Posted on 07/15/2014 2:03:53 PM PDT by SoFloFreeper
Five years ago, Democrats spent $700 billion on “fiscal stimulus,” much of which was supposed to consist of “public-works projects to repair the nation’s crumbling infrastructure.”
(Excerpt) Read more at twitchy.com ...
If decaying infrastructure really is a problem — it would have been repaired/rebuilt in 2009 using the $800 billion of stimulus money.
BUMP
And “for the children.”
Most of it went as grants to blue states in order to avoid laying off public employee union workers.
Sorry, your bridge money went to aid and abet illegal invaders in coming into your country
I’m still waiting for my Solyndra solar panel system to get installed on my roof...
Union wages, union quality work. /S
I'm sure that the faceless people who actually received stimulus funds at least had some good parties.
FR: Never Accept the Premise of Your Opponent’s Argument
Otherwise, with the exception of the federal entities indicated in the Constitution's Clauses 16 & 17 of Section 8 of Article I as examples, entities under the exclusive legislative control of Congress, the states have never delegated to the feds, expressly via the Constitution, the specific power to tax and spend for building and maintaining roads and bridges. The states uniquely have the 10th Amendment-protected power to tax and spend for such intrastate infrastructures.
In fact, note that President James Madison had vetoed a bill passed by the 14th(?) Congress to build roads and canals, Congress noting that such things would benefit both commerce and the military. But Madison had noted in his constitutionally required veto letter to Congress that the states had not included in Congress's constitutional Article I, Section 8-limited powers the specific power to appropriate funds for building roads and canals.
Veto of federal public works bill
Note that Benjamin Franklin had suggested that canals be included in Clause 7 of Section 8 of Article I which authorized Congress to build postal roads, but his fellow delegates at the Constitutional Convention had ultimately decided against the idea.
And with all due respect to the family and supporters of the late President Eisenhower, he was wrong to sign into law a highway bill in the 1950s, both Congress and Eisenhower "overlooking" that they still needed to petition the states for an amendment to the Constitution which would have granted Congress the specific power to appropriate taxpayer dollars for a national highway system.
Interstate Highway System
As a side note concerning the federal government's constitutionally limited powers, please consider the following. The states would sure be a dull, boring place to grow up and live in if parents were to make sure that their children were taught about the federal government's constitutionally limited powers as the Founding States had intended for those powers to be understood. /sarc
Thomas Jefferson had put it this way:
“Cherish, therefore, the spirit of our people, and keep alive their attention. If once they become inattentive to the public affairs, you and I, and Congress and Assemblies, judges and governors, shall all become wolves. It seems to be the law of our general nature.” - Thomas Jefferson (Letter to Edward Carrington January 16, 1787)
I agree with you. For theatrical purposes some good republican congressman should still ask obozo to validate where it all went just to expose the obozo/democrat/establishment tax sham. The question being asked might start a public fire storm against any new sham tax and essentially toss mud on the DC establishment thieves. However, I am not holding my breath in wait.
I think the original idea was to spend more of the money on construction projects, but when women’s groups realized that men would get a disproportionate share of the jobs, they raised a fuss so it was altered so that more of the jobs “created or saved” would go to women. For example, elementary school teachers.
Highway Trust Fund Broke ? It went the way of local “lite rail” and streetcars with the slogan “What’s good for General Motors is good for the country” because General Motors wanted citys to use its busses and sell more cars. Only this time it was sell more trucks.
Just how were roads maintained prior to trucking de-regulation ? Trucklines operated over selected routes where they paid states for “operating rights” to use their highways and those funds went into their maintainence. Toll roads were another answer. No thought was given when de-reg happened as to how roads were to be continued to be maintained. It put thousands out of work and the reason Jummy Hoffa backed Reagan.
BTW Both happened with the democrats in control.
“...getting something done...” which is supposedly “what the people want...”
most of these “stimulus” funds went to unionists.
Stop spending my money ya bastards.
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