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Obama Banking on Large-Scale Public Works Project
Yahoo News ^ | 12/6/2008 | EagleUSA

Posted on 12/06/2008 3:11:56 PM PST by EagleUSA

CHICAGO – President-elect Barack Obama said Saturday he wants to revive the economy through a job-creating public works plan on a scale unseen since the building program of the interstate highway system in the 1950s.

He offered no price estimate for the grand plan, how the money might be divided or the effect on the country's financial health at a time of burgeoning deficits.

The ideas were outlined in the weekly radio address the day after the government reported that employers cut 533,000 jobs in November, the most in 34 years. They are part of a vision for a massive economy recovery plan Obama wants Congress to pass and have waiting on his desk when he takes office Jan. 20.

The president-elect's address never once used the word "spend," relying instead on "invest" or "investments," and pledging wise stewardship of taxpayer money in upgrading roads and schools, and making public buildings more energy-efficient.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 111th; agenda; bho2008; bhostimulus; government; obama; obamatransitionfile; socialism; taxes
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To: EagleUSA

The burning question in all of this is how will the Congress structure this “plan”?? If Virginia has $1 Billion worth of supposedly “shovel ready” projects set to go, how will they repay this money if it is in the form of loans??

I do not see the Congress agreeing to just hand out cash to States under any circumstances, and especially not in the amounts that are being suggested. In addition, how do the taxpayers know if these projects are truly viable or not?? Normally these projects seek some sort of voter approval, sometimes at several steps along the way. In some cases you have other elected bodies such as City Councils, who meet, discuss and plan these projects long before any finding is approved.

I fear we are about to circumvent the many necessary project controls that have been developed and put into place over the years to help prevent public money from going to the wrong places. If this goes through, I’m convinced we’ll see fraud on a scale like never before. I can see officials rushing to spend this money as fast as they can so it doesn’t get taken away, and there will be little or no cost control or quality control along the way.

We could easily be looking at billions more in bailouts someday of all these new Federal Projects that DelanObama is proposing to fund...


41 posted on 12/06/2008 4:24:20 PM PST by Bean Counter (Stout Hearts.....)
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To: berdie

Wondered about those electronic medical records too. You probably can’t see them to make sure there are no mistakes


42 posted on 12/06/2008 4:31:31 PM PST by freekitty (Give me back my conservative vote.)
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To: freekitty
"Wondered about those electronic medical records too. You probably can’t see them to make sure there are no mistakes

Reasons why we would not be able to see them:

1. It is above our pay-grade.

2. Those records are sealed.

3. We lack standing.

4. (add your own)

43 posted on 12/06/2008 4:44:45 PM PST by DelaWhere (I'm a Klingon - Clinging to guns and Bible - Putting Country First - Gettin' Angry!!)
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To: Bean Counter

I fear we are about to circumvent the many necessary project controls that have been developed and put into place over the years to help prevent public money from going to the wrong places. If this goes through, I’m convinced we’ll see fraud on a scale like never before. I can see officials rushing to spend this money as fast as they can so it doesn’t get taken away, and there will be little or no cost control or quality control along the way.
::::::::::
Without any doubt. The crooks of the Congress, the Pelosi/Ried mob, do not give a damn about what you or I think about anything. It is all about power and control, and be damned with America, its citizens, the MONEY OF THE CITIZENS, or anything else that might resemble responsibility and oversight. Welcome of a Congress of radical liberalism that does not care one iota about the consequences of their actions....they have already proven that, as sure as they will dump billions into the BIG 3 to pay the unions back for their votes. Bank on it.


44 posted on 12/06/2008 4:53:49 PM PST by EagleUSA
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To: EagleUSA

I strongly suggest everybody go get a copy of Henry Hazlitt’s “Economics in One Lesson” (it can be found online) and read the chapter on public works. It will give you good intellectual ammo to explain to people for the next four years on why this is such an awful idea.


