Stimulus Horrors
The Failing States: Fiscal Crisis in the Statehouse
Frank Keegan, national editor of Watchdog.org, delivers the first in a series of podcasts on the state-level budget troubles across the country. The link takes you to the Watchdog.org site where you can hear the podcast.
GDP Report: An Anti-Middle Class Recovery (TheStreet.com)
On Friday, the Commerce Department will report estimated first-quarter GDP growth. The consensus forecast is for a 3.5% increase, further confirming the end of the recession and that the recovery is moderate and disappointing.
NABE Economists on Stimulus: No Impact!
The Foundry – April 26, 2010
During the debate on and after the Obama economic stimulus bill even some conservative economists were arguing the bill was needed to stabilize the economy.
State hands out $7M in appliance rebates
WRAL – April 26, 2010
North Carolina consumers received about $7 million in rebates by purchasing energy-efficient appliances over the weekend, officials said Monday.
City’s Payout Lags Other in Federal Stimulus Funding
New York Times – April 28, 2010
New York has fared worse than many other cities when it comes to winning federal economic-stimulus money for high-profile investments in roads, rail lines and scientific research.
Bureaucrats do their own ‘greenwashing’
Gaston Gazette – April 28, 2010
Want to hear a secret? We’re happy “Earth Week” is over. Every year around this time, a new word works its way deeper into the American vernacular: “greenwashing.” The term has more applications than many people seem to realize.
Kingbrook, Estelline get water funding
The Brookings Register – April 27, 2010
Two Brookings-area organizations will be included for water-project funding under the federal government’s economic stimulus program, it was announced this week.
Economists say the stimulus didn t help (Money)
The recovery is picking up steam as employers boost payrolls, but economists think the government s stimulus package and jobs bill had little to do with the rebound, according to a survey released Monday.
USDA unlikley source of $2 million stimulus for New Jersey’s public libraries
The Press of Atlantic City – April 25, 2010
Public libraries have not been immune to local and county government budget cuts.
On the state level, Gov. Chris Christie’s fiscal year 2011 budget proposes reducing state funding to libraries by 74 percent, from $14 million this year to $3.7 million….
Federal stimulus money, False Claims Act keep this attorney busy
Cincinnati Enquirer – April 24, 2010
Federal stimulus money may be good for the economy, but it’s also causing its share of difficulties for companies navigating the legalities of doing business with the government….
Oakland mayor defends city’s use of stimulus funds
Associated Press – April 23, 2010
Oakland’s mayor says the city has resolved the problems uncovered in a state audit that found about a third of federal stimulus funds the city received for job creation were misdirected or unaccounted for.
Florida Projects Await Funding
AM850 – April 26, 2010
Some Florida projects are set to go, but funding has yet to come.
Stimulus money helps fund obesity fight
Wisconsin Rapids Tribune – April 26, 2010
What are you doing with all that money? We’re asked this question a lot lately; not one often heard in public health. That’s because Wisconsin ranks 50th in the nation for state funding for local health departments.
KMOX Investigates: Stimulus request steered toward Dooley campaign manager
KMOX – April 26, 2010
A KMOX investigation shows St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley wanted to give millions of taxpayer dollars to an organization controlled by his campaign manager, as part of the most ambitious computer project the region has ever seen.
American companies are planning to ramp employment, but they say U.S. stimulus has nothing to do with it
Business Insider – April 26, 2010
According to the National Association for Business Economics (NABE), which is a professional organization of business economists within corporations, job creation has already begun in the U.S., in the first quarter of 2010, and it will now continue robustly over the next two quarters.
The painful cost of “Stimulus”
Review Messenger – April 22, 2010
Apparently, everyone in the world is worried about rapidly increasing sovereign debt except for Barack Obama and Timothy Geithner. Yesterday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) issued a stark warning that unprecedented deficit-spending throughout the world to cope with the recession could trigger a “new phase” in the financial crisis….
