Stimulus Dollars Buy Greyhound Buses in Missouri

I’ve never had the kind of fun enjoyed by passengers in this 1980 Greyhound commercial, but I’m thinking about taking a ride on the commercial bus line soon. Why? Because, as a taxpayer, I’m paying for it.

I came across this news after reading a release on the White House web site that listed the Missouri Department of Transportation as the recipient of $4.9 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (a.k.a., “stimulus”) funds for use in “construction of two facilities and purchase of two intercity vehicles.” Curious as to the specifics of the spending, I placed a phone call to MoDOT and reached spokesperson Jorma Durant.

During the first conversation, he explained that his agency would be spending the money on construction of buildings for two nonprofit transportation agencies — one each in Poplar Bluffs and Macon, Mo. — as well as on the purchase of two Greyhound buses.

Somewhat surprised, I asked him to explain why the MoDOT was buying Greyhound buses. Durant’s reply was open and honest.

“You have a great question,” he said. “You have an amazing question. Why are we dealing with Greyhound bus? Actually, it kind of surprised me as well. And I’m probably not going to have the right answer for you.”

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Tags: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, federal mandate, greyhound, Missouri, stimulus
Posted Mar 11th 2010 at 7:47 am in Earmarks, federal spending | 8616281 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/bmccarty/2010/03/11/stimulus-dollars-buy-greyhound-buses-in-missouri/Stimulus+Dollars+Buy+Greyhound+Buses+in+Missouri2010-03-11+15%3A47%3A44Bob+McCarty

Stimulus Checkup: A Closer Look at 100 Questionable Projects

The good folks at Sen. Tom Coburn’s office draw our attention to their latest report on Stimulus spending (published in cooperation with Sen. John McCain’s office). From the introduction:

Over the past ten years, the national debt more than doubled as Congress went on a spending spree—and yet we still find ourselves in the midst of an economic downturn.

Americans who have lost their job, health insurance, or home, are facing mounting personal debts, but are also faced with the question of who will pay off the staggering national debt that has grown by more than $1.4 trillion over the past year.

FINALCOPY_stimulus2report12809 –

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Tags: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, federal budget deficit, federal stimulus spending, government waste, national debt
Posted Dec 8th 2009 at 10:07 am in Economics, News, Obama, Politics | 4293836 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/publius/2009/12/08/stimulus-checkup-a-closer-look-at-100-questionable-projects/Stimulus+Checkup%3A+A+Closer+Look+at+100+Questionable+Projects2009-12-08+17%3A07%3A42Publius

Questions Raised By Flawed Stimulus Job Figures

Pelican Institute reporter Steve Beatty has a new story demonstrating that hundreds of jobs allegedly “saved or created” in Louisiana may be incorrect or exaggerated:

The issue of phantom Congressional districts listed in the national stimulus database recently created a stir. But the tally of Louisiana jobs allegedly created or saved by President Obama’s signature domestic policy program raises more serious questions about this database.

A review of the self-reported information may inspire a chuckle or a sneer, particularly when less-than-savvy recipients of federal money don’t know what Congressional district they’re in, or that the state only has seven such districts. That unsophisticated approach made headlines when money was listed as being spent in various districts that just didn’t exist. In the end, though, those reports are likely to be modified and will land in the appropriate district.

A greater concern is the 475 jobs listed as created or saved in Louisiana, even though the related projects aren’t started. And the 171 jobs chalked up when small raises were given to Head Start workers. And the over 100 low-paying work-study jobs on college campuses that count just as much as, say, a full-time architect for a major building program. Other entries indicate what could be an under-reporting of jobs.

These are just some examples of questionable figures in the statewide data analyzed by The Pelican Institute for Public Policy.

