Federal budget needs responsible stewardship
I believe that Congressman John Boehner of Ohio did the right thing when he threw the 1,100-page Stimulus Bill onto the House floor. He showed his outrage at not being permitted enough time to read this massive proposed legislation. Americans, too, should be outraged!
Are they aware that a bill of this magnitude was approved without the Congress reading it? We should demand responsible stewardship in Washington, D.C.! Why was the process rushed?
The president promised “transparency” and “change.” He stated that he would make proposed legislation available online for 48 hours for all to read. This was not done.
We are now finding out that the bill is filled with a lot of unnecessary targeted pet projects, i.e., Harry Reid will get a rail system from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and a Mafia Museum (in his home state of Nevada), and Nancy Pelosi’s district will get money for the ecosystem to protect a species of mice.
Do the voters know that we are “begging” China to finance this stimulus? The bill is an abomination that our grandchildren will pay for dearly!
And, most importantly, I ask how many jobs will actually be created?
Kathleen Hommel
Stokesdale
Comments (9)
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While I'm not particularly enamored with the stimulus bill as a whole, it has already passed and been signed. It won't be retracted. And, while it is important to remind our politicians of our disapproval, it might be time to shift our focus to other problems...like the banking system or entitlement programs.
And, at the very least, I think we can be optimistic about getting more realistic long-term budget projections, as Barack Obama has restored our planning to a 10 year period from George Bush's 5 years while removing a number of dishonest accounting tricks even his budget's projections for economic growth over the next few years might be a bit ambitious.
Posted on March 5, 2009 5:55 AM
"I ask how many jobs will actually be created?"
Well I guess if you build rail systems or mafia museums in NV or study mouse ecosystems in CA then you are quite happy at the moment.
The stimulus plan will create some jobs, but at what price to present and future generations.
Posted on March 5, 2009 7:13 AM
But rahrah, if people don't speak up about how disagreeable the whole thing was/is then we'll get the same thing again.
It looks like we'll probably get it again anyway (I bet there's another "crisis" photo-op soon), but we should continually make it known that underhanded tactics are unacceptable.
--
Something that simultaneously impresses and bothers me badly with Obama is his tendency to pre-position his ideology as impossible to disagree with.
Most recently:
"I know these steps won't sit well with the special interests and lobbyists who are invested in the old way of doing business, and I know they're gearing up for a fight"
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/02/28/politics/100days/economy/main4835509.shtml?source=RSSattr=Politics_4835509
Do you disagree with him? Go ahead and speak up. When you do you're obviously in the pocket of "special interests and lobbyists." He's already set it up.
An easy one to find on his being behind in the polls to Hillary during the primaries:
"What it says is that I’m not very well known in that part of the country"
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/254/story/37388.html
The explanation is that people aren't familiar with him, not because they reject what he stands for and prefer someone else.
He's sharp as a tack, but debate-wise he's intellectually lazy and extremely manipulative. And possibly entirely uninterested in other positions. Start listening. It's amazing.
Posted on March 5, 2009 7:44 AM
Kathleen asked, "Why was the process rushed?" Because the economy is in the tank because the previous administration screwed the pooch and people need help now.
By the way, that rail system from LA to Vegas has been debunked numerous times. It is not in the bill. You can oppose the bill if you want to, just don't lie about it.
Posted on March 5, 2009 7:56 AM
rbennet, your analysis of Obama's communication is right on the money. Carefully crafted to deflect anyone that might have an opposing view. I have noticed this as well, and have wondered how it jibes with "transparency" and "reaching out" to be inclusive of everyone. Interesting to watch, but frightening in that the masses don't seem to see it and end up drinking the Koolaid.
Posted on March 5, 2009 8:27 AM
My advice, Roger, isn't to forget it...in fact I said it was important to remind them of our disapproval. But we might want to put the stimulus bill on the back burner for a little bit--it HAS already passed--and focus on other things so we make sure it doesn't happen again. If we're too busy whining about the stimulus, something else could slip by.
Plus I'm tired of reading these letters.
Posted on March 5, 2009 8:39 AM
" And, most importantly, I ask how many jobs will actually be created?"
Would that be guvmint or non guvmint jobs?
Posted on March 5, 2009 8:51 AM
rahrah, I didn't realize it but yeah, I'd Ctrl+C'd an older preliminary post before editing your name and some other things out, but Typepad kicked me off when I tried to send it so I pasted the old clipboard after signing back in and I didn't proof-read it before hitting "post" again.
In the later one that didn't get posted I acknowledged you stating what you did. Hopefully all (or at least some) of that makes sense. Anyway, sorry about that.
Posted on March 5, 2009 9:22 AM
141.421% of it makes sense, I suppose.
Posted on March 5, 2009 2:56 PM