4 million jobs to be “created or saved” has to be my all time favorite goal, ever set forth, by anyone, anywhere.
What a superb concept. In essence, unidentifiable jobs vaguely related to the monstrous amounts of money we are investing in “energy efficiency” shall either be created or not created. And never mind that taking a trillion dollars from nowhere is quite absolutely going to shrink our economy as we attempt to pay it down over the next ten, twenty or thirty years, thus resulting in untold job losses.
Indeed, I remain ever confident of my longstanding theory that our government’s collective lunacy shall either “annihilate” or “stagnate” this republic.
Last week, Speaker Pelosi agreed to a 48 hour online posting of the finished Stimulus package, for all Americans to read. That isn’t going to happen. It doesn’t take much imagination to infer her reason. Posting this bill would be, precisely, the best way to get the American public, currently in a pacified post-Hope stage, at your throat for the rest of the term.
No, these people have done far too much coaxing and soothing over these last couple of years. They wouldn’t want to undue the good feelings by informing the country that they’ve wedded their children and grandchildren to the most irresponsible spending scheme in US history.
Since the new bill isn’t going to be posted, I decided to thumb through the House version that passed last week. Given that the only opposition was from Republicans who are in the minority and not at any of the committee hearings, the numbers are likely to be quite similar from a week ago.
A half trillion on jobless benefits, renewable energy projects, highway construction, food stamps, high-speed rail projects, (I love it) broadband and wireless technology. Yes, $3,000,000,000 on wireless and broadband. I guarantee that is going to stimulate a lot of people, who hopefully have some virus protection. Oh, we’ve got that too! More than a quarter billion on HIV and STD research. Ok, different kind of virus – though I suppose the faster you can download your porn, the less likely you are to worry about contracting STDs.
$400,000,000 for habitat restoration. Oh…… good.
$600,000,000 for “accelerating satellite development and acquisition, acquiring climate sensors and climate modeling capacity, and establishing climate data records…. Not less than $140,000,000 shall be available for climate data modeling.”
Now, I guess I have sort of name for being obtuse. Crazy ol’ me is just having a heck of a time wrapping my brain around this: $600,000,000 for climate modeling is creating how many jobs for which people, now?
$3,000,000,000 for state law enforcement. Now that’s prudent. And truly, once the malcontented mobs realize what the government has just done, our boys in blue are going to need them some new SWAT gear.
$2,500,000,000 for science research, $400,000,000 for facilities.
Another “energy efficiency” allocation: $4,500,000,000 for facilities “sustainment, restoration and modernization” on DOD buildings.
$500,000,000 for “water and related services” for the Dept of the Interior.
$18,500,000,000 for “Energy efficiency and renewable energy,” $6,200,000,000 for “Weatherization Assistance Program.”
Waaaiiit a second. Wait. Who or what are we assisting? Weatherization? Jesus-God…..
$7,700,000,000 for federal buildings repairs and improvements – which shall “create the greatest impact on energy efficiency and conservation.”
$600,000,000 for energy efficient motor vehicle fleet for the federal government.
$1,200,000,000 for grants for states for youth activities and summer jobs for youth.
Really now, Hitler had a perfectly good Socialist “youth” pogrom – I mean program that surely didn’t cost all that much.
$500,000,000 for “research and job training projects that prepare workers for careers in energy efficiency and renewable energy industries.” Oh look! I found them! Jeez, $500 million to “create” 4 million jobs? What was the alternative outcome again? Riiiight…..
In all fairness, these are just the training programs. What a happy bunch of fully reeducated government conservationists we’ll have a result. 4 million of them!
$1,100,000,000 for expansion of Head Start programs. This is an interesting one. About ten years ago, Slob (“Rob”) Reiner got a proposition passed in California by preying on the stupidity of voters. The bill taxed every pack of cigarettes sold in the state and allocated each dollar of that tax to First Five programs (similar to Head Start). Today, California is going bankrupt and that program has spent less than 15% of its total funds. First Five LA has a $600,000,000 surplus.
I went to preschool for free at the church down the street from my house. I suppose if we were sitting on golden chairs and using paste extracted from endangered deep-sea octopuses our preschool would have merited a little more investment. As it stands, I think a box of construction paper runs for about 50 cents these days.
Public education (indoctrination) wins big. $13,000,000,000 to the Dept of Education; $20,000,000,000 for modernization of schools.
Even if we agreed that public schools were fantastic, havens of knowledge where kids grew to be fine, well-balanced, upstanding and morally unimpeachable pillars of society – is now the time to chuck $30 or $40 billion at them? And whose jobs are being “created or saved” here?
How can anyone justify this bill as an economic “stimulus.” This is a spending bill, and it’s the worst kind. Billions upon billions are being spent on “energy efficiency.” This government has no concept, as a collective body of what constitutes the most efficient energy. These are 535 politicians: many career politicians, mostly lawyers, a couple of doctors, and a handful of others. What in God’s name do any of them know about what the best path science, energy and technology needs to take? Why in God’s name do we let them think they do know?
These are matters, ALWAYS, best decided by private industry and privately funded research. It’s ludicrous, beyond words, to suppose that the federal government has in its scope the authority or the credentials to forcibly shape the future of energy, transportation and technology.
The bill they have hoisted on this country will cripple us and we will be paying for it for decades to come. Let all the young fools who voted for Hope and Change know that they did this.
The Reichstag is on fire and the für has spoken: spend now, ask questions never.
China, looks like you just bought yourself the most energy efficient goddamn country in history.