Government Waste - Obama Edition

I think it is funny that Obama promised to cut the waste in Washington. He has repeatedly stated that there is a better way to spend taxpayers money and that he would put an end to government officials wasting our hard-earned dollars. Funny enough, the woman he appointed to be the butcher has resigned over tax issues. Two other cabinet nominations hadn't paid thousands of dollar in taxes. One was confirmed after ponying up the money and "apologizing for his oversight". The other, Tim Daschle, owed more than $100,000 in taxes and smartly withdrew his name from consideration. Hey President Obama - How can you appoint people to take care of our tax money when they aren't even responsible enough to pay their OWN taxes?

That brings me to the question of waste. Before I go there, let's not forget the "honesty" Obama has promised us with his administration. Oh yeah, we've seen plenty of that already. We all know the biggest issue right now is the economy. By now you've probably read a lot about the $819 billion economic stimulus package proposed by Obama and passed by the House. Thank goodness the Republicans can block this atrocity from passing in the Senate. Take a look at this:

$2 billion to re-open a coal power plant the government shut down last year because it is INEFFICIENT.

$246 million tax break for Hollywood movie producers to buy FILM

$650 million MORE for digital TV converters (Um, why didn't you have a process to make sure people who NEEDED them the first time got them and not just any person?)

$448 million to build a new Homeland Security HQ

$248 million for the FURNITURE for the new Homeland Security HQ (Who is designing it - Martha Stewart??)

$600 million to buy hybrid cars for federal employees (even though the current vehicles are fine)

$400 million to the Center for Disease Control to screen STD's

$1 BILLON for the 2010 census (which is projected to be over budget by $3 billion)

$75 million for "smoking cessation activities"

$75 million for salaries for people ALREADY working at the FBI

$25 million for "tribal alcohol substance abuse reduction"

$6 BILLION to turn federal buildings into "green" buildings

$88 million to renovate the HQ of the Public Health Service

$412 million for CDC buildings and properties

$850 million for AMTRAK (who rides trains anymore?? they are more expensive than flying nowadays)

$100 million for reducing the hazard of lead based paint

$75 million to construct a "security training facility" for State Dept. security guards when they can be trained at existing facilities

These are just SOME of the wasteful inclusions in Obama's stimulus package. I was under the impression that the stimulus package is supposed to stimulate the economy and create JOBS. How does giving a tax break to movie producers for film stimulate the economy? We can't see their movies if we DON'T HAVE JOBS. Money to quit smoking? That will actually cost people at tobacco companies and retail outlets their jobs because people will be smoking less (Just playing devil's advocate here - I am 100% against smoking). I am not saying that none of these are legitimate things. They just have no business being in an economic stimulus package. They are just "pork" when included here - take up these issues somewhere else! Let's add these items up ....

13.3 BILLION dollars of waste. That's just for the items I named here in this posting. There are many more examples of complete wastefulness in the stimulus package. I would love to know how many of these are supposed to stimulate the economy or create jobs for us regular folks. Sure, interior designers and scientists will be okay under this deal but how about the rest of us?

So, President Obama, where is that frugality you promised us? Where is that honesty and integrity you said was missing in Washington and that you were going to bring to the White House? I hate to see what will happen in the rest of your term if this is how it is beginning. Please realize you are NOT delivering what you promised and change your tactics. We need you to.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 03, 2009 and is filed under , . You can leave a response and follow any responses to this entry through the Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom) .
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2 comments

Anonymous  
February 3, 2009 at 10:36 PM

I'm all for getting rid of waste. But why do you assume all money for Amtrak is waste? Some portions of their routes are heavily traveled and profitable (especially in the northeast corridor, on the run between Boston, New York, and Washington DC).

I agree long-distance trains are probably pointless--very few people want to go from Los Angeles all the way to Orlando, for instance, since it takes three or four days. But shorter routes make sense; in fact, they can make more sense than flying. A train the speed of the Acela (in the northeast) between Baton Rouge and Houston, for instance, would make a hell of a lot more sense than flying, and there's built-in demand for oil, gas, and chemical company officials (among others).

Donna M.  
February 9, 2009 at 12:47 PM

I think there needs to be a stimulus package for the Osco drug in St. Charles, Illinois so theiy can give their employees a raise...so we can afford to actually shop where we work LOL

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