What GOP Leaders deem wasteful in Senate stimulus bill

Originally posted by nyk537

Good for them! We should have gone with PALIN!

You joke, but I wonder in all honesty if she would be about ram over a trillion dollars in wasteful spending under the lie of a "stimulus" down our throats.

I don't think so.

Don't know... Although she has been to Washington to get ALASKA some "stimulus".

I agree the bill is retarded, not the time to ram through pet projects.

Obama better get his #@!# together, have fun with the bashing. IT's only fair that you have yer turn.

reply to post by Mynaeris


I added up the list:

$18,550,500,000.00 ($18.55 Billion) in what the GOP deems wasteful in a "stimulus" bill.

They are right. It is pork. A few of them are good things to spend money on, but it is still pork.

If the Dems want to spend 18.55 billion on these projects, then pass a spending bill. Don't bury them in a stimulus bill.

There's nothing "stimulating" about that list.

Originally posted by skeptic1
reply to post by Mynaeris

 

I added up the list:

$18,550,500,000.00 ($18.55 Billion) in what the GOP deems wasteful in a "stimulus" bill.

They are right. It is pork. A few of them are good things to spend money on, but it is still pork.

If the Dems want to spend 18.55 billion on these projects, then pass a spending bill. Don't bury them in a stimulus bill.

There's nothing "stimulating" about that list.

AMEN

ARGHERUJNI#NFC#INCI##CIRM#

Originally posted by The Bald Champion

IT's only fair that you have yer turn.

This is all of our money. They aren't just spending the Democrat's money or the Republican's money.

It isn't about "turns". It isn't about party affiliation. It is about our economy and our country.

All of us....not just a portion of us.

I wonder if any of you have actually looked at the numbers here. I see skeptic has, but have you looked at it's relationship to the whole? Add up all the items that the GOP deems "wasteful" and you will find that the TOTAL of their concerns amounts to just over 2% of the total stimulus bill...

TWO PERCENT!!!

The GOP have packaged their objections for people who don't think and unfortunately, many of you have bought it hook, line and sinker.

Aside from the fact that many of the items on their list WILL create jobs, you have been hoodwinked into believing that 2% of this bill is "wasteful" and that it should cause concern...

What about the other 98% of the bill? Does the GOP consider it NOT wasteful? Useful? If this 2% is all they have to complain about, then what do they want? If this is all they can find to bitch about, and approve of 98% of the bill, I would think they'd be dancing in the streets and supporting it by voting for it.

If you guys don't see that this is just a power play by the GOP to make Obama look bad, you're not thinking critically and I'm beginning to wonder if you're thinking at all...

Total GOP considers "wasteful" ~ $19.1 Billion
Total Stimulus Package ~ $900 Billion

19.1 / 900 = .021

.021 x 100 = 2.1%

[edit on 3-2-2009 by Benevolent Heretic]

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


I don't care if it is .5%.....it is still waste and nowhere near "stimulating" for the economy.

Then why don't the Dems take it out and if they deem those items so necessary, put a spending bill together and pass them that way?

Then, they can't be accused of "waste" and the Repubs will be "happy" and sign off on this "stimulus" package.

I think what causes a lot of concern is the amount of pet-projects and pork in something that is being labeled as a "stimulus" package that will dig our economy out of the hole it is in.

[edit on 2/3/2009 by skeptic1]

reply to post by dariousg

Well my friend, can you please explain then how the 'conservative' Bush stacks up against Obama?

Really can't compare anything except the first month. Did Bush borrow 900 billion in his first month?

Originally posted by skeptic1
I don't care if it is .5%.....it is still waste and nowhere near "stimulating" for the economy.

But it IS stimulating. Any time you have construction, manufacturing, infrastructure, renovation, repair and engineering, you've got jobs.

Then, they can't be accused of "waste" and the Repubs will be "happy" and sign off on this "stimulus" package.

I would bet you $100 that if Obama took ALL of this out of the bill, and lowered the total cost of the bill from $900 Billion to $881 Billion, the GOP would not give up one vote. They're not going to be happy with anything Obama does and they're going to stand in his way every step of the way.

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


It is stimulating to the economy give film producers millions in tax breaks to buy film?? Hollywood seems to be doing fine.

It is stimulating to the economy to give hundreds of millions for contraceptives?? How?? That takes away the potential for people who would spend money....(little tongue and cheek there)

It is stimulating to the economy to spend tens of millions for smoking cessation programs?? How?? That takes away tax dollars.

Hundreds of millions on furniture for government offices is stimulating?? I've had my "government office furniture" for 11+ years and it's still fine.

A hundred million to reduce the hazard of lead based paint (which, by the way, you have to hunt very, very hard for since most paint manufacturers have stopped making it.....15+ years ago)??

Hundreds of millions to upgrade computer systems?? They do this every other year, anyway.

These things are SPENDING, not STIMULATION of the economy.

Like I said, some are good things, but in a regular old spending bill, not an economic stimulus package.

The plan would be one of the largest single government expenditures in U.S. history, and would be equivalent to about 3% of gross domestic product over two years. The proposal is $125 billion bigger than the controversial bailout for the financial-services industry. It outweighs in dollar terms all other nations' stimulus plans, though China's $600 billion stimulus is a larger share of its economy.

