Porkulus II: Return of the Phony Jobs Boondoggle
My column today looks at the phantom Porkulus II/Jobs Bill. I say “phantom” because there is no bill text I can actually point you to — it’s the same business-as-usual we’ve been subjected to since Porkulus I. GOP Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was on the Senate floor yesterday pleading to see the legislation: ““My members need to be able to feel like they understand what they are being called upon to support.” God save us from bipartisanship. (And yes, Obama-defined bipartisanship = surrender.)
Update: The Hill has a leaked draft version of the bill titled the “”Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act” here. But: “After a meeting between President Barack Obama and the bipartisan congressional leadership of the House and Senate, Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) made clear that the jobs bill remains a work in progress so the document does not represent the final package.” Remember back in the good old days when the Senate would deliberate and committees would work on legislation out in the open? Yeah, getting hard to remember those days…
Jamie Dupree asks: “Is this a jobs bill or a Legislative Christmas Tree?”
Philip Klein looks at the “doc fix” money stuffed in the bill.
Update: ABC News reports that nearly 80 percent of the wind power money in Stimulus I went to…”foreign manufacturers of wind turbines.” That is: China.
Related: Rea Hederman at the Heritage Foundation takes a closer look at the anti-job tax gimmicks on the table.
Related: Marco Rubio reminders Florida voters that it’s the one year anniversary of the Crist-Obama stimulus hug.
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Porkulus II: Return of the Phony Jobs Boondoggle
by Michelle Malkin
Creators Syndicate
Copyright 2010
Immutable law of Beltway political physics: The only real jobs that a government stimulus stimulates are government jobs. A year after President Obama signed his first trillion-dollar economic stimulus package into law, the federal workforce is at all-time high. The nation’s unemployment rate has swelled to 9.7 percent, but Washington’s economy is thriving.
More than 2.1 million government workers will be on the federal payroll by the end of 2010. The lobbying industry is booming. USA Today reports that 14 federal agencies have hired 3,000 workers to oversee stimulus spending and spent nearly $190 million so far on salaries and overhead.
Just one-third of the stimulus money has been spent so far, but the White House is now hectoring the Senate to ram through yet another phony jobs boondoggle in the name of bipartisanship. As GOP Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas reminded Americans during the Republicans’ weekly radio address Obama and the Democrats promised a year ago that the jobless rate would remain below 8 percent with their stimulus legislation. “Americans are still asking, ‘Where are the jobs? Where are the jobs?’ But all they are getting from Washington is more spending, more taxes, more debt and more bailouts.”
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday that the Porkulus II plan – reportedly with an $85 billion price tag — was a “really nice piece of legislation.” But you’ll have to take his credibility-damaged word for it.
Despite anticipated votes on the bill before President’s Weekend, no one outside the Democrat leadership and K Street had seen an actual bill as of Tuesday afternoon. Few will read the whole thing before casting their hasty votes. And once again, we’ll only be informed of the last-minute sweeteners, Cash for Cloture handouts, and backroom deals after the ink of the president’s signature is dry.
Reportedly, public-sector unions are pushing hard to include their precious card-check plan, which would allow Big Labor bosses to sabotage workers’ rights to a federally supervised, private ballot election.
Reportedly, Democrats plan to stuff a reauthorization of the Patriot Act into the bill to make it harder for Republicans to oppose it.
Reportedly, Stimulus, Jr. will also include a $20 billion bailout for the beleaguered federal Highway Trust Fund, which has been raided for years to pay for bike paths, beautification programs, and other pet projects while its core targets — basic roads and bridges — have deteriorated.
Reportedly, the Democrats will throw in some small-business tax breaks and a temporary payroll tax holiday gimmick, supported by some Republicans, for companies that hire unemployed workers.
What we do know for sure: The $154 billion Spawn of Spendulus passed in the House on a party-line vote in December is crammed to the gills with special interest-spending. Half of the money would go to government bureaucracies s already overflowing with Stimulus One money. Nearly $30 billion would go to protect public-sector union employees in state governments. While tax relief would be temporary (Democrats always make sure of that), the Reid bill will follow the House version in continuing the endlessly “temporary” extension of jobless benefits that will cost billions of dollars and encourage more and longer unemployment. That’s on top of the $58 billion in jobless benefit extension funds paid out by Porkulus I. Senate Republicans voted against this permanent entitlement lard-up measure that has nothing to do with job creation two years ago. They should do so again. In addition, President Obama wants $23 billion added for a fraud-friendly “Cash for Caulkers” weatherization program. Instead of returning the money to reduce the debt as stipulated in the law, President Obama is also pushing to siphon $33 billion from the ever-morphing TARP bank bailout program to fund small business lending initiatives.
“What I won’t consider is doing nothing in the face of a lot of hardship across the country,” President Obama said this week. “Doing nothing?” How about leaving well enough alone, dispensing with the rest of the original stimulus, retreating from debt-deepening, tax-increasing, economy-stifling initiatives from the government health care takeover to cap-and-trade, and refusing to redistribute tax dollars toward private job destruction and government job inflation?
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All this and China’s threat to call in their markers to the Empty Suit.
Government Jobs, Union Jobs, University Jobs, non-existent Green Jobs… all to stimulate the growth of government and shrink the private sector and make us pay the tab. It’s slavery, the Obama way. Reparations on steroids.
Time to deal the 41st Senate Vote card and be the Party of Hell No.
Any Republican Senator supporting this continued lunacy should understand they will end up at the political equivalent of an Acrtic Weather station where zero dollars will be available for their re-election.
I wrote a brief post yesterday referring to a Reuters article that mentions they have a copy of the bill.
As Michelle notes, the bill is a ghost since there is nothing officially out there, but Reuters saw a Medicare fix and extension of unemployment benefits in the bill.
Not many “jobs”
In the 1930s, Hitler put everyone in Germany and Austria to work in The Public Works program. Obama is just borrowing a couple of old Adolph’s ideas – Happy Days are here again!
Card check is one of the most insidious schemes ever produced. Any Rep. who backs that MUST be voted out.
The new process in Washington is to get Congress to vote on a “bill” that is merely a collection of pronouncements, followed after the outcome by someone (usually on the ueber Left) writing the language.
Well I see the bill has already created 3000 government jobs. Another bill for a larger govenment.
As Obama is well trained in Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals-Revolution you can believe in- he knows the stimulus will do exactly what he intends it to do; put ever greater strain on the government and taxpayers and hasten the collapse. All his inner circle and Czars are so versed.
Generations of these Jobs Bills have come and gone and none helped-except for the radicals. I rather doubt there are ANY members of the House or Senate who believe a new spending bill will help the economy and unemployed but it might help some of them get re elected.
Any who want green jobs can pick lettuce.
The previous “stimulus” programs didn’t work and this one won’t either! Just one more step toward enslaving this country. Obama knows exactly what he wants and is pushing stubbornly ahead with his agenda. His problem right now is that the American People have awakened (at least most of them) and he is no longer getting a free pass. Thank God Obama is becoming more TRANSPARENT in his motives! Busted!! He is just too focused on his socialist agenda to see what is all around him. What a complete loser he is!! WORST.PRESIDENT.EVER!
I wonder who or what group is actually writting this bill?
Right now, my business has more labor then my current customers base needs. $5000 tax credit to hire does not bring me more customers.
Left wing lawerys, at the direction of the Obama administration. This is more of the same 50 year wet dream of the socialists we have seen since January 2009. They’re pulling out all the plans they’ve been hatching over several decades, now that they have all 3 branches. To them, it doesn’t matter that 80+ % of Americans reject these radical policies… just get ‘er done before the party’s over, and try to damage as many Republicans as they can in the process.
You can be sure Obama isn’t writing it…or any other bill. He is a great delegator. He says, “Just get it done.” Then he goes off to Europe. Or on a campaign circuit all over the country, or off to New York to wine and dine his wifey, or off to appear on the MSM talk shows. He doesn’t have time to actually give input into the content of these bills. I bet he doesn’t know even half of what is in the monstrous health bills in the senate and house. He is a figurehead, that is all. A puppet. Why else would he be afraid to speak in front of anyone without the TOTUS?? He is terribly uninformed and his cabinet and the Congress are runnning the show. Unfortunately for him, the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing and they continue to put out stupid, conflicting statements that make them all look incompetent. Also both the right wing and the left wing are angry with this administration.
Pork is Job 1
It’s funny that he uses the term ‘bipartisanship’ like people use the term ‘racism’.
The GOAL is NOT ‘bipartisanship’. The GOAL is DOING THE RIGHT THING FOR AMERICA.
