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Support for Stimulus Plan Falls to 37%, Full of Political Payoffs
By Albert. N. Milliron, Editor Politisite.com. Iron Mill Interactive Media, inc.
With each passing day, as the American people get wind of what the stimulus plan actually contains, Support has began to dwindle. Why? The Bill is loaded with pork. Pork are measures added to a bill to make it more tasty for a Senator who is a bit 'iffy' about voting for legislation he/she may not totally agree on. If the Congressman votes for, he gets a 'payoff' something he or his constituents want for their district or state. This type of deal making has been part of the political process since our founding. Today, while on the Senate floor, Missouri's Republican Kit Bond said something profound, “This bill is a stimulus bill, it will stimulate debt for our grandchildren”.
Even as American support for the bill in dwindling, so is support with a rising number of Senators. Political Pork or payoffs that are being added to the Bill to sweeten up support. This pork could not be called, by any stretch of one's imagination, stimulating to the economy. The additions are only there to get the bill passed and send to the President for signing even with it's lack of substantive provisions to stimulate the economy.
H.R.1 and S.B. 1 are supposed to manufacture jobs, keep people working, fix the economic slowdown, and take care of the housing crisis. The Bill is being called, by Illinois Senator and majority whip Dick Durbin as, President Obama's top priority.
Before we look at some of the items contained in the 850 billion dollar Stimulus package. Lets consider the last stimulus plan that was to designed to sure up banks and Wall Street so they could begin lending money and help those who are in mortgage crisis. Did it work? Are you better off? If that package that was rammed through Congress to fix the economy and had little or no effect except for the recipients to go on vacations, provide large cash bonuses to its top level executives, buy jets, and finance Baseball Stadiums. Since the last stimulus plan, lending institutions are lending less money, and are worth only 20 percent of what they were worth prior to the Government intervention. If the result was a net loss in the last government legislative activity, how could we expect a positive result from this legislation?
The President stated that this legislation would have no earmarks. You be the judge of whether these provisions are pork. political payoffs, or legitimate stimulus that will get the economy going again.
$1 billion for Amtrak, the federal railroad that hasn't turned a profit in 40 years;
$2 billion for child-care subsidies;
$50 million for that great engine of job creation, the National Endowment for the Arts;
$400 million for global-warming research
$2.4 billion for carbon-capture demonstration projects.
$650 million on top of the billions already doled out to pay for digital TV conversion coupons.
But wait there is still more
$355 million for education related to sexually transmitted diseases
$50 million for National Cemetery monument repairs
$200 million to repave the National Mall
$276 million for new computers at the State Department
How about (from News Max)
Sandy Hook, N.J. a Beach needs sand and since there isn't enough water in Miami a Water Slide Fun Park.
"Everybody's making their list and checking it twice," said Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the minority leader. "You are inevitably going to have a lot of projects that are not going to pass the smell test."
Two things one who is intimately involved in the political process. Bad bills get pushed through Congress quickly before the American Public gets wind of the contents and New administrations pass on their wish lists to get added to Emergency type bills.
The American people are getting more and more tech Savvy and watch closely the American Legislative process. One such group, Top Conservatives on Twitter (TCOT) have gone over each line item in the Stimulus Bill and concluded that there is no amendment tat can redeem this bill so as to provide stimulus to the economy. In fact, they have concluded that the bill itself will contribute to the economic downfall rather then providing a turnaround. The Group is so convinced of this outcome, they are encouraging all Senators to vote NO on the existing bill as it is irretrievably broken.
Support for the economic recovery plan working its way through Congress has fallen again this week. For the first time, a plurality of voters nationwide oppose the $800-billion-plus plan.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 37% favor the legislation, 43% are opposed, and 20% are not sure.
Two weeks ago, 45% supported the plan. Last week, 42% supported it.
Opposition has grown from 34% two weeks ago to 39% last week and 43% today.
Sixty-four percent (64%) of Democrats still support the plan. That figure is down from 74% a week ago. Just 13% of Republicans and 27% of those not affiliated with either major party agree.
From Hot Air - P { MARGIN: 0px 0px 5px } BODY { MARGIN: 0px } Rasmussen: Stimulus bill support drops to 37%
Clearly, though, Obama and the Democrats have begun to lose the confidence of American voters on their economic agenda.
Like Missouri's Republican Kit Bond said, “This bill is a stimulus bill, as it will stimulate debt for our grandchildren”.
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (10)
at 14:02 on February 4th, 2009
A stimulus package should be almost all public works, and this one isn't because the Democrats want to reward their constituents and the Republicans recognize all that correctly, but, unhappy to leave the major errors to the Democrats, the Repubbles have decided to oppose, with Obama, of all people, "buy America" part of the package, as if buying US steel with US money putting US workers to work isn't fair to Korean and Brazilian steelworkers who are still free to sell their steel to private projects.
Obama has already begun losing it. He hasn't got the vision nor the cojones to guide us out of this mess.
at 14:12 on February 4th, 2009
Roy,
It is just a bad bill. Like the one Bush put together. I am one of those folks who buy the best. Most of the time if I see china (except Tiawian) on something I put it back on the shelf. Tools especially. I own a Ford but that is my first since I retired...When I had money bought Volvo, Acura etc.
Obama wants to get tis through so he doesn't look bad. WE need to scrap and stary over
at 14:18 on February 4th, 2009
You go ahead and buy the best, but for a public works project, our steel is more than good enough and we export a hell of a lot of it. But to spend money to stimulate the world economy?
And even when it comes to tax cuts, ok. But how do we know that the money doesn't go to build a shoe factory in Brazil, a shirt factory in Vietnam and so on?
I am an economic nationalist.
at 14:33 on February 4th, 2009
Roy,
I realized I did not state that the best tools are from America in my opinion. I have some views in like kind with you. So I hope you didn't get me wrong. Now with cars.. it was about status when i was younger. I miss mom and pop shops and local banks etc.
at 15:55 on February 4th, 2009
And we actually have the gall to think that this a country and government - by the people, for the people.
at 17:00 on February 4th, 2009
Government by the Supporters, for the supporters
at 19:02 on February 4th, 2009
The Rush is on Senator Reid D-NV wants vote by Friday so he can go home for Holiday. More like, he wants vote by Friday so the weekend shows don't expose more of the no-stimulus pork and non-revenue producing legislation
at 19:10 on February 4th, 2009
A very good and informative article.,
Congress can always be counted on to make a bad bill worse.
at 09:28 on February 5th, 2009
Thanks for writing this - it made the whole thing easier for me to understand!
at 14:54 on February 11th, 2009
When are "We the People" going to take charge of OUR government and vote OUT the pork producing, let's get home quick and to hell with our constituents politicians? Pouring money into the infrastructure is great if you work in construction. What about the librarian, the receptionist, the clerical staff, the salesman, etc., etc. Building roads and new schools isn't the answer for them or their losing their homes. I NEVER thought I would live to see this day in our history or government. I'm sick at heart.