Seriously? I have many questions about the new president’s plans for a) the socializing of our government and b) nominating clearly corrupt criminals (alliteration, anyone?) to the presidency. Now, before anyone tries to tell me that Bush nominated idiots to his Cabinet, my answer is, do you want this to be a repeat of the last 8 years? And as for socializing the government, if you don’t think that is what is coming, you have quite the whallop aimed right at your head.
That is not, however, what I actually want to discuss. What really bothers me is this so-called economic stimulus bill that is being pushed down the throats of Americans. It’s almost disgusting how much money is being allocated to ideas that very obviously have nothing to do with stimulating the economy. This bill is pork-barrel spending at its best (or worst?). While I am not a Republican, I am a fiscal conservative, and this is really really bad.
The following is a list of the items within the Bill that the Republican members of Congress have deemed wasteful. I have to say, I agree with many of them. Some of them I am okay with, but, for example, $246 million in tax breaks to Hollywood producers is a blatant attempt to pay off some key figures in key circles.
Like I said, I believe that some of the measures the Republicans claim are wasteful would be extremely beneficial, like the $850 million for Amtrak. But if this is what we are to expect from the Democrats for the next 2 to 4 to 6 to 8 years, I shudder to think what we as a nation will turn into.
• $2 billion earmark to re-start FutureGen, a near-zero emissions coal power plant in Illinois that the Department of Energy defunded last year because it said the project was inefficient.
• A $246 million tax break for Hollywood movie producers to buy motion picture film.
• $650 million for the digital television converter box coupon program.
• $88 million for the Coast Guard to design a new polar icebreaker (arctic ship).
• $448 million for constructing the Department of Homeland Security headquarters.
• $248 million for furniture at the new Homeland Security headquarters.
• $600 million to buy hybrid vehicles for federal employees.
• $400 million for the Centers for Disease Control to screen and prevent STD’s.
• $1.4 billion for rural waste disposal programs.
• $125 million for the Washington sewer system.
• $150 million for Smithsonian museum facilities.
• $1 billion for the 2010 Census, which has a projected cost overrun of $3 billion.
• $75 million for “smoking cessation activities.”
• $200 million for public computer centers at community colleges.
• $75 million for salaries of employees at the FBI.
• $25 million for tribal alcohol and substance abuse reduction.
• $500 million for flood reduction projects on the Mississippi River.
• $10 million to inspect canals in urban areas.
• $6 billion to turn federal buildings into “green” buildings.
• $500 million for state and local fire stations.
• $650 million for wildland fire management on forest service lands.
• $1.2 billion for “youth activities,” including youth summer job programs.
• $88 million for renovating the headquarters of the Public Health Service.
• $412 million for CDC buildings and property.
• $500 million for building and repairing National Institutes of Health facilities in Bethesda, Maryland.
• $160 million for “paid volunteers” at the Corporation for National and Community Service.
• $5.5 million for “energy efficiency initiatives” at the Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration.
• $850 million for Amtrak.
• $100 million for reducing the hazard of lead-based paint.
• $75 million to construct a “security training” facility for State Department Security officers when they can be trained at existing facilities of other agencies.
• $110 million to the Farm Service Agency to upgrade computer systems.
• $200 million in funding for the lease of alternative energy vehicles for use on military installations.
(This list was provided by cnn.com in their recent article)