Johnson County accepts $10.6M stimulus grant for bus routes
Kansas City Business Journal – April 22, 2010
The Johnson County Board of Commissioners on Thursday accepted $10.6 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation as part of the federal stimulus Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program….
Hey politicians … Seattle needs jobs!
SeattlePI – April 22, 2010
A cacophony of horn blowing greeted media folk Wednesday morning, celebrating a $20 million federal stimulus grant for the city of Seattle to ramp-up energy retrofits to local homes and businesses….
Costing You: Should cosmetology students get stimulus money?
WTSP – April 22, 2010
At three Tampa Bay Cosmetology Schools, students are learning how to cut hair, do nails and give shampoos and massages, and some students qualify for stimulus money. The money is good news for students, but the stimulus grants for cosmetology students rubs many other people the wrong way….
Track SC Stimulus Spending Online
WYFF4 – April 22, 2010
South Carolinians who want to see where federal stimulus dollars are going can now do so with a few clicks of a mouse….
Dellums downplays stimulus funds audit
San Francisco Chronicle – April 23, 2010
Two days after state auditors disclosed that Oakland misspent federal stimulus dollars meant for job creation, Mayor Ron Dellums said the city’s Recovery Act problems are a thing of the past….
Stimulus Aid Is Slow to Reach Energy Savers
New York Times – April 21, 2010
For companies that specialize in the business of saving energy, these ought to be flush times. Last year’s stimulus package devoted at least $20 billion to efficiency measures, more than any other single law. President Obama regularly preaches the virtues of better insulation and weatherizing homes….
H.C. seeks stimulus money
News Chief – April 16, 2010
Haines City Commissioners gave their approval for officials to apply for nearly $12 million in federal stimulus money for downtown projects that would include construction of a new library….
Portsmouth woman defends mailbox from ‘stimulus’
East Bay RI – April 16, 2010
They had already ‘stimulated’ Bristol Ferry Road’s sidewalks and curbs, and this week workers addressed one last issue on that busy Portsmouth road — the mailboxes….
DHS Announces Recovery Act Purchase of 1,200 Explosives Trace Detection Units to Bolster Aviation Security
eNews Park Forest – April 15, 2010
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today announced the purchase of more than 1,200 explosives trace detection units using $35.5 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding—improving explosives detection capabilities at airports nationwide while infusing Recovery Act dollars into local economies….
Mailbag: Government needs to cut out waste
Associated Press – April 15, 2010
California’s inspector general says San Bernardino County wasn’t eligible for more than $3 million in federal stimulus money and must now pay it back….
6 Outrageous Political Earmarks
San Francisco Chronicle – April 15, 2010
Controversial earmarks always make for sensational headlines, usually casting a politician in a negative light. Even though the media often focuses on these scandals, politicians keep on trying to put them in legislation, either hoping no one will notice, or at least not mind too much….
Government Stimulus: The Multi-Trillion-Dollar Free Lunch
Wall Street Pit – April 15, 2010
Milton Friedman got it wrong; there IS such a thing as a “free lunch.” Just ask any mainstream economist…
Business That Isn’t So Small
National Review – April 15, 2010
Somewhere in America there is a frustrated small-business owner. Demand for products is down, employees have had to be let go, costs are up, and there is little hope in sight. To make things worse, the tax man is knocking at the door….
New tax breaks cause confusion, enforcement issues
Associated Press – April 15, 2010
New tax breaks enacted last year are causing confusion for taxpayers and enforcement problems for the Internal Revenue Service, according to a government report issued Thursday, the deadline for filing individual returns….
Most Americans say tax dollars are wasted
CNN – April 15, 2010
Nearly three-quarters of Americans say that the government wastes their tax dollars, according to a new national poll….
Marco Rubio Takes Aim at Stimulus Package
Human Events – April 15, 2010
Marco Rubio brought his Senate campaign on Wednesday to a Caterpillar dealership and took aim at President Obama’s economic policies….