Generally speaking, if they are doing the right thing, they get bipartisanship. Equally generally speaking, if they are doing the wrong thing, they get partisan politics.
Obama is ‘keeping score’. In other words, since he is looking at nuclear energy, offshore drilling, some tax cuts, the Republicans should be for huge government spending.
It’s not about I scratch your back you scratch mine. nuclear energy and offshore drilling are the right thing for ANY country to do (and most other countries DO do it). Obama doesn’t understand it is about doing the RIGHT thing for America’s future.
It’s not about the hype of whether or not one member of the two parties that make up our oligarchy of a government agrees with the other party.
Obama is going to go down very quickly if he doesn’t change his tune. That White House is going to seem more like a prison to him by the time he leaves than a place of power.
He needs advisors that don’t just agree with him.
His downfall is happening right now before our eyes. See the desparation. It shows on him and it shows in every debate the libs participate in when they pull the same talking points out of their butts, but now they are almost sounding robotic because they have said the same things so often. They don’t even believe themselves, but they don’t know how to get out of this mess they are in. Just spin the lies that Obama tells you or you will be very sorry! Hmmm…like broken knee caps or something. Yeah, I think they really are afraid.
The Patriot Act should be no sacred cow. We can live with out it. In fact, it shows for all their conniptions over its passage, the left can live with it. Good enough reason to see it go.
Oh please. Every bill under control of the democrats becomes a “legislative christmas tree.” It’s always that way. Democrats do not know anything else, cannot think in any other terms. “Spend, spend, spend; tax, tax, tax; elect, elect, elect” goes back well-before I was born. Sheesh. How long will it take before everybody gets it?
Why is there a Porkulus II, when most of the money for Porkulus I hasn’t been spent yet?
Eureka! Scientists have discovered why liberals spend other people’s money with impunity!!
Evidently, they were born without an ‘amygdala’. Who knew!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20100210/hl_hsn/scientistspinpointareaofbrainthatfearslosingmoney
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I loved the old MARRIED WITH CHILDREN sitcom. My favorite episode was when the strange red haired wife–Peg–was showing her teenage daughter and her “buds” how to do proper family money management.
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Al was asleep on the couch–Peg showed the girls how to get his wallet out of his back pocket without waking him up. Then she got his credit card–but when the daughter saw it she said, “No good–it’s maxxed out! We can’t go party at the mall with this one.”
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Peg said, “No problemo–we’ll just open up another card!” And off to the mall to spend poor Al closer to bankruptcy.
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It seemed funny then–but it sucks to see Comrade Obama (PBUH) doing the same! Another PORKULUS C**P SANDWICH–the last one wasted tons of money–and a lot of where it was spent is still hidden. And a lot of it is being held back as a SLUSH FUND for The Messiah’s minions to use in the upcoming elections.
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I used to feel sorry for Al Bundy–now I feel sorry for us taxpayers. Bend over–here it comes again! This sitcom is getting old.
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John Bibb
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No, he is not. He is the culmination of decades of power-grabbing by the left whose forces dominate every aspect of American culture and thinking. For example, I’ve lost count of how many letters-to-the-whatever I’ve seen over the past few months condemning “selfish, greedy, right-wingers” for denying the people the tax revenues the government needs. Huge numbers of your fellow publicly-educated citizens do think that way and they are not about to change. If Obama were to suddenly start cackling and then disappear in a puff of sulfurous smoke, the terrible situation the country is in would not change.
G_d save us from government “help”. They are the source of all the problems and hardship. I’d sooner get help from John Wayne Gacy.
I’ve argued several times with my local congress critter over tax “incentives” to hire. I’ve explained that I won’t hire somebody because of a credit, nor will I not hire somebody due to a lack of a credit. I hire because there is work to do and the best way for work to need to be done is to get government out of the way and let people spend money the way they see fit. Then I can compete in a fair marketplace and either do well or not – but it’s a land of opportunity. He keeps trying to tell me all that he can do for me if I’d only hire some people.
The guy might have gone to school, and passed the bar and even been employed as a lawyer for a few years, but he’s an idiot.
BLACK REPARATIONS BY ANY OTHER NAME WILL STINK AS BADLY. SORRY BARD.
My God please save us from our idiot politicians.
