Posts Tagged ‘federal stimulus’

Andrew Marcus

Stimulus Springs Eternal: Building Roads In Upscale Illinois Neighborhoods

by Andrew Marcus

We recently stumbled across a Stimulus construction sign in an upscale neighborhood on the North Shore of Chicago. Recovery.gov describes the project as follows:

ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Highway Infrastructure Investment Grant: Urbanized Areas over 200K Population

Award Amount: $1,320,000

Reported Jobs: 4.66

We produced a short video asking the question: Does the upscale suburb of Evanston really need the hard-earned tax dollars of people from other states across the union in order to (re)build her local roads?


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Posted Mar 18th 2010 at 7:55 am in Congress, Economics, News, Obama, Politics, federal spending | 70 Comments

The Pork Report

Pork Report, February 11, 2009: Reboot Congress Edition

by The Pork Report

Americans think most of their tax dollars sent to Washington are “wasted,” according to a Washington Post poll

Most voters think the country would be better off if most members of Congress were not re-elected, according to a new poll

Company accused of defrauding the government by filing bogus receipts, double billing for the same services and charging government agencies for strippers and prostitutes; A prostitute in Afghanistan was put on the payroll under the “Morale Welfare Recreation” category and the company billed the prostitute’s plane tickets and salary to the government, according to the accusation

The government paid more than $284 million on recruitment, retention and relocation bonuses to federal employees in 2008

California county to spend federal stimulus funds to pay students to make mini- documentaries about professionals whose work the youths find inspiring

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Posted Feb 11th 2010 at 4:31 pm in Pork Report | 35 Comments

The Pork Report

Pork Report, February 1: Wine and Dine Edition

by The Pork Report

Senators vote against eliminating government waste and duplication, including reducing Congress’ budget for itself, while proclaiming “the United States is prepared to stand up and deal with this debt threat”

Taxpayers billed $1,000 per week for booze and other “in-flight services” for the Speaker of the House that “read like a dream order for a wild frat party”

Hundreds of convicted criminals may have been hired by the U.S. Census Bureau

California wine trail will be getting signs, a new map and an iPhone application thanks to a $98,500 federal stimulus grant given to the Monterey County Growers and Vintners Association

Federal stimulus funds supporting Napa Valley Wine Train, despite local opposition

The federal government “likely overspent by millions” when it negotiated a no bid contract for the $54 million Wine Train stimulus project

The pork bell curve: Boston College has more than doubled what it spends on lobbying and, according to the college’s spokesman, “our earmarks have increased since we started paying [the lobbyists] more.”

The Wine Institute receives $7 million grant to promote wine in foreign countries; Raisin Administrative Committee receives $3 million and the California Walnut Commission pulls in $4.5 million

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Posted Feb 1st 2010 at 2:25 pm in Pork Report | 42 Comments

Nick Gillespie

Three Reasons Why Obama and The Dems Are in Big, Big Trouble.

by Nick Gillespie

Over at Reason.com, my colleague Matt Welch and I list three basic reasons why the Dems are in big, big trouble. And one reason why they’re not:

Martha Coakley’s resounding defeat in the Massachusetts Senate race is hardly the sort of anniversary gift President Barack Obama could have predicted. Yet there it was, wrapped in a bow and plopped on his doorstep like a flaming bag of dog poo to mark the end of his first year in office.

obama-climate-legislation

Among other things, Scott Brown’s upset victory means that Obama, who flew up to the Bay State to campaign for the deservedly doomed Coakley in the race’s twilight, is zero for three when it comes to high-profile two-minute drills for beloved causes (remember getting Chicago the Olympics and putting together a global carbon deal at the U.N climate conference in Copenhagen?).

There are at least three basic reasons, plain as the nose on your face, that the Democrats and Obama are in trouble for the near future:

1. Health care reform is not popular. An ABC News/Washington Post poll published on January 19 has 51 percent against current congressional plans and just 44 percent in favor, numbers that haven’t moved in a month. Other polls show even greater percentages oppose the plan, with all the trend lines over the past year working heavily against the Democrats.

