Believe it or not

[babylonsister]

http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2010/8/20/195947/460

Believe it or not
by Steven D
Fri Aug 20th, 2010 at 07:59:47 PM EST


The Census under Obama actually came in $1.6 BILLION under budget, maybe more. Imagine if Bush had outsourced it to Halliburton or Blackwater what it would have cost? And who would have gotten tased by private census workers hired as independent contractors?

Ps. Naturally the GOP is bitching about it.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/10/AR2010081006219.html

Census coming in at least $1.6 billion under budget

[havocmom]

1. most of us mailed it in, rather than sit with a census taker

Payroll must have been a lot less this time.

And frankly, that is not good in a time when people need jobs and paychecks. Sorry, cutting hours is not the best answer.

[Uzybone]

2. always something to complain about

Over budget...complain

under budget...complain

[havocmom]

4. Jobs need to be job one in this economy

I am not complaining, just stating fact. Numbers and PR are more important than even temp jobs.

[babylonsister]

3. Yes, the fact that the admin saved over a billion dollars the

rethugs would, and still are, bitching about, really stinks.

Again, let's blame the democratic administration instead of finding fault with the obstructionist rethugs. The Dems have made many attempts to get the job situation under control, and are having no luck because of said obstructionism.

I honestly don't get it.

http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/tapped_archive?month=08&year=2010&base_name=will_congress_do_anything_abou

Will Congress Do Anything About Unemployment?


The latest data on unemployment is an ugly surprise: There were 500,000 unemployment claims in mid-August, the highest since November, well exceeding the predictions of economic forecasters. Today, The Wall Street Journal reports that 61.8 percent of all job cuts at the end of last year took place in small businesses.

If you're wondering what the government can do about this problem, how about a plan to cut taxes on small businesses and make it easier for them to get credit to invest in their operations and expand and hire more workers? It sounds pretty good, which is why Democrats have proposed it in the Senate, hoping that the tax cuts and small-biz focus would persuade Republicans to join them.

Instead, Republicans have repeatedly blocked action on the long-stalled bill, ostensibly because the Democrats won't let them vote on non-germane amendments, like capping the federal budget. In reality, Operation Sand In The Gears of Progress continues apace, with Republicans hoping to reap political gain from Democratic obstruction.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, a senior administration official said there was an overwhelming case for the small-business lending bill, and generally erring on the side of doing even more to support the economy well into the future. But the official also admitted that there was little chance that Congress would pass any kind of stimulus measure after the August recess, with the possible exception of this small-business bill, because the Obama team hasn't figured out how to alter the political constraints to make productive legislating possible. It's hard to imagine a scenario where the midterm elections make things any easier.

-- Tim Fernholz

[doc03]

5. Many Americans are so stupid they think the census was

something Obama and Pelosi started to find out your personal business.

[applegrove]

10. They've degraded the census in Canada those neocons. For some reason

the neocons don't like the public and organizations having access to good data on people. They must really, really want to go back in time to a simpler time (1800) when industry was king and people had fewer rights (no unions).

[woo me with science]

6. Just wanted to say

I really appreciate your posts. You post about something interesting I have not heard of almost every day.

Your presence here is much appreciated.

[babylonsister]

9. Thanks!

I appreciate that.

[unblock]

7. the republican saying they "wasted" $3 billion because they didn't come in even more under budget?

and he's complaining that they would have spent more had there been a natural disaster.
shouldn't take credit for the weather.

i guess they should have said, "well, we came in under budget, unfortunately, we had all this money set aside for bad weather and sadly, no workers were swept away in tornados, so we didn't get to spend that money. now we have to return it to the treasury. hopefully, next census 2020 will feature a hurricane or and earthquake so our budget will be more accurate then."

[babylonsister]

8. Is that absurd or what? That's Issa for you. nt