[size=3]Looking over some of the items that have been funded with the emergency stimulus package that was going to hold unemployment to 8%, we can see some obvious pork that stimulated nothing.
This is a partial list of why we had to borrow another $787 billion from China. Things we could not live without.
The $787 billion stimulus bill was passed in February and was promised as a job saver and economy booster. Here is where some of the money went:
- $300,000 for a GPS-equipped helicopter to hunt for radioactive rabbit droppings at the Hanford nuclear reservation in Washington state. No comment needed here
- $30 million for a spring training baseball complex for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies. Both franchises are profitable and should fund their own ball parks.
- $11 million for Microsoft to build a bridge connecting its two headquarter campuses in Redmond, Wash., which are separated by a highway. Bill Gates is the wealthiest man in the world. He can afford to pay for his own skybridge!!
- $430,000 to repair a bridge in Iowa County, Wis., that carries 10 or fewer cars per day. Fine. Put a toll booth at both ends
- $800,000 for the John Murtha Airport in Johnstown, Pa., serving about 20 passengers per day, to build a backup runway. These flights only go to Washington, DC. It is a 3 hour drive. They could car pool.
- $219,000 for Syracuse University to study the sex lives of freshmen women. I don’t believe it couldn’t be done with volunteers
- $2.3 million for the U.S. Forest Service to rear large numbers of arthropods, including the Asian longhorned beetle, the nun moth and the woolly adelgid. ?????
- $3.4 million for a 13-foot tunnel for turtles and other wildlife attempting to cross U.S. 27 in Lake Jackson, Fla. A ‘cross-walk’ with a crossing guard would be cheaper
- $1.15 million to install a guardrail for a persistently dry lake bed in Guymon, Okla. Why????
- $9.38 million to renovate a century-old train depot in Lancaster County, Pa., that has not been used for three decades. You never know when rail service might come back in great demand. Are they trying to be proactive?
- $2.5 million in stimulus checks sent to the deceased. No doubt those got cashed.
- $6 million for a snow-making facility in Duluth, Minn. I have always admired Duluth’s snow-making abilities. I was unaware Duluth was having problems in this area.
- $173,834 to weatherize eight pickup trucks in Madison County, Ill. Could have gone to EXXON for a lot less money. I would have gladly gotten Barefoot Freddie & we could have done the job for half the cost!!
- $20,000 for a fish sperm freezer at the Gavins Point National Fish Hatchery in South Dakota. Give me a break. In South Dakota. They could open the door and set them outside!!
- $380,000 to spay and neuter pets in Wichita, Kan.
- $300 apiece for thousands of signs at road construction sites across the country announcing that the projects are funded by stimulus money. this has to be a joke
- $1.5 million for a fence to block would-be jumpers from leaping off the All-American Bridge in Akron, Ohio. Suicide hot-line would be cheaper
- $1 million to study the health effects of environmentally friendly public housing on 300 people in Chicago. ???
- $356,000 for Indiana University to study childhood comprehension of foreign accents compared with native speech. Can’t they just push ‘1’ for English?
- $983,952 for street beautification in Ann Arbor, Mich., including decorative lighting, trees, benches and bike paths. It will take a heck of a lot more money than this to make Ann Arbor beautiful!!
- $148,438 for Washington State University to analyze the use of marijuana in conjunction with medications like morphine. I am guessing they could simply ask for volunteers.
- $462,000 to purchase 22 concrete toilets for use in the Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri = $21,000 per each concrete toilet. Any readers think they can pour 21 concrete molds for less money?
- $3.1 million to transform a canal barge into a floating museum that will travel the Erie Canal in New York state. How many jobs will this create?
- $1.3 million on government arts jobs in Maine, including $30,000 for basket makers, $20,000 for storytelling and $12,500 for a music festival. The Democrats made the middle job into an artform.
- $71,000 for a hybrid car to be used by student drivers in Colchester, Vt., as well as a plug-in hybrid for town workers decked out with a sign touting the vehicle’s energy efficiency. Just how expensive is a Prius?
- $1 million for Portland, Ore., to replace 100 aging bike lockers and build a garage that would house 250 bicycles. Those are some valuable bikes!!!
Sources: News reports, Office of the Senate Minority Leader, Office of Sen. Tom Coburn
Folks, we were promised “shovel-ready jobs”. This is what we received. I remember the $200 hammer & toilet seats under Reagan. This puts all of that to shame.
As unemployment passes 10%; at least we’ll know where the rabbits with radioactive poop are.
This group should not be allowed to be in charge of our Treasury or government.
