Wackonomics

[Mavdog]

Originally Posted by DirkFTW

I think the Senate version is out too. Here are some items that have been popping out between the two outlines:

$6,000 million to subsidize university building projects
$400 million for HIV and chlamydia testing
$75 million to stop smoking
$1,500 million for a “carbon-capturing contest”
$200 million for DOD alternative energy vehicles
$572 million for Coast Guard “Acquisition, Construction, & Improvements”
$150 million for the Smithsonian
$100 million for non-intrusive detection technology at sea ports
$150 million for construction at sea ports
$25 million to repair off-road ATV trails
$200 million for FEMA
$276 million for construction of data backup facilities and cyber-security for the State Dept.
$2,825 million for broadband internet, $1,000 million of which is for wireless broadband internet
$350 million for State Department broadband internet
STD education programs

At least they got rid of paying for contraceptives and reseeding the White House lawn.

I am assuming this money goes to someone's pocket who helped them. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe they are just spending for the sake of spending. This is supposed to be a "stimulus" plan to save us from a severe "economic crisis" the likes of which we haven't seen since the 1940s, correct? Why does it look more like a hodgepodge of everyday spending bills?

Where's the work out for you and me? Maybe we're supposed to wait for it to trickle down to us from the wealth of the federal government.

yes, it is an omnibus spending program that is intended to put people to work, so it will possibly provide work to you (not me it seems from the list) if your employer could provide its services for any of the targeted items.

let's say you work for a tech firm like cisco, they'll get some of this. or a construction firm who does public bldgs, plenty of meat on that bone. medical professional? there's the std area, or the anti-smoking initiative. work for a firm that manufactures imaging equipment? you're in luck!

not so sure tho about the spending being payback to campaign contributors, but there is the likelihood that some of those cats will get their paws on a few of these $.

[DirkFTW]

Originally Posted by Mavdog

yes, it is an omnibus spending program that is intended to put people to work, so it will possibly provide work to you (not me it seems from the list) if your employer could provide its services for any of the targeted items.

let's say you work for a tech firm like cisco, they'll get some of this. or a construction firm who does public bldgs, plenty of meat on that bone. medical professional? there's the std area, or the anti-smoking initiative. work for a firm that manufactures imaging equipment? you're in luck!

not so sure tho about the spending being payback to campaign contributors, but there is the likelihood that some of those cats will get their paws on a few of these $.

But it's the same crap that's always proposed ("pork"), only this time it's gargantuan and likely the first of a series of gargantuan spending sprees.

If the point is to willy nilly generate jobs, why not just create two massive task forces: Team 1 digs holes in the ground and Team 2 fills those holes up. The answer is because that solution accomplishes absolutely nothing productive as input back into the economy. Unfortunately, some of these items are not much more beneficial than digging and filling holes. Too many "bridges to nowhere" in a bill that's intended to solve our once-in-100-years economic crisis.