This was from the WSJ. I have read the package and it is garbage. They are emphasizing spending over relief. Our nation needs relief. Tax cuts. This shows we have the money so cut taxes AND stimulate the education, Medicaid and transportation.

This gives a nice list....internet access to rural areas....how many billion????
Link

Also, if this was Bush, we would not even be having this conversation. Anybody hear about the deployment to Afghanistan? Is a little money going there by this bill also, hidden...hmmmm...not Obama....

[edit on 3-2-2009 by esdad71]

It's great to see the government continue to sell out the generations to come that will be on the hooks for this.

The greatest though is to actually see people support it.

Bush let the debt get insane...there is no doubt about that. So why does more of it justify it being right? I see this all over the place. You can't justify doing a wrong because the other guy did it.

We do people keep supporting these bonehead politicians. They continue to keep doing the same things. There are no budget cuts to offset this.

They are going to blow another 800 billion (whatever it ends up being) for a quick fix that won't last.

Rockpuck

I was also hopeful that the homeland of Oppression I mean homeland of whatever was going to be finished with. Its nothing than another big spending tax payer money to go into the pockets of some profiteers as usual.

But we are not so lucky.

And as for the stimulus bill while is looking good, we are facing a lot more problems with it than a 2 percent of pork.

Right now the nations that has help decimate Americas status are screaming foul play because Obama "buy America only clause".

Let see how low our nation has becomes if congress spit on the "buy America only" and take that out of the bill.

If that happens we will know finally for whom this corrupted politicians are actually working.

Originally posted by David9176
They are going to blow another 800 billion (whatever it ends up being) for a quick fix that won't last.

We could always spend that money on an unwinnable war on the other side of the planet. I don't think the GOP would mind that. Halliburton would LOVE it. Oh, that's how we started down this path. Forget it.

Originally posted by skeptic1
These things are SPENDING, not STIMULATION of the economy.

Exactly right!

We'd see just as much effect, if not more, by simply lowering marginal tax rates across the board.

Sure we wouldn't be sending welfare checks to those who don't pay taxes, but....

Originally posted by skeptic1

Originally posted by The Bald Champion

IT's only fair that you have yer turn.

This is all of our money. They aren't just spending the Democrat's money or the Republican's money.

It isn't about "turns". It isn't about party affiliation. It is about our economy and our country.

All of us....not just a portion of us.

Turn with the bashing (in context)

when sociopath the II was enacting domestic spying, wars with the wrong country ( for profit of his VP) I had allot to say.

I can't blame for people holding OBAMA to the standard he set.

He is also losing the spin wars and now even the crookedest now have a clear line
of "attack".

Back to responsibility... Obama made promises - the bar is high.

GOPers talk a mean game on responsibility... Yet CON after CON on here lays ZERO responsibility at II's door. Zero responsibility at the ideologies door.

Possibly the greatest failure in history and the RESPONSIBLE one's can only point.

They will come back into power do it again and point again...

Well I have some fortitude and I am responsible for this via my vote - Obama has a job to do...

Originally posted by David9176
It's great to see the government continue to sell out the generations to come that will be on the hooks for this.

The greatest though is to actually see people support it.

Bush let the debt get insane...there is no doubt about that. So why does more of it justify it being right? I see this all over the place. You can't justify doing a wrong because the other guy did it.

We do people keep supporting these bonehead politicians. They continue to keep doing the same things. There are no budget cuts to offset this.

They are going to blow another 800 billion (whatever it ends up being) for a quick fix that won't last.

I agree

Its a $#@$ position and two wrongs do not make a right.

I think it is important to assume that these items were what the GOP identified as pork, that does not mean that the rest of us wouldn't find another 5% pork if we went through the "stimulus" package.

Having said that if this was your household that was straining from lack of income what would you do? Start looking at all the things you would like to have, or would you start looking at what were things that could wait a while. Let's look at the census , it is predicted to cost 4 billion dollars? Is it more important to know how many people we have and what education they have and what race they are than worrying about the poor?

Where in the "stimulus" package do they look at microfinancing to help new and innovative businesses grow? Nope the only new businesses they are budgetting for are hybrid cars for federal employees. America has fallen apart because it stopped leading.

It's inevitable that there is some waste in this package. I can't argue that. But 2% is worth bitching about? Are you suddenly expecting 100% efficiency from government? Or anybody or anything?

100% efficiency does not exist anywhere. Seems a bit much to expect it from Obama.

And if only 2% is waste, my god, that's more efficient than almost any operation!

This is nitpicking to an insane degree.



[edit on 3-2-2009 by Benevolent Heretic]

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


Give me a break BH.

Obama promised to cut wasteful spending and earmarks, and here is a giant bill that contains billions of dollars of both.

He could at least stick by what he said.

The fact that this is also a complete sham and will do nothing to stimulate the economy also has something to do with it.

[edit on 3-2-2009 by nyk537]

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


I agree while Obamas plan does look good and sounds good and I believe truly believe that he is doing everything he can with the power that he is allow to have by the powers behind our corrupted system of government.

Even those powers have to see that this nation is heading to a path that no hidden power in the world will be able to stop onces the masses retaliate.