Agency abused stimulus, audit says
Wisconsin Rapids Tribune – April 14, 2010
A Wisconsin Rapids-based agency that garnered $417,356 in stimulus funds last year could be in trouble with the state after a review of its financial records and accounting policies….
Stimulus Programs Remain Untapped by Most Americans: AICPA Survey
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants – April 14
The overwhelming majority of Americans haven’t taken advantage of the U.S. government’s programs to stimulate the national economy, according to a survey conducted for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants by Harris Interactive….
Economic stimulus: Homeowner program fraud-infested, claims legal group
Washington Examiner – April 14, 2010
While the news media focus on the Obama-led Nuclear Summit, the resignation of SEIU union honcho Andy Stern, and the continued controversy over health care, a legal watchdog group has exposed another example of government mismanagement, even out-and-out fraud….
Zoos fight for share of federal stimulus funds
Arizona Central – April 14, 2010
Seventy years ago, construction crews built monkey and alligator exhibits, a concession stand and a rock picnic shelter at the Fort Worth Zoo with what amounted to Depression-era stimulus money….
SPIN METER: Congress’ pork: advocacy or hypocrisy?
Associated Press – April 13, 2010
It’s early on a Monday in north Alabama’s “space city,” and Sen. Richard Shelby is bashing Washington at a packed town hall meeting in the cavernous U.S. Space and Rocket Center….
Perry ducked state law on disclosing some stimulus money
American Statesman – April 13, 2010
Gov. Rick Perry has always publicly stiff-armed federal stimulus dollars, even as he accepted billions to balance the state budget and tens of millions that he could award to constituents….
You call this a recovery?
Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch – April 13, 2010
Most of the hard economic data point to steady if unspectacular growth over the next year or two. The unsustainable boost from inventories and from government stimulus is giving way to a resurgence in private demand….
Stimulus money should be spent on schools, not on studies, decorative sidewalks
Payson Round-Up – April 13, 2010
After reading in Friday’s Roundup that our local school district plans to cut 10 more jobs, including those of some teachers, I then read in Sunday’s Arizona Republic that the federal government’s National Institute on Drug Abuse has granted $1.7 million to the University of Arizona to study the long-term effects of the drug Ecstasy….
We are in a Massive Unemployment Crisis in this Country
OpEdNews – April 13, 2010
We are in a massive unemployment crisis in this country that a rising DOW above 11,000 has no connection to and if anything masks the true state of the American economy….
Vermont’s big risk: Short-term thinking
Times Argus – April 13, 2010
Doesn’t everybody love a quick fix? Do you believe a tax refund check, weight loss pill, computer software, and even stock speculation will bring success without the need for hard work, determination and courage? Is there a quick fix to get state government out of its budget crisis today, and for years to come…?
Big-time funding for small-town sewers
Creston News – April 13, 2010
Water and sewage service in small-town southern Iowa will get a big boost in the coming years thanks to funding from the federal stimulus package….
Some States Avoid Difficult Decisions
The Wheeling News-Register – April 13, 2010
Tens of billions of dollars in federal “stimulus” money handed out to the states last year gave many of them excuses not to get their fiscal houses in order. As a result, several still face daunting budget challenges….
Alcatraz Goes Solar with 1,360 Panels
Correctional News – April 13, 2010
The former federal penitentiary on Alcatraz Island will once again play a role in removing harmful elements from the community after plans emerged for a solar energy system that will reduce carbon emissions from “the Rock….”
Fraud Plagues Calif Stimulus Funds
CityWatchLA – April 13, 2010
The board of directors’ retreat at a luxury casino: $8,300. The price tag for their bottled water: $2,300. And let’s not forget their facial tissue: $460….
Stimulus funding draws scrutiny
News-Journal – April 12, 2010
The Center for Business Excellence has spent about $200,000 in federal stimulus funds for job training, so far, this fiscal year.
