Total Stimulus Budget – Near $900 Billion. The Republican analysis (CNN, 2009) unearthed the following “Pork”:

• $2 billion earmark to re-start FutureGen, a near-zero emissions coal power plant in Illinois that the Department of Energy de-funded last year because it said the project was inefficient. – There is no such thing as “Clean Coal”. It makes little sense, IMHO, to spend more money to build a power plant that it can make selling that power once it is done. Jobs involved may be a positive aspect, but how many NEW jobs and for how long? I’d kill it! (Subtract -$2,000,000,000)

• A $246 million tax break for Hollywood movie producers to buy motion picture film. – WTF? Where’s the jobs or distribution of wealth here? I’d kill it. (Subtract -$ 246,000,000)

• $650 million for the digital television converter box coupon program. – Wasn’t this already funded? Must have been if the cut-over date used to be,… like,… today! Kill it. (Subtract -$ 650,000,000)

• $88 million for the Coast Guard to design a new polar icebreaker (arctic ship). – I expect the polar ice will melt long before we get it built in any case. Kill it. No huge jobs or economic uplift here… If we still need it 4 years from now let’s look at it again. (Subtract -$ 88,000,000)

• $448 million for constructing the Department of Homeland Security headquarters. – I’m all for new construction. Lot’s of jobs both in construction and setting up infrastructure, etc. Since it is a gov’t project we will hire more people than we have too, it will overrun the schedule by at least a year and the budget will get bigger each quarter till it’s $1.5billion at least. Go for it!

• $248 million for furniture at the new Homeland Security headquarters. – Since there is NO WAY this building will be complete before budget cycle 2011 – shelve the furniture appropriation for later. Kill it. (Subtract -$248,000,000)

• $600 million to buy hybrid vehicles for federal employees. - Like it. Only we need a totally new energy policy that makes these vehicles more abundant and cheaper in the short run. Go for it.

• $400 million for the Centers for Disease Control to screen and prevent STD’s. - Where are the jobs and economic uplift here? The CDC cannot prevent STDs. Damn liberals. Parents and kids prevent STDs. Give this to a faith based program where it belongs and get the gov’t out of this moral crap. Kill it. (Subtract -$ 400,000,000)

• $1.4 billion for rural waste disposal programs. – I’m all for covering sh.t up. If it means lots of jobs for a couple years at least, then do it. Go for it.

• $125 million for the Washington sewer system. – If by “Washington” they mean D.C. – well, I’ve lived there. Its worth twice this to get it fixed up. Lots of good jobs here too. Go for it.

• $150 million for Smithsonian museum facilities. – The Smithsonian is Huge, with a capital “H”. So this could mean lots of jobs and maybe increased revenue for the area around the ‘peoples’ museum. I’d need to know the scope, scale and schedule of such an effort though. ???

• $1 billion for the 2010 Census, which has a projected cost overrun of $3 billion. – Confused? I am. Does this mean the 2010 census is not at all funded; partially funded, but lacks $3b or what? In any event, census taking is an extremely labor intensive task. Labor – like in JOBS. Need to know the money is going to the labor side of the issue and I’d be all for it.

• $75 million for “smoking cessation activities. Like state and local governments have not banned enough, advertised enough or sued enough; the US Gov’t must now give money to… Who? Jobs where, economic stimulus where? Lowering health costs by $75 million maybe? Doubt it. Need to see justification. Initial reaction: Kill it. (Subtract – $75,000,000)

• $200 million for public computer centers at community colleges. – Like it. But the students need the tuition to get to the campus first. Could be a keeper.

• $75 million for salaries of employees at the FBI. Without it they go unsalaried? For raises or new agents & employees… ?  If this is FBI expansion … cool. If not, Kill it. I gotta do without a job, they can do without a raise. (Subtract -$ 75,000,000)

• $25 million for tribal alcohol and substance abuse reduction. – I’ll drink to that. Ok, is this ‘additional’ money, or funding for ‘existing’ programs? If there are no jobs or economic uplift here (like greater than $25M), we need to leave it for another day. (Subtract -$ 25,000,000)

• $500 million for flood reduction projects on the Mississippi River. – Now you’re talking. Billions in losses like we suffered years ago is not a good prospect in this economy. Give the creation of jobs and local investments that go along with this, I’d say it’s a keeper.

