Stimulus Bill gave RATpublicons lots of ammo to bludgeon Dems with.

[FreakinDJ]

After holding water for Obama’s run to the White House and the Dem Party all these years I feel betrayed by what the entire country is calling “Pork in the Spending Bill”

Forget if it stimulates the economy or not – it just sounds bad, and the talking heads are out enforce during a time of economic upheaval the voting public is not likely to soon forget. At least not before the 2010 election cycle, which is even more disappointing since Obama’s presidency represents so much to Americans.

$380 million to set up a rainy-day fund for a nutrition program
$300 million for grants to combat violence against women
$2 billion for federal child-care block grants
$15 billion for boosting Pell Grant college scholarships
$1 billion for community-development block grants
$4.2 billion for “neighborhood stabilization activities”
$650 million for digital-TV coupons; $90 million to educate “vulnerable populations”

And only 10% of the bill goes to “Infrastructure Projects”

This is going to cost the Dems BIG TIME in the 2010 election cycle and could quite possibly derail Obama’s presidency

[PM7nj]

1. Wait... is this sarcasm?

[cliffordu]

2. Ah, Bullshit.

The voters know exactly why all that stuff is needed.

I used to work in Grants Management for the City of Austin -


Those CDBG grants employ THOUSANDS of carpenters, lighting people, plumbers and all the ancillary trades to construction and building rehab.

The number of people employed from the private sector by those grants is astounding.

[pinto]

10. Good point. The (R)'s are trying to spin this as 'big government' growth, when, as you say,

many of the CDBG funds go the private sector in project specific grants. Many are 2 - 3 year time limited. All funnel money into local projects.

I've seen some portion of CDBG funds get side-tracked locally for purposes that seemed outside the intended aim, but those have been few.

[cliffordu]

13. We ran grants management in Austin with an iron fist.

My boss knew more about the Federal regulations than the local FEDGOV office did....they used to call him for interpretations of the regs.

Pretty amazing office...

[pinto]

16. Cool. When CDBG's work, they * work * .

:thumbsup:

[FreakinDJ]

17. Your going to hear this ALOT in 2010

much to your dismay

[pinto]

22. I actually think it will be a positive for us. The (R)'s may rail on government "spending",

yet the results on the local level across the scope of this bill may well bring home the point that the federal government *does* have a role in supporting local economies. And that all federal spending isn't necessarily wasteful, big government boondoggles.

Putting people to work supports local economies; local, state and federal tax bases.

And the CDBG's are only one portion of this bill. It's a pretty broad, balanced approach to reinvigorating short and long term action in state and local economies and the safety nets that will buffer the effects of this recession.

[FreakinDJ]

25. Its a race against time then

because I agree with the approach and a majority of the programs.

But at a time when for so many the "Depression" means sitting a home looking for a job or loosing your home looking for a place to live, some of these programs seem like a slap in the face.

Agreed - once the economy begins to rebound and Americans are working again all is forgiven and Obama is a hero. But the begining of the 2010 election cycle is just a short 12-14 months away

[PhilosopherKing]

3. No

You're wrong.

[napoleon_in_rags]

4. The question is what helps stimulate the economy.

Child care (lower medical costs) surely does, the pell grants get us educated and competing in global markets, community development and neighborhood stabilization can lead people from crime to steady jobs. So this stuff isn't all bad, though I also admit I would like to see more infrastructure.

[Thrill]

5. No its not. Their biggest arguments against Democrats is TAX and SPEND

The problem is. The Democrats are the ones who cut taxes. And if people are working, the Democrats are going to increase their margins.

[FreakinDJ]

18. They just don't sound good

Its the momentium of outrage against over paid bankers is now shifting towards over spending Democrats

Its going to hurt

[cliffordu]

27. You're right. I want to be blamed for everything.

just like the scapegoat surrendermonkeys we really are.

The dems need better talking heads.

[stillcool]

6. You must be horrified!

Highlights of compromise economic stimulus plan

By The Associated Press
The Associated Press
Wednesday, February 11, 2009; 10:10 PM
AID TO POOR AND UNEMPLOYED

_ $40 billion to provide extended unemployment benefits through Dec. 31, and increase them by $25 a week; $20 billion to increase food stamp benefits by 14 percent; $3 billion in temporary welfare payments.

DIRECT CASH PAYMENTS

_ $14 billion to give one-time $250 payments to Social Security recipients, poor people on Supplemental Security Income, and veterans receiving disability and pensions.

INFRASTRUCTURE

_ $46 billion for transportation projects, including $27 billion for highway and bridge construction and repair; $8.4 billion for mass transit; $8 billion for construction of high-speed railways and $1.3 billion for Amtrak; $4.6 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers; $4 billion for public housing improvements; $6.4 billion for clean and drinking water projects; $7 billion to bring broadband Internet service to underserved areas.

HEALTH CARE

_ $21 billion to provide a 60 percent subsidy of health care insurance premiums for the unemployed under the COBRA program; $87 billion to help states with Medicaid; $19 billion to modernize health information technology systems; $10 billion for health research and construction of National Institutes of Health facilities.