One company that received funds is the Truck Driver Institute in Sanford. The company received a total of $75,100, records show, and, of that amount, $31,775 was from federal stimulus funds administered by the center on behalf of the Workforce Development Board for the Volusia and Flagler area….
Stimulus will pave 48 miles, but won’t add many jobs
NewJersey.com – April 12, 2010
After a tough winter, Passaic County’s battered roads need a lot of work. And after three years of recession, the state’s construction industry needs a lot of work, too….
Some Muskogee County Residents Angered Over Stimulus Funding For Sidewalks
Oklahoma Impact – April 12, 2010
Residents of a small town in rural Muskogee County say they’ve discovered a big problem — tax dollars being wasted on useless construction….
U.S. hopes dams’ demolition will let salmon return
McClatchy Newspapers – April 11, 2010
They were known as June Hogs – 100-pound salmon that, when stood on end, were taller than a man.
Up until a century ago, they returned annually to the Elwha River on Washington state’s Olympic Peninsula in runs so huge homesteaders reported the river turned into a wiggling mass from bank to bank. One count placed their number at 392,000.
Work zone traffic accidents are on the rise in Indiana
The Munster Times
An increase in federal funding through economic stimulus programs means more work on Indiana roads and subsequently, more work zone crashes, officials said….
IRS gets lift with stimulus cash, no creation of jobs
Boston Herald – April 11, 2010
With tax day looming, officials from Washington to Massachusetts are blasting a $92 million “Cadillac”-style renovation of the sprawling IRS center in Andover, calling the use of federal stimulus dollars to collect more taxes a “boondoggle” that won’t even bring long-term jobs to the area….
Are We Flying Too High Again?
New York Times – April 9, 2010
THE stock market continued to defy gravity and expectations in the first quarter, even as important segments of the economy remained tightly tethered to Earth. That, too, defied expectations, but of greater strength, not less.
Package only stimulated unemployment
OneNewsNow – April 9, 2010
A veteran Republican senator believes President Obama’s “stimulus” package is continuing to destroy economic growth and private sector employment….
City to receive ARRA funds for recycling truck
Chautauqua County Observer – April 9, 2010
The city of Dunkirk was one of four Chautauqua County municipalities to receive money from $513,000 in federal Recovery Act grant funding, according to Congressman Brian Higgins….
Surry needs jobs now, Governor’s rep told
The Mount Airy News – April 8, 2010
Surry County needs more jobs, and it needs them now. That was the message sent loud and clear to a top official in Gov. Bev Perdue’s administration who met Wednesday afternoon with local governmental and economic leaders at the Mount Airy Municipal Building….
SCHATZ: Lucre for lobbyists
The Washington Times – April 8, 2010
The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA), or stimulus, has been subject to a great deal of criticism since its enactment in February 2009. Questions have been raised about the number of jobs “created,” while dozens of wasteful expenditures have been documented….
Obama Has Overpromised and Underdelivered
Wall Street Journal – April 8, 2010
We have heard for months that the Democrats’ election prospects would brighten once they pivot from health care to the economy. But that seems increasingly unlikely. The reason is simple: President Barack Obama overpromised on his stimulus package and then grossly underdelivered. That has caused public confidence in his ability to handle the economy to drop….
Is NIH heading for a stimulus hangover?
The Great Beyond – April 8, 2010
Research funding for the National Institutes of Health needs more support, according to the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB)….
Over half of state unemployment insurance funds face insolvency
California Independent Voter Network – April 7, 2010
A significant – and often overlooked — result of what’s been dubbed the Great Recession is that in just over half of the 50 states, the programs that pay unemployment insurance to workers who’ve lost their jobs are insolvent, leading states to borrow more than $39 billion from the federal government to keep writing checks….
Another tough year: Construction industry faces long road to recovery
Business Review West Michigan – April 7, 2010
A slow national economic recovery equals an even slower recovery in the construction industry, which has been hit particularly hard by the recession….
In Pennsylvania, Rendell spells out plan to balance state budget
Indiana Gazette – April 7, 2010
Gov. Ed Rendell on Tuesday told an Indiana Area Senior High School civics class of a five-prong approach to shoring up a second consecutive state budget deficit….
Why is Recovery.gov Still Referring to ‘Jobs Created’?
NewsBusters – April 7, 2010
A recent blog post from Earl Devaney seeks to dispel several so-called myths involving the Recovery Board, but does little to dispel the notion that those operating the Recovery.gov Web site are woefully inept….
Kyl: Fed measures hurt job creation
Yuma Sun – April 7, 2010
Sen. Jon Kyl was having “a great day in Yuma” when he visited the city to meet with constituents and address their concerns….
“Stimulus” dollars at work… paying lobbyists for the nanny state
Big Government – April 2010
Last month, Phil Kerpen wrote an insightful piece here at BigGovernment.com about “The Stimulus Bill’s Hidden Attack on What We Eat, Drink, and Smoke.” In it, he detailed yet another absurd (and angering) use of so-called “stimulus” funds to help lobby for restrictions and higher taxes on the nanny state’s favorite targets: unhealthy foods, sweetened beverages, tobacco, and other disfavored products that your friendly bureaucrat doesn’t think you ought to enjoy….
Rock Island sewers will lead to nowhere for now
The Wenatchee World – April 7, 2010
Work will begin Monday laying pipe for Rock Island’s new sewage collection system. The only problem is that the city doesn’t have a wastewater treatment center to accept and treat the sewage….
Big Misunderstandings about ARRA Stimulus for Clean Energy
The Energy Collective – April 7, 2010
A few weeks ago I flagged a story in the Christian Science Monitor titled “Stimulus Funds for Clean Energy Largely Unspent” because I thought it deserved a clarifying ‘blog post.
Can an incentive program help drug users with mental issues?
Barry Rascover, The JHU Gazette
Men and women trying to shake their drug habits while also dealing with mental disorders pose difficult challenges for medical providers and health care policy-makers. And while combining psychiatric and addiction treatment services at one location holds great promise, this model has so far proved disappointing….
Stimulus not nearly as good as it seems
The Daily Record
New Jersey is implementing the stimulus appliance rebate program this month. This federal program is a failure…
City plans stimulus use
By Jeff Bollier, The Northwestern
The city of Oshkosh has put more than $5.3 million of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act assistance to use everything from hybrid buses to road construction and enhanced law enforcement.
Stimulus not nearly as good as it seems
The Daily Record (New Jersey) – April 6, 2010
New Jersey is implementing the stimulus appliance rebate program this month. This federal program is a failure.
Stimulus project plants trees, jobs in Staunton
By Rebecca Martinez, The News Leader
April 6, 2010
A backhoe and a dump truck replaced sedans and SUVs along median of the Firehouse parking lot as the city began a federally funded demolition and landscaping project Monday….
Box factory wins, rejects stimulus grant
By Gregory Korte, Cincinnati Enquirer
April 6, 2010
A Sycamore Township cardboard box factory applied for and won a $911,936 federal energy efficiency stimulus grant. And then turned the money down….
HOME FORECLOSURE CRISIS: Federal aid program fails to help many
By Alan Maimon, Los Vegas Review Journal
In Southern Nevada, an area known as ground zero of the nation’s housing crisis, far fewer people than expected have received home loan modifications through a $75 billion stimulus program designed to reduce the impact of fore closures on communities….
Federal stimulus plan for solar power will take decades to return investment
By Mark Lisheron, Texas Watchdog
If the people of Bedford, Texas, are still borrowing whatever they are calling books in 72 years, they may find themselves in the public library on the very day the energy saved by the library’s planned solar power system finally equals the cost to build it….
