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06 July 2010
A friend on Facebook posted this Winston Churchill quote, "However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results." That pretty much sums up the stimulus package's outcome - steering us back in time to last century's depression era. Warner Todd Huston at Big Government highlights where our dollars were spent:
In his recent trip to Racine, Wisconsin, President Obama claimed that his stimulus policies worked and “saved jobs.” He also said that his policies staved off another Great Depression. But lets take a look at some of the graft, waste and pointless, useless, wild-eyed spending that was in his so-called stimulus.
- $5 million to create a geothermal energy system for a shopping mall in Tennessee. The mall is over half empty of tenants and has had falling shopper attendance for years *
- $1.57 million to Penn State University study fossils in Argentina *
- $100,000 to a puppet theater in Minnesota *
As a helpful reminder, here is Freedom Foundation of Minnesota's list of more ridiculous stimulus spending:
Franconia - $50,000 for a sculpture park:
The public may get in for free to view “Spitting Bazookas” among other sculptures at the outdoor Franconia Sculpture Park, but not the taxpayers, who also help foot the bill for special events on Earth Day, Summer Solstice and World Peace Day.
Willmar - $48,394 for surveillance cameras:
The Police warned us about watching “every breath you take and every move you make” and evidently authorities in Willmar are in tune with them. County and local law enforcement received stimulus funding for a high tech video surveillance system to monitor risky public areas and at least “increase public perception of security” in this west central Minnesota community.
Cloquet - $16,486 to monitor a Hell’s Angels rally:
When Hell’s Angels targeted Cloquet last summer, it evidently became a national security issue. Local authorities monitoring the 2009 Hell’s Angels USA rally in Cloquet billed for stimulus funding for the cost of overtime.
University of Minnesota – $190,464 to study sex reversal in mice:
When taxpayers were promised that economic stimulus funds would be spent only on the most critical public projects, few would have predicted that one of those projects would involve sex reversal in mice. But that’s exactly what the University of Minnesota received nearly $200,000 to study.
University of Minnesota – $230,280 for stop smoking outreach to the homeless:
The University of Minnesota received more than $230,000 not to combat the serious problem of homelessness, but instead to stop homeless people from smoking. The university's plan involves distributing nicotine patches, transit passes, and debit cards to participants. In order to enhance participation in this study, the university intends to produce "attractive intervention materials."
Burnsville – $208, 900 to implement new Sustainability Guide Plan and convert holiday lights to LED lighting:
Burnsville’s Sustainability Guide Plan is the result of a year-long process involving ten teams of consultants. But the really pricey part of this greenprint is implementing it. The city has acknowledged that its best chance to fund this plan lies outside the city’s coffers. That’s why they’ve sought grants, public/private partnerships and, of course, federal stimulus funds. With the Sustainability Guide Plan, Burnsville is modifying an old maxim: Think globally, act locally, fund federally.
St. Cloud – $798,396 to improve “reliever” airport with no commercial flights:
The St. Cloud Regional Airport is a self-described “reliever airport” for the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. But what’s to relieve? Though commercial airlines have curtailed daily passenger flights, civic leaders continue to go full throttle ahead in spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in stimulus funding in hopes the airport takes off--someday.
Regency Beauty Institute – $4,573,458 for Pell grants:
An attractive financial package for qualifying students at beauty institutes administered by Twin Cities-based Regency Corporation in Minnesota and several other states.
The Telegraph's headline today reads, "With the US trapped in depression, this really is starting to feel like 1932." Perhaps the wisdom of Mr. Churchill is one reason why Mr. Obama returned his bust to England. Our President can orate otherwise, but the results are not what many had in mind when they supported the stimulus spending. On the plus side, one unintended result is a stimulated non-puppet populace taking action for a better strategy November 2.
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