The Stimulus Plan

The bickering continues. Actually I think things are going fairly well. There’s always room for improvement and hopefully the negotiations are getting the most obviously wasteful provisions gutted.

I still find the fact that not a single Republican in the House of Representatives voted for the bill mind boggling. I assume you guys have a better idea?

Is there waste and inefficiency in the package? You bet there is and there always will be because most of that waste and inefficiency is going to creep in during the actual execution and not in the earmarks themselves.

Is it the right thing to do? I sincerely hope so although I’ve always considered economics something of a black art (and I have a minor concentration in it to go along with my major concentration in mathematics). I figure I’m screwed no matter what but then again, I could probably use a new career in my twilight years anyway.

I’m happy that the provisions which attempt to guard against spending the stimulus money for religious purposes appear to be staying intact although the ACLJ is threatening lawsuits contending free speech violations over them.

I’m NOT happy that Obama is sticking with his plan of continuing the office of Faith Based Initiatives started by Bush. The administration also seems to be backing off some of the restrictions on how the money could be spent that they promised back in July.

A politician changing his view once he encounters reality? So what else is new?

In the meantime, over on the bank bailout front, Congress is about to hold sessions on exactly how the banking industry has used $176 billion in bank bailout money appropriated last October. It’s a little incredible that they don’t know isn’t it?

The bank CEOs claim they’ve been using the money righteously but there have been rumors of big bonuses, expensive perks and the hording of cash reserves totally at odds with the intent of the bailout.

Barney Frank is heading the committee doing the investigating. It should be REALLY entertaining because you just know some of that money went to inappropriate crap like new office furniture for executives. Assuming Frank can locate it, and it might just be too well camouflaged to be found, we’ll see some very colorful language as Frank rips them new orifices all over their bodies.