A Peek Inside

[HairyEyeball]

We know that the 'stimulus'* bill is larded with more pork than Armour has packed since it opened, but wouldn't it be nice to know exactly where all those billions are going?

Baytown , Texas is getting a "graffiti abatement team" for $250,000 of taxpayer money. Oklahoma City is getting $6.3 million for "trails," $5.5 million to renovate an old J.C. Penney building and $1.4 million for a "ferry boat maintenance facility."

Of course Both the Screecher of the House and the Senate say there are no earmarks or pork barreling in the spending bill. Pick you state and town and see who is kidding who:

< http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state>

Find projects by state or territory

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/AK> Alaska (46 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/AL> Alabama (318 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/AR> Arkansas (199 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/AZ> Arizona (743 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/CA> California (1971 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/CO> Colorado (201 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/CT> Connecticut (449 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/DC> Washington , D.C. (8 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/DE> Delaware (7 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/FL> Florida (1752 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/GA> Georgia (266 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/HI> Hawaii (316 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/IA> Iowa (51 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/ID> Idaho (348 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/IL> Illinois (1031 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/IN> Indiana (713 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/KS> Kansas (139 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/KY> Kentucky (524 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/LA> Louisiana (433 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/MA> Massachusetts (266 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/MD> Maryland (54 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/ME> Maine (72 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/MI> Michigan (782 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/MN> Minnesota (335 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/MO> Missouri (403 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/MS> Mississippi (552 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/MT> Montana (57 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/NC> North Carolina (319 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/ND> North Dakota (61 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/NE> Nebraska (154 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/NJ> New Jersey (261 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/NM> New Mexico (215 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/NV> Nevada (163 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/NY> New York (289 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/OH> Ohio (847 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/OK> Oklahoma (223 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/OR> Oregon (159 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/PA> Pennsylvania (352 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/PR> Puerto Rico (340 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/RI> Rhode Island (116 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/SC> South Carolina (271 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/SD> South Dakota (30 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/TN> Tennessee (103 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/TX> Texas (1240 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/UT> Utah (298 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/VA> Virginia (400 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/VT> Vermont (61 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/WA> Washington (368 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/WI> Wisconsin (358 projects)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/WV> West Virginia (1 project)

* < http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state/WY> Wyoming (85 projects)

*- You say 'stimulus', I say 'cumulous': Behind it all, there's nothing but a dense cloud of smoke and expensive, broken mirrors - plenty of flash and glitter, but in the end, it's just trash.

[CAPSmith]

Seems my state didn't make the list :) Our democrat governor said he wouldn't accept funds that would require program funding in excess of what the 'stimulus' was.

At least he's thinking somewhat.

[TruBlu]

I'm surprised that my city and state is on the list with so much. I am disappointed to see some of the items this bill 'pays' for and cannot understand why my representatives would do this. Granted most items displayed are important, especially the schools, I've seen them first hand, but they aren't necessary to the rebuilding of our economy. Pass a bill for education if you want to fund education, not slide it in with an economic 'stimulus.'

[Rabbit]

My city didn't make the cut.

I checked out some other nearby cities, though. Some that caught my eye were:

$10.2 million for- "Equestrian View - 102 units of Home Ownership constructed by Housing Authority to EnergyStar Standards" I can't seem to understand exactly what this means. But, it didn't get a very good "vote ratio".

$70,000 to "Provide water service to dog park at Wellington Park" Seriously? My dog drinks out of the toilet.

$9.5 million for "Grand Oaks Phase V - 88 units of new public housing." Why not? We already pay the bills!?


2+ million for "solar water heating systems" at a golf course.

[TruBlu]

After doing some reading, I've discovered that the devil is in the details. Physically, HR1 does not include these "shovel-ready" projects. These were provided by the 2008 US "Conference of Mayors report. Instead, HR1 appropriates money for federal grant programs like CDBG where then money will be distributed based on 'necessity.' Now stimulus money will still be used to fund these projects, but I wanted to make sure that anyone who reviews this knows that the money is not specifically allocated to these programs by Congress or the POTUS, but is allotted for the use of federal grant programs.

[03_SHOOTER]

After doing some reading, I've discovered that the devil is in the details. Physically, HR1 does not include these "shovel-ready" projects. These were provided by the 2008 US "Conference of Mayors report. Instead, HR1 appropriates money for federal grant programs like CDBG where then money will be distributed based on 'necessity.' Now stimulus money will still be used to fund these projects, but I wanted to make sure that anyone who reviews this knows that the money is not specifically allocated to these programs by Congress or the POTUS, but is allotted for the use of federal grant programs.

And that is precisely the problem with the whole damned thing. We The Sheeple have over the years given Congress the ability to forcibly extricate our hard earned money and then THEY decide where it's going to go, and for what. When the FF's wrote the Constitution, it was their intention that each of the States were to be, for all intents and purposes, independent nation states with the federal government being responsible solely for those things commonly necessary to all of the States. The way it's supposed to work is that the States collect the tax dollars, and they decide what that money is to be used for, but by inserting the federal government into the mix, now we have an entirely unnecessary level of bureaucracy to support before that money gets back to the States where it originated.

To put it simply, we're paying to support a bureaucracy that actually does NOTHING.

[Buffa1oso1di3r]

Well, of course, the grand metro area of my city just dominates the list for my state...

Some of the stuff on there we really need (road replacement, with the constant snow/ice fall and melting, the roads get cracked a lot), some places in my city don't even have sidewalks, although I don't see why the interstate needs to be widened or why we need more buses... but, eh, that's how politics rolls.

[TruBlu]

I am in complete agreement with Shooter here.

As to the necessity of these projects, they most certainly are, but not federally so. But here is what worries me the most: the states will be given grants to conduct these projects, but there will have to be some form of compensation from the states. I fear this compensation will not be one of capital because it simply doesn't exist in quantities that are referenced (my city is receiving over one billion, a number that coinage was never meant to represent), but it will be that of federal annexation of state property, reducing the states into a conglomerate of names at best.