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Only 100!? Why isn't government great?
100 stimulus projects that give taxpayers the blues
When Congress passed the $862 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009, otherwise known as the stimulus bill, it passed with assurances that it would stem the loss of American jobs and keep the economy from floundering. As most can see, it hasn’t.
Eighteen months since the law’s passage, millions of jobs are still gone and the economy is as uncertain as ever. The only thing getting a boost is our national debt – the stimulus has helped push it 23 percent higher, to $13.2 trillion, a new record.
The dramatic increase in government spending has not shortened the nation’s unemployment lines.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate in June 2010 was 9.5 percent,...
Too many stimulus projects are failing to meet that goal.
...some projects accomplish such questionable goals as putting in new windows at a vacant government building, replacing a new sidewalk with an even newer one, or
money for a park that is only accessible by boat or plane.
Other projects that appear in the report may have merit, but are being mismanaged or were poorly planned. A biomass power plant was awarded hundreds of thousands of stimulus dollars, but may close in months. The same is true for a rail line to two professional sports stadiums— yet it is hundreds of millions of dollars over budget and only “shovel ready” because it was years behind schedule when funding came available.
Worst of all, some stimulus projects are actually costing jobs...
http://coburn.senate.gov/public//in...&File_id=e1e0624e-d02a-42d4-9dbb-f5b9f21b3572