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Tags: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Head Start, Louisiana, LSU, Pelican Institute
Posted Dec 4th 2009 at 1:23 pm in Economics, News, Uncategorized | 4097020 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/kkane/2009/12/04/questions-raised-by-flawed-stimulus-job-figures/Questions+Raised+By+Flawed+Stimulus+Job+Figures2009-12-04+20%3A23%3A18Kevin+Kane

More Stimulus Math: Cooking the Books on Stimulus Jobs

Earlier this year the federal government sent $3 billion tax dollars to the state of Illinois to provide financial support for education as part of the American Recovery and Investment Act of 2009, a.k.a. “the stimulus,”.  Not for building schools, mind you.  There is money for that elsewhere in the $787 billion spend-a-thon.  This is for good old-fashioned reading, writing and arithmetic.  Of course, there are many reasons this is antithetical to the temporary economic jump-start concept behind the stimulus, but that is not the point here.

The State of Illinois dutifully began doling out this newfound largess to boost funding for low income schools under the Title 1 program, and to fund special education under the IDEA Part A program.  One can see the rationalization to increase funding for schools in poor areas in a recession, but it’s a bit of a stretch to see how the economic downturn has increased demand for special education.  But, again, that is not the subject of this piece.

As the Obama Administration has ramped up its efforts to portray the stimulus as an unqualified success that has rescued us from certain doom, they have resorted to the kinds of shoddy claims that smack of political desperation.

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Tags: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Barack Obama, chicago public schools, IDEA a, jobs saved or created
Posted Nov 5th 2009 at 7:42 am in Featured Story, News, Obama, Politics | 2566654 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/dobrien/2009/11/05/more-stimulus-math-cooking-the-books-on-stimulus-jobs/More+Stimulus+Math%3A+Cooking+the+Books+on+Stimulus+Jobs2009-11-05+14%3A42%3A36Doug+O%26%2339%3BBrien

$373 Million to Stimulate Vending Machines

Byron York, in today’s Examiner:

First Lady Michelle Obama visited the headquarters of the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington Tuesday. She devoted much of her talk to “the growing threat of obesity, particularly childhood obesity” in the United States, and she touted HHS’s recently-announced plan to spend $373 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on plans to, among other things, improve the healthfulness of foods in vending machines.

The first lady did not discuss how such work might stimulate the economy or speed economic recovery. But she had glowing praise for the stimulus’ role in fighting obesity. “Congress and the president included $1 billion for prevention and wellness programs in the Recovery Act,” she told the crowd of cheering DHS workers, “and that includes funding for initiatives that will give communities the resources they need to address the obesity epidemic in their communities. This includes $373 million announced last month that would be available for communities that put together comprehensive plans to reduce obesity –- $373 million — and that would include everything from incentivizing grocery stores to locate in underserved areas; it could include improving meals at school; to getting more healthy, affordable foods into vending machines; to creating more safe, accessible places for people to exercise and play; and a whole lot more.”

 Read the whole thing here. File this away as further evidence, if possibly needed, that the ’stimulus’ bill mostly just funded a grab-bag of long-wished-for lefty government programs.

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Tags: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, childhood obesity, HHS, Michelle Obama, stimulus spending
Posted Oct 14th 2009 at 6:17 am in Congress, Healthcare, News, Obama | 1621872 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/publius/2009/10/14/373-million-to-stimulate-vending-machines/%24373+Million+to+Stimulate+Vending+Machines2009-10-14+13%3A17%3A06Publius

Montana: Stimulus Funds Go to Study Volcanoes in the Andes, Periodontal Disease, Shakespeare

Federal stimulus spending may evoke images of hard hats and road construction, but around $14 million has been allocated for projects at Montana State University that range from researching volcanic action in the Andes mountains and treatment of periodontal disease to funding to assist with productions of Shakespeare.

A total of $14.38 million in federal stimulus funds has been allocated for about 35 different projects to date at Montana State University, according to university officials. The grants are funded by the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed by Congress in February to spur economic growth and create jobs.

Critics of the funding say it misses the mark of the goals set by Congress and amounts to wasteful spending. Supporters say the research does have an economic impact and will produce numerous long-term positive benefits.

The spending was criticized by National Taxpayers Union Vice President for Politics and Communication Pete Sepp. He said many taxpayers think of stimulus spending as long-term job creation in the private sector and not “expeditions to the Andes or, more up close, expeditions into people’s gums.”

