superjames1992
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Posted on January 27, 2009 at 03:52 PM.
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Top 20 Fast Facts About the House Democrats' [and Republicans' because I bet they will cave and vote for some form of it] Trillion Dollar Spending Plan
1. The $825 billion package slated for a House vote later this week will exceed more than $1.1 trillion when adding in the interest ($300 plus billion) between 2009-2019 to pay for it.
2. The Capitol Hill Democrats’ plan includes funding for contraceptives; regardless of where anyone stands on taxpayer funded contraception, there is no question that it has NOTHING to do with the economy.
3. The legislation could open billions of taxpayer dollars to left-wing groups like the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), which has been accused of voter fraud, is reportedly under federal investigation; and played a key role in the housing meltdown.
4. Here are just a few of the programs and projects that have been included in the House Democrats’ proposal:
· $650 million for digital TV coupons.
· $600 million for new cars for the federal government.
· $6 billion for colleges/universities – many which have billion dollar endowments.
· $50 million in funding for the National Endowment of the Arts.
· $44 million for repairs to U.S. Department of Agriculture headquarters.
· $200 million for the National Mall, including $21 million for sod.
5. The plan establishes at least 32 new government programs at a cost of over $136 billion. That means more than a third of this plan’s spending provisions are dedicated to creating new government programs.
6. The plan provides spending in at least 150 different federal programs, ranging from Amtrak to the Transportation Security Administration. Is this the “targeted” plan Democratic leaders promised?
7. Even though the legislation contains at least 152 separate spending proposals, the authors of the plan can only say that 34 have any chance at keeping or growing jobs.
8. Just one in seven dollars of an $18.5 billion expenditure on “energy efficiency” and “renewable energy programs” would be spent within the next 18 months.
9. The total cost of this one piece of legislation is almost as much as the annual discretionary budget for the entire federal government.
10. The House Democrats’ bill will cost each and every household $6,700 in additional debt, paid for by our children and grandchildren.
11. The bill provides enough spending – $825 billion – to give every man, woman, and child in America $2,700. $825 billion is enough to give every person in Ohio $72,000.
12. $825 billion is enough to give every person living in poverty in the United States $22,000.
13. Although the House Democrats’ proposal has been billed as a transportation and infrastructure investment package, in actuality only $30 billion of the bill – or three percent – is for road and highway spending. A recent study from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found that only 25 percent of infrastructure dollars can be spent in the first year, making the one year total less than $7 billion.
14. Much of the funding within the House Democrats’ proposal will go to programs that already have large, unexpended balances. For example, the bill provides $1 billion for Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) – a program that already has $16 billion on hand. States also are sitting on some $9 billion in unused highway funds – funds that Congress is prepared to rescind later this year.
15. All board members of the “Accountability and Transparency Board” created by this legislation are appointees of the President; none will be appointed by Congress.
16. A scant 2.7 percent, or $22.3 billion of the overall package, is dedicated to small business tax relief.
17. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that the legislation increases by seven million the number of people who get a check back from the IRS that exceeds what they paid in payroll and income taxes.
18. The “Making Work Pay” tax credit at the center of the plan amounts to $1.37 a day, or about the price of a cup of coffee.
19. Almost one-third of the so-called “tax relief” in the House Democrats’ bill is spending in disguise, meaning that true tax relief makes up only 24 percent of the total package – not the 40 percent that President Obama had requested.
20. $825 billion is just the beginning – many Capitol Hill Democrats want to spend even more taxpayer dollars on their “stimulus” plan. In fact, the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. David Obey (D-WI), told Roll Call earlier this month, “I would not be surprised to see us go further on some of these programs down the line.”
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
BTW, I do not profess to be an economic expert, so it may be a bit simple for someone who really knows a ton about this stuff.
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One question which certainly poses an important meaning in our time is how much the federal government should be involved in the economy. Things like the $700 billion bailout – though it will likely cost more than $700 billion – and the automotive companies asking for handouts has prompted much discussion over this topic. With more Democrats in the Congress over the next two years, these bailouts don’t look to be over, even though a fair amount of Republicans voted for the bailout, including former presidential candidate John McCain. I think that it is better to let the free market run its course and to have minimal interference from the federal government.
One reason for this belief of mine is because the economy has always worked itself out in the end. While we may struggle a bit during an economic downturn, the economy will eventually turn around. While many say that Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal” policies got us out of the Great Depression, we really did not emerge from it until World War II began and it can be argued that these programs only lengthened and strengthened the hostility of the depression because the government was bankrupt, as well, and could not pay their workers.
Another reason is that the federal government cannot afford to get too involved. The latest “$700 billion bailout” could cost in upwards of $2 trillion once it’s all said and done. The government can never run anything efficiently and it always leads to excess waste. The United States already faces an enormous federal deficit – I’ve seen reports ranging from $9 trillion to $53 trillion – so the government simply cannot afford to be bailing out everyone that needs help. If these companies are not operating efficiently enough to stay in business, they should fail and liquidate their assets. This is what the free market does. Only the strongest survive in the business world and artificially keeping certain companies alive through bailouts will not help out the economy, it will only worsen it.
Another reason for minimal interference by the government in economics is because that is how capitalism works. If the government gets involved in the economy too much, it essentially becomes nothing short of socialism. Subsidizing losses, as the government is doing now, is socialism. We are not a socialist country and never have been, yet we are now heading in that direction. Besides, only “Big Business” gets these bailouts while small businesses which are failing get nothing, even though the politicians claim that they hate “Big Business” and stand up for the “Working Man.”
In conclusion, the government should limit itself to having as little interference in the workings of the economy in the United States as possible. Over the last fifty years, we have had possibly the best economy in the world. While European countries, such as France, have struggled with high unemployment rates of more than 10%, we have had relatively low unemployment rates and a strong economy. The free market is one of the reasons that made this possible.
Monday, November 10, 2008
The team seemed winded or something in overtime and the offense sputtered while the defense gave up. It was unfortunate, but I'd much rather WVU go down in overtime than to lose 20-7.
The recruits that attended the game appeared to enjoy the game and that's important. Heastie looks to be coming along with a few other good wide receivers and we have the #2 fullback in the nation (according to Scout.com), which will be huge since we have missed Owen Schmitt this season, no doubt.
I really don't blame the coaching staff too much. There were some questionable calls, like the call on fourth and goal to run a sweep play out of the I-formation in the fourth quarter (I would have much rather either ran a Pat White running play out of the shotgun formation or ran Jock Sanders up the middle out of the I), but the lack of execution is what killed the Mountaineers' chance of winning. The players dropped a ton of balls and Jock Sanders dropped a sure touchdown. The offensive line was lousy and it's hard to do much when Pat White is being hit on every play and Devine has absolutely no room to run. I'd like to see Jock Sanders get some more plays in the running game, though.
Cincinnati played some good defense, though, as well.
Looking at the Big East standings, I'd say that there are still four teams that have a chance at the title. UConn is a long shot as they would have to have Cincinnati lose another game, beat Pittsburgh, and have West Virginia choke away two of their final three games, but they're still alive.
Pittsburgh and Cincinnati obviously have the best opportunities as all they have to do is win out. West Virginia has to have Cincinnati lose another game (to either Pittsburgh or Louisville, or maybe even choke in the Syracuse game, LOL), and has to win out.
It should be interesting over the next few weeks.
Go Louisville next week over the Bearcats!!!
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