• $10 million to inspect canals in urban areas. – Camels in urban areas!… Oh, Canals. Is this not Corps of Engineers stuff in the first place? How is this different (jobs, investment, etc.)? $10m is a drop in the bucket.. actually, it is so little that it raises a red flag for me. ???

• $6 billion to turn federal buildings into “green” buildings. And $3B to tear half of them down and plant trees. Anyway, you can get the sense of just how big our government is when you can spend $6 billion on light bulbs and windows. But, size of government aside, it is needed – and it will employ thousands to get it done, pump millions into the economy for materials, goods and services. Gotta say yes.

• $500 million for state and local fire stations. Like saying no to motherhood. Lots of good construction jobs in this too – over a long period. Gotta say yes… again.

• $650 million for wildland fire management on forest service lands. Most studies show that fire management causes as many problems as it solves. Also, need to see number on job creation, economic uplift (goods services, etc.). Initial guess is that it does not do a lot for the economy. Things such as this may be ‘reasonable’ as a government project, but should be left to the annual budget process rather than an “economic stimulus”. Kill it. (Subtract -$ 650,000,000)

• $1.2 billion for “youth activities,” including youth summer job programs. Could be a good one. I’d keep it!

• $88 million for renovating the headquarters of the Public Health Service. Much like the DHS project, it means jobs and money spent in the materials needed. Let’s do it.

• $412 million for CDC buildings and property. See PHS & DHS… Get er’ done.

• $500 million for building and repairing National Institutes of Health facilities in Bethesda, Maryland. Again, construction and renovation have a thumbs up for the most part.

• $160 million for “paid volunteers” at the Corporation for National and Community Service. What’s with paid volunteers? Does this pass the smell test for you? Either they are expanding their staff or they are not. If not - this probably reflects pay increases for ‘administration’… and you know what that means. I gotta see the beef here before I say yes.

• $5.5 million for “energy efficiency initiatives” at the Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration. – Whoa.. I’m a veteran, but I can’t see how all these dead guys are burning that much energy. Now, if this is VA office energy initiatives, I’m cool. Just not going to see a lot of benefit for those ‘cemetery’ initiatives – IMHO. (Subtract -$ 5,500,000)

• $850 million for Amtrak. Well for what? “For Amtrak” says nothing. If its infrastructure building and improving mass transit, etc. - cool. New jobs, more riders, fine. But if this is one of those black hole subsidies, which it probably is,  forget it. (Subtract – $850,000,000)

• $100 million for reducing the hazard of lead-based paint. Humm. How will they reduce the hazard of lead based paint? If it’s lead based, it’s a hazard. If it’s not, it’s not. Problem solved. Please make the check payable to Jerry W. Bennett, Bellaire, Texas…

• $75 million to construct a “security training” facility for State Department Security officers when they can be trained at existing facilities of other agencies. Whoever wrote this was not too biased, huh? My question is what kind of training has to be that secure? What the hell are they teaching in this place? Kill it. (Subtract -$75,000,000)

• $110 million to the Farm Service Agency to upgrade computer systems. Maybe not a bad one. Money to computer firms, programmers, contractors… Could be money well spent. Go for it.

• $200 million in funding for the lease of alternative energy vehicles for use on military installations. Alternative energy? If we are talking ethanol here, then scrap this white elephant before it get loose. If we are taking about opening it up to free enterprise solutions. Then I’m all for it!

——

Bottom line is this: MOST of this stuff does not belong in a stimulus bill it belongs in an annual budget (you know, those things that are supposed to balance). Anyway, I logged a total of $5.4 billion of the top of this list. That’s 5/10 of one percent of the proposed $900 Billion. I don’t know about you – cause I’m an independent – but if I were paying my Republican senator to dick around with 5/10 of one percent of the issue here, I’d fire his ass in 2010.

I want to know where the other $890 Billion is going, you idiots!

Look, The Democrats in the House were supposed to allow a bipartisan debate… if they would have, all this non-essential junk would have been trimmed.  Obama did not put all this crap in this stimulus, the democrats in the house did.  But Palosi is still in the Bush era of bipartisan “elect-em and forget em” rule.  She and her colleagues are as  much to blame as any Republican.  We need to get rid of most ALL of them next time around. There’s a new sheriff in town, and Obama needs the line item veto and a lot of public support.  Let’s give it to him.

JB

CNN (2009). What GOP Leaders deem wasteful in Senate stimulus bill, Cable News Network [CNN], retrieved February 3, 2009, from: http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/02/gop.stimulus.worries/index.html