What a Difference a Year Makes
Last year, the DFL complained that Republicans’ plan for rebuilding highways and bridges would heap tons of debt on future generations. This year, they’re praising Obama’s plan to piss money away for things like $650 million for digital TV coupons, $50 million in funding for the National Endowment of the Arts, $44 million for repairs to U.S. Department of Agriculture headquarters and $200 million for the National Mall, including grass planting.
These are items currently in legislation charitably known as President-Elect Obama’s stimulus package.
Please forgive me if I don’t see the stimulative effect of dumping $200,000,000 into maintaining the National Mall, including planting grass. For what it’s worth, I see the payoff to federal unions in that $200,000,000.
Please forgive me if I don’t see the stimulative effect of issuing $650,000,000 worth of coupons so people can buy digital TV’s.
Please forgive me if I don’t see the stimulative effect of building two hotels in Harrisburg, PA, or building the Organized Crime Museum in Las Vegas, NV.
Please forgive me if I don’t see the stimulative effect of spending $50,000,000 on the National Endowment for the Arts.
What I see is the Democrats’ jobs plan as them pissing away a fistful of dollars that our children and their children will be paying for.
What I see is the DFL’s jobs plan being based on the myth that fistful after fistful of money will be used to rebuild our highways and bridges. As stated in my previous post, less than 3 percent of the stimulus package goes for the nation’s highways and bridges.
That’s if the bill doesn’t grow, which it will.
Here in Minnesota, the DFL is selling the plan this way:
DFLers are pinning much of their hope for short-term relief on a national stimulus package coming out of Washington, suggesting the money can be used to fund infrastructure and construction projects that bring immediate job opportunities.
With $30,000,000,000 being spread amongst 50 states, how much of that $30,000,000,000 will find its way to Minnesota? If it’s spread evenly amongst all 50 states, which it won’t, we’d get $600,000,000. States like Florida, New York, Massachusetts, California and Michigan will get boatloads of money.
Just for the sake of argument, though, let’s stipulate that Minnesota gets a fistful of money for infrastructure repair. How will that help Minnesota longterm? How will that help Minnesota transition into a 21st Century economy?
I suspect the answer is that it won’t help them transition into a 21st Century economy.
In the end, the stimulus package is much spending to pay off political allies in the unions that does little to stimulate the economy while causing high inflation and heaping tons of debt on future generations.
That’s the definition of pissing money away.
Technorati Tags: Debt, Political Allies, Unions, National Mall, NEA, Infrastructure, Road Maintenance, Democrats, DFL, Pork, California, Michigan, Massachusetts, Job Growth
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog