Posted on 07/08/2009 9:55:49 AM PDT by fiscon1
Cash-strapped states have used federal stimulus dollars to close short-term budget gaps and avert major tax increases but generally have not directed the money toward long-term expansion, according to a new report.
The report released Wednesday by the Government Accountability Office, Congress' investigative arm, found that the $787 billion stimulus package is being used to "cushion" state budgets, prevent teacher layoffs, make more Medicaid payments and head off other fiscal problems.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that only 10 percent of the Recovery Act funds have been released so far, with about half of the money expected to be spent by October 2010. That dispersed money is being used to prioritize short-term projects and needs over more ambitious goals, the GAO report states.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Well, it's a good thing Congress passed the stimulus bill in a hurry without reading it or else we might have only spent 9% by now and only hit 48% by October of next year.
so instead of the $ coming out of our right pocket , it will come out of our left.
awesome.
Interesting. So the net effect of the stimulus bill so far has been to prevent the public sector (government employees and aid recipients) from sharing the pain being felt by the rest of us.
My Obama-voting NY state union construction engineer brother in-law has confirmed this.
He says that the “stimulus” package will not create or repair one inch of road, sewer line or bridge that wasn’t already in the works.
Those projects were already planned. All the state and local munincipalities are doing is taking the money that was planned for infrastructure and fixing their debt problems. Then the stimulus money is being used for infrastructure.
Even if stimulus created more projects, there is insufficient skilled labor to do any more work than what is presently planned.
In fact, the stimulus package has had the effect of de-stimulating projects...the state and towns are delaying work until the anticipated stimulus money arrives.
I thought Obortion was all about "Change"
This is Jimmy Carter all over again, with more zeros.
succinctly put
bump!
Look on the bright side...
The cuts we are seeing now in public services are only the tip of the iceberg. 2010 will usher in massive tax increases, deep cuts in public services and a noticeable uptick in crime once the pigs milk runs dry...
We’ll look back on 2009 like it was the good ol’ days...
It was all about protecting and expanding the public sector from the outset.
Since the States cannot print money to cover their budget shortfalls, the Stimulus program is nothing more than the Feds printing the money to cover budget shortfalls in the States.
A clever way for the Democrats to avoid tax increases in the States to pay for their leftist programs.
Whether the American public will see through these scams being foisted upon them by Obama and the Democrats remains to be seen.
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