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Posted Jan 20th 2010 at 3:32 pm in Congress, Defense, Economics, Healthcare, Obama, Politics, federal spending | 207 Comments

The Pork Report

Pork Report, December 11, 2009: Puppet Show Edition

by The Pork Report

Nearly one in five federal employees paid $100,000 a year or more, and that doesn’t count overtime pay or bonuses

Congress to increase the federal debt ceiling by $1.8 trillion before year’s end

Minneapolis puppet show receives federal stimulus dollars

Columbus City Schools have more than 120 buildings, but the district is renting banquet halls, high-end hotels and conference centers with $145,000 in federal grant dollars intended help low-income students

Washington, DC receiving nearly 10 times as much federal stimulus funds per capita as the rest of the nation

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Posted Dec 11th 2009 at 2:03 pm in Pork Report | 20 Comments

Morgen Richmond

OMB’s Orzag Was Against Deficits Before He Was For Them

by Morgen Richmond

Just came across some rather grim analysis of the economic impact of massive, ongoing federal budget deficits from a group of prominent economists. It’s a little dated (2004) but still highly relevant considering that the deficit situation has dramatically worsened since then. Some highlights:

Substantial ongoing deficits may severely and adversely affect expectations and confidence, which in turn can generate a self-reinforcing negative cycle among the underlying fiscal deficit, financial markets, and the real economy:

  • As traders, investors, and creditors become increasingly concerned that the government would resort to high inflation to reduce the real value of government debt or that a fiscal deadlock with unpredictable consequences would arise, investor confidence may be severely undermined;
  • The fiscal and current account imbalances may also cause a loss of confidence among participants in foreign exchange markets and in international credit markets, as participants in those markets become alarmed not only by the ongoing budget deficits but also by related large current account deficits;
  • The loss of investor and creditor confidence, both at home and abroad, may cause investors and creditors to reallocate funds away from dollar-based investments, causing a depreciation of the exchange rate, and to demand sharply higher interest rates on U.S. government debt;

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Posted Dec 11th 2009 at 11:29 am in Congress, Economics, News, Politics | 12 Comments

Publius

Why Big Government Doesn’t Work: Clinton Pollster Got $6 Million in Stimulus Funds

by Publius

From todays The Hill:

markpenn

Nearly $6 million in stimulus money was paid to two firms run by Mark Penn, Hillary Clinton’s pollster in 2008.

Federal records show that $5.97 million from the $787 billion stimulus helped preserve three jobs at Burson-Marsteller, the global public-relations and communications firm headed by Penn.

Burson-Marsteller won the contract to work on a public-relations campaign to advertise the national switch from analog to digital television. Nearly $2.8 million of the contract was issued to Penn’s polling firm, Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates, according to federal records.Federal records also show that a former adviser to President Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign received nearly $70,000 from that contract to help alert viewers in difficult-to-reach communities that their televisions would soon no longer receive broadcast signals.

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Posted Dec 9th 2009 at 11:12 am in News, Politics | 25 Comments

Thomas Del Beccaro

Obama’s Anti-Capitalist Policies Are Anti-Job and Therefore Anti-Recovery

by Thomas Del Beccaro

Amidst polls showing flagging public support, the Obama Administration has decided to address the one poll, among all others, that will determine Obama’s political future: the unemployment rate.  As Scott Rasmussen points out, the unemployment rate has a lot to say in deciding a President’s popularity rating and election results – which is probably why Obama announced he would hold a jobs summit with small business representatives among others.

Great Depression Unemployment Line

Speeches and photo-ops, however, won’t change the fact that Obama’s policies are anti-capitalist and therefore anti-job and anti-recovery.

It’s important to note that the secret to capitalism is not all that secret.  It’s right there in the name CAPITALism.   Our system relies on:

  • Step 1.  The ability of some to aggregate enough capital, i.e. save money, so that they can . . .
  • Step 2.   Invest in productive enterprises, i.e. start or grow businesses which  . . .
  • Step 3.   Employ people – people who  . . .
  • Step 4.   Have the ability to buy things, i.e. purchasing power (critical in a 70% consumer driven economy) – which in turn  . . .
  • Step 5.  Creates profits for sellers and . . .
  • Step 6.  Savings – and the cycle renews.

The Left’s political policies, however, are sworn enemies of that simple and effective economic process.

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Posted Nov 25th 2009 at 8:13 pm in Economics, News, Obama, Politics, Uncategorized | 76 Comments

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC)

Mr. President, Where Are the Jobs?

by Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC)

Americans are hurting – there is no doubt.   Unemployment is at a record high and since Speaker Pelosi has been in the Speaker’s chair, 8.7 million more people are unemployed.  What’s even more frightening is that 3 million of those jobs have been lost just since the misnamed stimulus was shoved through Congress less than a year ago.  So where are the jobs?

