$825 Billion, But It's Not All Economic Stimulus.

When Obama Shows Up on Tuesday, Just Tell Him We Need a BAAAAA-ILOUT !!!

After much anticipation, Congress has unveiled it's $825 Billion 'Economic Stimulus' bill. There are tow certainities about it. First, it will end up being much higher once Congress is done with it. Secondly, this bill is more than just jumpstarting the economy - it is a massive piece of legislation aimed at changing a huge amount of things that depend on Washington. In short, there are a lot of liberal , big-government people that are financing their wants in this bill.

First off, the true stimulus parts. There will be $275 billion in tax cuts over the next two years. It's a bit surprising to me to hear the Dems like Clyburn who were so big on balancing the budget doing about-faces and suddenly calling for tax cuts. Oh well... There are also tax credits for $500 per worker and $1000 per couple. Now the bad news.. The AMT tax is not included, but it is expected to be added, which will let the bill break the $900 billion mark. Also, the $3000 tax credit for each job created (which I introduced in my 2004 congressional run) was taken out.

Now, Congress has been talking all about infrastructure improvements - building bridges, highways, etc. But how much is going to this? About $40 billion. That's it. South Carolina alone has about $4 billion in immediate needs by itself. Doesn't sound exactly like what we were promised, does it?

So, where is the money going? Here's a sample of some of the pet projects that many don't quite fit the bill of economic stimulus....

$87B to help states meet rising health care costs.

$39B to subsidize coverage of out of work workers for health care

$100B to Education to make up the gap in state cutbacks

$20B to to lessen our dependence on oil.

Upping Pell Grants by $500

$32 to upgrade the electrical distibution system

Additional funds for state and local law enforcement

Computerizing health records

Extending broadband to rural areas

Making public housing and Federal buildings for energy efficient.

Granted, some of these things are more worthy than others, but most of these should be billed individually on it's own merits. But, that's not DC does it. Thye find the most passable bill out there, and dogtail a slew of unrelated items onto it. Really, this bill should be about half of what it is, but my guess is by the time it reaches Barack Obama's desk, it will have a 'T' instead of a 'B' on it....

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