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Tags: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Montana, Montana State University, National Taxpayers Union, periodontal disease
Posted Oct 8th 2009 at 2:18 pm in Congress, Economics, News, Politics, State Politics | 1458669 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/mnoyes/2009/10/08/montana-stimulus-funds-go-to-study-volcanoes-in-the-andes-periodontal-disease-shakespeare/Montana%3A+Stimulus+Funds+Go+to+Study+Volcanoes+in+the+Andes%2C+Periodontal+Disease%2C+Shakespeare2009-10-08+21%3A18%3A50Michael+Noyes

Obama’s Two-Part Health Care Plan is Hazardous to Your Health

The health care plan advocated by President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, Senator Reid and The Democratic Majority is hazardous to the health of every American. What the President would like to do with your health care is currently being widely debated, but what is lesser known is a panel has already been created in Part I of his two-part health care plan  through buried language in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, also known as the Stimulus Bill, which became law last February.

The name given to this panel in the President’s Stimulus Bill is The Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research, and is an already funded $1.1 billion enterprise run by federal bureaucrats—not practicing doctors on the front line or patients.  All 15 members of The Council have already been appointed by President Obama.  The two part Plan consists of 53 boards and councils, whose underlying method of cutting costs is based on rationing and denying care, not preventing health care need, much like the British Health Care System.

Part II of the Obama health care plan, dubbed “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act,” empowers this Council to create another level of bureaucracy, The Center for Comparative Effectiveness Research, which as in The British System, will determine whether to approve or reject treatment for patients based upon the cost of treatment and the number of years the patient will likely benefit from the treatment.  This will have the biggest impact on seniors, but rightly has caused concern for Americans of all ages.

Part I of the President’s plan dictates that doctors and hospitals will be overseen and reviewed by The National Coordinator of Health Information Technology.  This “Coordinator”, who has already been appointed by President Obama, will be responsible for monitoring treatments to ensure doctors and hospitals strictly follow what the government deems appropriate and cost effective, and to “guide medical decisions at the time and place of care.”  

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Tags: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Barak Obama, British NHS, Center for Comparative Effectiveness Research, Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research
Posted Sep 27th 2009 at 1:15 pm in Congress, Featured Story, Healthcare, Politics | 9478122 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/djanda/2009/09/27/obamas-two-part-health-care-plan-is-hazardous-to-your-health/Obama%27s+Two-Part+Health+Care+Plan+is+Hazardous+to+Your+Health2009-09-27+20%3A15%3A12Dr.+David+Janda

Stimulating DC: Federal Government Adds 25,000 Workers With Recovery Cash

The point of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was to encourage national economic growth. The point was to curb unemployment. The point was to help small businesses be what D.C. has forever claimed they are—the national economic backbone. The point was to stimulate the economy… not the federal government.

But that’s what we’ve got. A federal government stimulated and growing by the day.

The Recovery Act was doomed from the start. Increasing spending while cutting taxes is a great way to grow a deficit and create future economic problems, not save an economy. The stimulus money never really had a shot at creating 3 million jobs, as was promised, and have them be sustainable. But the stimulus is failing even by the flawed standards of its creators!

With national unemployment at 9.7%, the USA Today reported Thursday morning that the number of civilian workers in federal government has increased by 25,000 since December of 2008:

Fourteen of the top federal agencies responsible for spending under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act say they’ve hired about 3,000 workers with stimulus money. That’s helped fuel the continued growth of the federal government, which increased by more than 25,000 employees, or 1.3%, since December 2008, according to the latest quarterly report. During that time, the ranks of the nation’s unemployed increased by nearly 4 million, Labor Department statistics show. Overall, there are about 2 million federal workers, the data show.

Thirteen agencies that report stimulus-related administrative expenses separately on their weekly spending reports say they’ve spent $186.8 million so far on salaries and other overhead. Those agencies have reported spending $46.1 billion in stimulus funds overall.

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Tags: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Federal Wages, stimulus, unemployment
Posted Sep 25th 2009 at 10:01 am in Congress, Economics, Politics | 818257 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/arandazzo/2009/09/25/stimulating-dc-federal-government-adds-25000-workers-with-recovery-cash/Stimulating+DC%3A+Federal+Government+Adds+25%2C000+Workers+With+Recovery+Cash2009-09-25+17%3A01%3A57Anthony+Randazzo