Kathianne
02-15-2009, 11:58 AM
http://reason.com/news/show/131694.html
Here's What $800 Billion Buys Today
The final stimulus package is the final insult to taxpayers.
Veronique de Rugy | February 13, 2009
The final version of the stimulus bill is ready to be voted on by the House and the Senate.
Here's the good news: The $246 million tax credit to Hollywood that made its way to the initial House bill and was removed in the Senate version didn't make it to the final bill.
That's pretty much it for the good news.
Total spending amounts to $792 billion, with $570 billion in direct spending and $212 billion in tax provisions. These numbers don't include the massive amount of interest that will accrue on the increased debt. If we include that, the total amount comes to $1.14 trillion.
Supporters of the package describe the legislation as transportation and infrastructure investment, the idea being to use new spending to put America back to work while at the same time fixing decrepit infrastructure. However, only 17 percent of the discretionary spending in this package is for infrastructure items. More worrisome still, the final version lacks any mechanism to ensure that spending will be targeted toward infrastructure projects with high economic returns.
...
In one interesting twist, the conference committee dropped many of the prohibitions included in the version passed by the Senate. These prohibitions were the result of an amendment sponsored by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) last week. The Senate voted 73-24 to prohibit wasteful or low-priority spending items from the bill. The amendment read as follows:
None of the amounts appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used for any casino or other gambling establishment, aquarium, zoo, golf course, swimming pool, stadium, community park, museum, theater, art center, and highway beautification project.
However, the conference version includes the following provision, which drops many of the prohibitions from that list.
SEC. 1604. none of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available in this Act may be used by any State or local government, or any private entity for any casino or other gambling establishment, aquarium, zoo, golf course, or swimming pool.
So now funds can go to museums, stadiums, arts centers, theaters, parks, or highway beautification projects. Most significantly, this reopens the door for many of the projects on the U.S. Conference of Mayors' wish list of "shovel ready" projects that includes many items that are nothing but waste and pork, such as doorbells, construction of dog parks, replacement of street lights, and money for a "mob museum."
...
Here's What $800 Billion Buys Today
The final stimulus package is the final insult to taxpayers.
Veronique de Rugy | February 13, 2009
The final version of the stimulus bill is ready to be voted on by the House and the Senate.
Here's the good news: The $246 million tax credit to Hollywood that made its way to the initial House bill and was removed in the Senate version didn't make it to the final bill.
That's pretty much it for the good news.
Total spending amounts to $792 billion, with $570 billion in direct spending and $212 billion in tax provisions. These numbers don't include the massive amount of interest that will accrue on the increased debt. If we include that, the total amount comes to $1.14 trillion.
Supporters of the package describe the legislation as transportation and infrastructure investment, the idea being to use new spending to put America back to work while at the same time fixing decrepit infrastructure. However, only 17 percent of the discretionary spending in this package is for infrastructure items. More worrisome still, the final version lacks any mechanism to ensure that spending will be targeted toward infrastructure projects with high economic returns.
...
In one interesting twist, the conference committee dropped many of the prohibitions included in the version passed by the Senate. These prohibitions were the result of an amendment sponsored by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) last week. The Senate voted 73-24 to prohibit wasteful or low-priority spending items from the bill. The amendment read as follows:
None of the amounts appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used for any casino or other gambling establishment, aquarium, zoo, golf course, swimming pool, stadium, community park, museum, theater, art center, and highway beautification project.
However, the conference version includes the following provision, which drops many of the prohibitions from that list.
SEC. 1604. none of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available in this Act may be used by any State or local government, or any private entity for any casino or other gambling establishment, aquarium, zoo, golf course, or swimming pool.
So now funds can go to museums, stadiums, arts centers, theaters, parks, or highway beautification projects. Most significantly, this reopens the door for many of the projects on the U.S. Conference of Mayors' wish list of "shovel ready" projects that includes many items that are nothing but waste and pork, such as doorbells, construction of dog parks, replacement of street lights, and money for a "mob museum."
...