Water treatment system at Tennessee fish hatchery gets Recovery Act funds
April 5, 2010
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has awarded a $1.35 million contract for a water treatment system in northern Tennessee under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)….
Economic stimulus: Is it working?
By Ben van der Meer, Appeal-Democrat
April 4, 2010
In a drought, even a squall of rain is appreciated. But it doesn’t mean the drought is over.
Apply the metaphor to the Yuba-Sutter area’s economy over the last year, and you’ll sum up what leaders, economic development experts and others largely believe is the impact from the federal economic stimulus package that went into effect about a year ago….
Stronger U.S. job numbers don’t carry over to California
By Dale Kasler, Sacramento Bee
For America’s job seekers, March was the most fruitful month in three years, the strongest evidence yet that the nation’s labor market is starting to climb out of the recession….
Bikes, paving in Kannapolis part of stimulus
By Emily Ford, Salisbury Post
April 2, 2010
From police bicycles to traffic signals to road paving, Kannapolis so far has snagged $2.4 million in federal stimulus funding, with more on the way….
Jobless Rate Remains at 9.7%
By Kenneth Hanner, Human Events
April 2, 2010
The nation’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.7%, the Labor Department announced Friday. While employers added 162,000 jobs to their payrolls, over half of the jobs were Census workers or other temporary jobs….
Nebraska stimulus funds used to defer property taxes. Now what?
By Ed Howard, Capitol View
April 2, 2010
…In the next year, those federal dollars will contribute $140 million to state aid. It is $94 million for the 2010-2011 school year. The total state aid package: $950 million dollars.
But as state policymakers knew from the beginning, those stimulus dollars run out pretty soon. Which means the 2011-2012 school year looms large and ugly financially….
AR Dept. of Health receives $400K grant
Blue Hog Report
Senators Lincoln and Pryor and Congressmen Ross, Snyder, and Berry issued a joint announcement yesterday…
GCC lists ARRA projects
Marianas Variety
The Guam Community College has plans for every cent of the $9.5 million it is slated to receive as part of Guam’s $83 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding from the federal government….
Tigard installs flashing yellows
By Geoff Pursinger, The Tigard Times
April 1, 2010
In an effort to reduce time spent in traffic, the city is currently equipping 23 intersections around Tigard with flashing-yellow left-turn signals….
STIMULUS WATCH: Weatherizing program falling short
By Garance Burke, Associated Press
March 27, 2010
After a year of crippling delays, President Barack Obama’s $5 billion program to install weather-tight windows and doors has retrofitted a fraction of homes and created far fewer construction jobs than expected.
In Indiana, state-trained workers flubbed insulation jobs. In Alaska, Wyoming and the District of Columbia, the program has yet to produce a single job or retrofit one home. And in California, a state with nearly 37 million residents, the program at last count had created 84 jobs.
The program was a hallmark of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a way to shore up the economy while encouraging people to conserve energy at home. But government rules about how to run what was deemed to be a “shovel-ready” project, including how much to pay contractors and how to protect historic homes during renovations, have thwarted chances at early success, according to an Associated Press review of the program…
Democrats accuse Bolling of hypocrisy on federal stimulus funds
By Anita Kumar, Washington Post
March 31, 2010
You have to hand it to Democrats. When they start a line of attack, they stick with it.
For months, they’ve been singling out Republicans across the nation who opposed the federal stimulus legislation but then welcomed the money….
To read more, click here.
State must ante up funding
Miami Herald – March 30, 2010
The numbers don’t lie, and the equation is alarmingly simple: Shrinking property values + less money from the state = a projected $190 million shortfall for Miami-Dade’s public schools next year.
Welcome to the Nanny State
By Sandra Fabry, FOX News
March 25, 2010
One of our government’s more recent and lesser known social engineering tools is a grant program under the trillion dollar spending and debt package passed by Congress and the president under the guise of “economic stimulus” in 2009….
To read more, click here.