Even if Congress and the Presidency was majority Conservative we would still be in trouble. The Marxists are well versed in controlling the bureaucracy and have thoroughly infiltrated the government over the last 75 years. CIA, State, remember all the leaks and double-crosses during the Bush administration? They’re locked in tighter than ticks…
I’ve got a shovel-ready job in my driveway and on my sidewalk. Think I can get a couple million to move some snow?
PorkyII = just more Walking Around Money for Democrats seeking re-election. Whatever ‘good’ will stem from these things won’t come into play until someone needs a campaign fix.
What the hell is this feelings crap?! You either understand what’s in a bill or you don’t! You either support what’s in a bill or you don’t! Feel this you poinyoins! (insert derogatory visual aid of your choice here)
My God please save our idiot politicians from us.
Let them start worrying more about what we intend to do them.
Agreed. I thought Bill Clinton was a goner in ’95 – and, apparently, so did the media and entertainment industry, both of which went into overdrive to save his presidency by vilifying the new GOP majorities and their leadership!
Should the GOP take over again this fall, look for the media and Hollywood to attempt a repeat of history.
Sigh. I think you are right. I was just speaking hopefully, I guess. But I do think that once he starts outliving his usefullness to the progressive movement, and starts making mistakes, the left will find some way to throw even Obama under the bus. Their agenda is bigger than any POTUS. We MUST stay vigilant because just when we think we have them boxed into a corner, they will pop up in the middle of the room. No sense getting in any way complacent!
Oh stop nit picking. Government intervention is historically proven to eliminate unemployment and make wondrous hopychanginess a reality. Shovel Ready.
Modern English Translation: “Are ya fired up??!!??”
This spendingpalloza and disregard for the will of the voters is trickling down to state legislatures.
Take WA ST. This past week the state senate took a page from the fed Senate’s playbook. They quickly introduced a bill, rammed it through a commitee vote, through the rules commitee and to a floor vote in about a week’s total time. The bill is to suspend the voter initiative to rquire a 2/3 majority to raise taxes by the legislature. This initiative has been overwhelming passed not once, twice, thrice, but five times in the past 20 years; yet the state senate gave the voter the finger yesterday.
Of course most of us realize the obvious that taxes are coming our way soon. The state is facing a huge deficit and you have some on the left that believe the reason for the deificeit is not enough taxes; instead of the obvious that, it is caused from too much spending.
Slightly OT –
Speaking of our money and China, I believe Obama has loaned a Brazilian Oil company (or guaranteed) several billion of our dollars to drill for oil (off Brazil) – all of which will be purchased by China. Big shareholder in the oil company? Soros. I think Michelle covered this a few momnths ago, but the media ignored it except for the WSJ…
Yep, the WSJ generally doesn’t miss much.
Didn’t T Boone Pickens give everyone on his Christmas list a wind turbine since he had so many left over from is “Wind Farm” project?
Wouldn’t that be called…Treason??? He is selling us down the river. THAT.IS.TREASON. Put the cuffs on!!
Glenn Beck a few weeks back touched on this phenomenon when he deconstructed the “Green Jobs” fantasy. He did a two-column comparison of what it’d take to build windmills in the USA v. China: in the USA column, he wrote in factors like “EPA” “DEQ” “Labor unions” and “Lawyers.”
Under the China column, he wrote “Children” (labor), “Factory” and “Parts.”
Then he asked which location was going to receive the lion’s share of all those “Green Jobs.” If only all questions were so easy to answer…
Being burried in debt to these people is a really bad idea. Being in debt then royally pi$$ing them off is just plain loony. Smart Power?
China PLA officers urge economic punch against U.S.
Economic downturn… check
Military spread thin… check
Weak administration… check
China owns our debt… check
Any bets on how soon China decides to take back Taiwan?
The $80 Billion JOB Bill is actually Unemployment Extension and Government Employees JOB SAVING bill.
Hell, we don’t need to read this bill! Why, just take Dingy Harry’s word for it!
Should go well with some fava beans, and a nice Chianti.
Looks like more “pollution” coming out of D.C., much to the distress of our bank accounts and wallets. The only “stimulus” I see is to democrat friends.
