Print
Return to online version

January 30, 2009

Porkulus

Marc Comtois

Ben Stein (h/t) boils the "porkulus" package down:

I love this. The new kind of politics of hope. Eight hours of debate in the HR to pass a bill spending $820 billion, or roughly $102 billion per hour of debate.

Only ten per cent of the "stimulus" to be spent on 2009.

Close to half goes to entities that sponsor or employ or both members of the Service Employees International Union, federal, state, and municipal employee unions, or other Democrat-controlled unions.

This bill is sent to Congress after Obama has been in office for seven days. It is 680 pages long. According to my calculations, not one member of Congress read the entire bill before this vote. Obviously, it would have been impossible, given his schedule, for President Obama to have read the entire bill.

For the amount spent we could have given every unemployed person in the United States roughly $75,000.

We could give every person who had lost a job and is now passing through long-term unemployment of six months or longer roughly $300,000.

There has been pork barrel politics since there has been politics. The scale of this pork is beyond what had ever been imagined before -- and no one can be sure it will actually do much stimulation.

Comments

The Republicans were smart to vote no. George Jefferson and his cronies will print trillions of dollars, destroying the economy.
Flash forward 3 years to January 2012:
1. Inflation is hitting 20%.
2. Unemployment is double digits.
3. Every leading Republican candidate is beating George Jefferson by 15% in the polls.
4. Matt Jerzyk is on suicide watch at Butler.

Posted by: Mike at January 30, 2009 9:19 AM

"For the amount spent we could have given every unemployed person in the United States roughly $75,000."

Not really. How many people would have quit their job in exchange for $75,000. By that time, each unemployed person would have gotten about $3.15

Posted by: Patrick at January 30, 2009 10:05 AM

Newt Gingrich recently said that with the Wall St. bailout money and the Auto bailout money combined, there could be an income tax holiday for every working American from January to July 2009. NOW THAT'S A STIMULUS!

Posted by: George at January 30, 2009 3:08 PM

"with the Wall St. bailout money and the Auto bailout money combined, there could be an income tax holiday for every working American from January to July 2009."

I'm trying to understand the reasoning that if the money is left in taxpayers' pockets to spend, it's not economic stimulus but if it's given to a bunch of special interests to spend, it is.

Posted by: Monique at January 30, 2009 5:55 PM