STATE BLOCK GRANTS

_ $8 billion in aid to states to defray budget cuts.

ENERGY

_ About $50 billion for energy programs, focused chiefly on efficiency and renewable energy, including $5 billion to weatherize modest-income homes; $6.4 billion to clean up nuclear weapons production sites; $11 billion toward a so-called "smart electricity grid" to reduce waste; $13.9 billion to subsidize loans for renewable energy projects; $6.3 billion in state energy efficiency and clean energy grants; and $4.5 billion make federal buildings more energy efficient.

EDUCATION

_ $47 billion in state fiscal relief to prevent cuts in state aid to school districts, with great flexibility to use the funds for school modernization and repair; $26 billion to school districts to fund special education and the No Child Left Behind law for students in K-12; $17 billion to boost the maximum Pell Grant by $500 to $5,350; $2 billion for Head Start.

HOMELAND SECURITY

_ $2.8 billion for homeland security programs, including $1 billion for airport screening equipment.

LAW ENFORCEMENT

_ $4 billion in grants to state and local law enforcement to hire officers and purchase equipment.

Taxes

NEW TAX CREDIT

_ Approximately $115 billion for a $400 per-worker, $800 per-couple tax credits in 2009 and 2010. For the last half of 2009, workers could expect to see perhaps $13 a week less withheld from their paychecks starting around June. Millions of Americans who don't make enough money to pay federal income taxes could file returns next year and receive checks. Individuals making more than $75,000 and couples making more than $150,000 would receive reduced amounts.

ALTERNATIVE MINIMUM TAX

_ About $70 billion to spare about 24 million taxpayers from being hit with the alternative minimum tax in 2009. The change would save a family of four an average of $2,300. The tax was designed to make sure wealthy taxpayers can't use credits and deductions to avoid paying any taxes. But it was never indexed to inflation, so families making as little as $45,000 could get significant increases without the change. Congress addresses it each year, usually in the fall.

EXPANDED COLLEGE CREDIT

_ About $13 billion to provide a $2,500 expanded tax credit for college tuition and related expenses for 2009 and 2010. The credit is phased out for couples making more than $160,000.

HOMEBUYER CREDIT

_ $3.7 billion to repeal a requirement that a $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit be paid back over time for homes purchased from Jan. 1 to August 31, unless the home is sold within three years.

BONUS DEPRECIATION

_ $5 billion to extend a provision allowing businesses buying equipment such as computers to speed up its depreciation through 2009.

AUTO SALES

_ $2.5 billion to makes sales tax on paid on new car purchases tax deductible.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/11/AR2009021103678_pf.html

[FreakinDJ]

20. The Non-Job stimulus spending will have a "Political Price"

come 2010

I'll go on record with that statement

[stillcool]

26. I just want my country

to get to 2010, with the least amount of death and destruction, pain and suffering. Threats about the future don't do much for me anymore.

[doc03]

7. I agree with them this time, not one of those things

creates a job. Only 10% of the bill goes to infrastructure projects, sorry but they are right. I see this doing nothing more than making the recession even worse and piling up more debt. If I would have known what was in this bill I would have called my Congressman and opposed it, I am certainly going to voice my opinion on it the next time I run into him. I had arguments with friends that brought up things in this bill they had heard on Fox and here it turns out I was the one that was wrong. Obama has lost my trust.

[freeplessinseattle]

24. not one? think a little harder? n/t

[Enrique]

8. do you personally know anyone who is upset by these things?

???

[doc03]

9. Yes I personally don't know anyone that

isn't upset by these things. I'm going to have to eat crow in the morning when I have to admit they were right all along and I was wrong.

[FreakinDJ]

19. All over hardest hit housing market - SF Bay Area

like I said lots of ammo

[ClassWarrior]

11. If one, theoretically, wishes to troll, s/he should get the terminology correct.

It's Rape-Publican.

("Holding water?" :rofl:)

NGU.

[Baltoman991]

12. Well, you got

the Republican talking poinst down, I'll give you that.

59% of the people say this was needed. Sorry, your candidate will have to wait until 2016 to get into the White House.........President Obama will be there for awhile.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

14. the GOP had no trouble finding billions for Iraq

[NYC_SKP]

15. The budget Items you list are not "pork", IMHO.

"The term pork barrel politics usually refers to spending that is intended to benefit constituents of a politician in return for their political support..." (wikipedia)

A bridge to nowhere is pork. A sports complex is pork. No-bid contracts to a favorite supporter's missile company is pork.

Social programs that are not directed toward a particular district are not Pork.

Unless you're a republican.

:patriot:

[Quixote1818]

21. True, but if the economy is back on track all people will think about is

how bad Bush left things and how Obama got us out of the mess. He will win in a landslide if the economy is back on track. However, we may lose some senate and house seats if things are not back on track in less than two years.

[terisan]

23. What do you know about the little electric cars or carts fro North Dakota? nt