The 80% of the wind turbine money that ended up in China is not unique. American companies make the best solar panels and solar ribbons with the most efficient manufacturing processes but cannot compete against the hopelessly subsided crap imported from China. Evergreen Solar opened up a plant in Michigan to be near the Corning plant and to create new jobs but eventually moved those operations to China. It utterly impossible to compete against China (or anyone for that matter) if open trade means we are the only ones who can’t assess tariffs and duties nor issue laws favoring our own domestic manufacturers. What we want and need is not open trade but FAIR and open trade. We are currently getting deep into debt to fund an economy that seems hell-bent on exporting American wealth and jobs. It is time to end this experiment.
We are trying to run a civilization here and our American interests count too.
Just dropped by to say buh-bye to my friends here. Headed to Haiti for an extended period of time. Rebuilding and feeding and feeding and rebuilding…
P.S. Thanks Chap for the fine gift.
Good work you do On-my-soap-box.
Ronald Reagan Quotes
“The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’”
worth a try…apply for a grant and see what happens…
if they really want jobs for Americans…toss out the illegal aliens and put a halt to all legal immigration for a few years…
I wish on-my-soap-box all the best in his effort to help those in Haiti. I can’t go, because I have those to care for here, medically. Be careful, be safe. I’m a little troubled though, that we have families and people who are out in the cold, right here, and very little effort is being made to help them. I’m a little biased, having worked for 4 years, working to help the homeless (singles and families) in D.C.. It has to be horrible for them the past few days. I live in the Hampton Roads area and I know there are several out there who need help in shelter and food. Help the Haitians, please. When you’re done, remember those whose lives, here, were shaken up, and just need a helping hand, to get back going again.
R.I.P. Charlie Wilson
LINK
Darn, Vancover got snow. Now there goes Obama’s job creation plan to sell Washington DC snow to Canada for the Olympics.
We got a couple of inches only, but it was enough to cause a 60 car pileup on I-64 at Williamsburg, Va..
I guess this is off-topic, but am I the only one who sees Fox News as slowly moving toward the left?
This morning on “Fox and Friends” Brian Kilmead said to ex-governor of Va. Doug Wilder, “we all want president Obama to be successful.” Is that the same as saying, “we all want America to be a socialist/marxist nation?” We all want income redistribution”, “we all want job destroying Cap and Trade, etc., etc.?” How can someone who believes Obama’s policies are, and will continue to kill America, want Obama to be successful?
Remember, BHO is remarkably like Abraham Lincoln!
1. Lincoln placed his hand on the Bible for his inauguration. Obama
used the same Bible.
2. Lincoln came from Illinois . Obama comes from Illinois.
3. Lincoln served in the Illinois Legislature. Obama served in the
Illinois Legislature.
4. Lincoln had very little experience before becoming President.
Obama had very little experience before becoming President.
5. Lincoln rode the train from Philadelphia to Washington for his
inauguration. Obama rode the train from Philadelphia to Washington
for his inauguration.
6. Lincoln was a skinny lawyer. Obama is a skinny lawyer.
7. Lincoln was a Republican. Obama is a skinny lawyer.
8. Lincoln was highly respected. Obama is a skinny lawyer.
9. Lincoln was a brilliant off-the-cuff orator. Obama is a skinny lawyer.
10. Lincoln was honest, so honest he was called Honest Abe. Obama is
a skinny lawyer.
11. Lincoln saved the United States. Obama is a skinny lawyer.
The next time you independents hear those right wing blowhards say democrats are the party of tax and spend, BELIEVE THEM!.. Republicans may have run up the deficit between 2001 and 2008, but they also were fighting a war to protect us, (just as FDR did after Pearl Harbor and the deficit went up then also) and in 2008, the deficit was less than 500 billion. In 2009, it was 1.4 Trillion, and will be 1.7 Trillion this year. To the democrats reading this blog, a trillion is 1000 billion! AND WHAT HAS ALL THAT SPENDING ACCOMPLISHED? GUBMINTS AREN’T HAVING TO FACE REALITY, THAT’S IT.
One simple tax cut ideas would help get things going.
Let homeowners deduct the cost of home maintenance and additions from their income. Let the average Joe’s help put the building industry back on it’s feet.
Another simple idea — stop taxing bank interest. Encourage people to save, not spend and spend and spend like Obamacrats.
While the Democrats claim to care about working folks, businesses currently have these costs as tax deductions, but not homeowners.
It’s long past time to make a point that the GOP is for giving the little guy a break while the Democrats are for deficit spending, more regulations, higher taxes, more expensive gas and energy, etc…