Unemploymentoct.JPG

Earlier this week, we learned that Recovery.gov, the official Administration website charged with reporting abuse was its own worst offender.  It is full of fake stimulus jobs in fake Congressional districts.   It also shows that $3 million couldn’t even produce a single job in South Carolina’s fake 43rd district.  Somehow, $1.8 million was spent for 1.4 jobs in the fake 00 district.  This would be funny, but the money belongs to taxpayers, not the government.

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Posted Nov 20th 2009 at 6:57 am in Congress, Economics, News, Obama, Politics | 91 Comments

Kristina Rasmussen

Surprise: Recovery.gov Has a Credibility Problem

by Kristina Rasmussen

Recovery.gov has a vast and challenging mandate: “to allow taxpayers to see precisely what entities receive [stimulus] money in addition to how and where the money is spent.” To its credit, Recovery.gov offers a fascinating look into how government goes about spending $787 billion.

recovery.org_logo[1]

However, the website is troubled with inaccuracies, and these problems are undermining its credibility. Wisconsin Democrat Rep. Dave Obey agrees: “The inaccuracies on recovery.gov that have come to light are outrageous and the Administration owes itself, the Congress, and every American a commitment to work night and day to correct the ludicrous mistakes.”

Given that stimulus award recipients are responsible for providing much of the information you see on Recovery.gov, it’s reasonable to expect some errors in the reporting process. Alas, some of the information seems to come out of thin air.

Phantom Congressional Districts.

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Posted Nov 18th 2009 at 12:54 pm in Congress, Obama, Politics, State Politics, Technology | 78 Comments

The Pork Report

Pork Report November 17, 2009: Post Office Edition

by The Pork Report

The U.S. Postal Service lost $3.8 billion last year

Winery receives federal stimulus grant

Musicians more effective communicating in noisy environments than non-musicians, according to findings of a National Science Foundation study

Only 20 percent of Americans hold positive view of government

Research company receives millions of dollars of congressional earmarks and has nothing to show for it

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Posted Nov 17th 2009 at 7:29 pm in Pork Report | 19 Comments

Amber Gunn

The New Voodoo Economics: Jobs ‘Saved’ by Federal Stimulus Dollars

by Amber Gunn

The federal website that tracks the final destination of the $787 billion “stimulus” package reported more than 640,000 jobs were created or saved by the funds as of October 30. A closer look at one state’s reporting, however, should cast serious doubt on that number’s veracity.

rabbit

Washington state is listed as the third-highest job-generating state, according to www.recovery.gov, which records the number of jobs created or saved as 34,517.13. The problem is that at least 24,000 of those jobs were not really in jeopardy.

You read that correctly.

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Posted Nov 10th 2009 at 12:13 pm in Congress, Economics, News, Politics, State Politics | 27 Comments

The Pork Report

Pork Report October 29,2009: National Science Foundation Edition

by The Pork Report

National Science Foundation studies gossip and workplace politics in elementary school

$1.47 million grant from the National Science Foundation will fund a 3-D virtual recreation of the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair

National Science Foundation funds self-help for Members of Congress

$1.57 million stimulus grant to search for fossils… in Argentina

Thirty companies ranked among the most egregious offenders of state and federal laws awarded more than $1.2 billion in federal stimulus contracts

Taxpayers paid $24,000 per car under federal Cash for Clunkers program

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Posted Oct 29th 2009 at 8:59 pm in Congress, Earmarks | 9 Comments

The Pork Report

Pork Report October 27, 2009: Paying Dead People Edition

by The Pork Report

Medicaid paid for prescriptions written for 1,800 dead patients and 1,200 prescriptions “written” by dead physicians

Medicare paid up to $92 million for medical services ordered by dead doctors, some of whom had been dead for more than 10 years

Social Security Administration sent out $250 stimulus checks to 10,000 people who are deceased, some of which have been dead for several decades

U.S. Department of Agriculture distributed $1.1 billion in federal farm aid to the estates or companies of deceased farmers

San Francisco receives federal funding for AIDS patients who died decades ago

Dallas Housing Authority spent federal funds to subsidize housing for 45 deceased clients

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Posted Oct 27th 2009 at 1:45 pm in Congress | 11 Comments