I say let him have it his way. But let it be completely, 100 percent a Democrat undertaking. I urge everyone and anyone who has five minutes to email or call Republican senators, especially the Olympia Snow and Susan Collins types, and say NO to this massive slab of pork in ANY form.
It's easy and not very time-consuming. And it's critical. Here's a link that will provide everything you need:
If the Democrats want this so much, let it be on their heads and their heads alone.
(Imported from Feb. 6, 2009)
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