45 posted on 12/06/2008 4:54:00 PM PST by LifeComesFirst (Until the unborn are free, nobody is free)
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To: EagleUSA

As I see it, there are only a small handful of beneficial things the government does. Building infrastructure is one of them. Now this money probably could be used more effectively by the people who actually earned it, but given the government we soon will have, this would be by far one of the best uses for the money. Otherwise, they might decide to just hand it out like in the last “stimulus”, dole it out as welfare to their presumed constituents or worse yet selectively give it out to hard core leftists like ACORN or LaRaza.


46 posted on 12/06/2008 5:12:42 PM PST by elmer fudd (Fukoku kyohei)
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To: EagleUSA

In the short term, a WPA II may be unavoidable, but not for significant wages, but just in exchange for housing and food for them and their families. And much like the original WPA (nickname “We Piddle Around”), the practical application will be for them to repair and rebuild a lot of decaying infrastructure projects around the US (many of whom were originally built by the WPA.)

But because international trade is going to be pretty defunct for some years, the US is going to have to rebuild its heavy industry to provide us with what we need. And this will take a lot of pressure off unemployment.

The biggest employer in any modern economy is not big business, however, it is small business. And getting that back on track is going to be hard.

The fastest industry to get back in operation will be agribusiness, because it has been tightly controlled and managed since the Great Depression. This is a good quick source of national income, and because it is sustainable, expenses will be relatively normal.

A major project that Obama can thank George W. Bush for is easing the requirements for federal eminent domain for railroad right of way and highway improvement. If Obama was just to use his unemployed labor corps for just one thing, this should be it, because US railroads need major redevelopment.

While he’s at it, the US air hubs about need to be doubled, with the essential split being between passengers, and cargo—which should have their own hub connected to the railroads and highways.


47 posted on 12/06/2008 5:30:57 PM PST by yefragetuwrabrumuy
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To: EagleUSA
The government ought to bring back the CETA program. Every one could get jobs under CETA, not just union thugs. In NY State, the only ones that are allowed to ever work for decent pay are union members. One day my brother applied for a job on highway construction in NYS and the guy said “after we hire every unemployed union member in the country, you might to be able to reapply.”
48 posted on 12/06/2008 5:32:19 PM PST by GinaLolaB (=^..^=)
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To: TheWasteLand
Socailist
Obama's
Universal
Recovery
Scam

49 posted on 12/06/2008 6:18:51 PM PST by smokingfrog (Buy'em cheap. Bury'em deep.)
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To: ajay_kumar
Sounds better than bailing out Wall Street fat cat bankers, if you ask me.

When are the morons in Washington going to bail out the flippin' taxpayers? We're the ones stuck paying for all this BS. And it is BS - payola for the connected at the expense of the productive Americans trying to EARN their way through life.

50 posted on 12/06/2008 6:22:43 PM PST by meyer (We are all John Galt)
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To: EagleUSA
Meet the new boss....same as the old boss
 
 
With our children at our feet
And the morals that they worship will be gone
And the men who spurred us on
Sit in judgement of all wrong
They decide and the shotgun sings the song

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again

The change, it had to come
We knew it all along
We were liberated from the foe, that's all
And the world looks just the same
And history ain't changed
'Cause the banners, they all flown in the last war

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
No, no!

I'll move myself and my family aside
If we happen to be left half alive
I'll get all my papers and smile at the sky
For I know that the hypnotized never lie

Do ya?

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

There's nothing in the street
Looks any different to me
And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye
And the parting on the left
Is now the parting on the right
And the beards have all grown longer overnight

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again
No, no!

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss


51 posted on 12/06/2008 6:25:54 PM PST by Radix (Posting cynical responses ever since...."What time is it anyhow?")
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To: Tarpon
Thought we elected a leader, instead got a soup kitchen cook.

A soup kitchen cook has a marketable skill - the "President-elect" does not...

52 posted on 12/06/2008 6:29:22 PM PST by meyer (We are all John Galt)
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To: ajay_kumar
Sounds better than bailing out Wall Street fat cat bankers, if you ask me.

Yep, for all our money they gave them, they should have given it to us to pay off our mortgages and the money would still have gone to the banks.

53 posted on 12/06/2008 6:36:02 PM PST by pray4liberty (Always vote for life!)
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To: GinaLolaB

.....and the guy said “after we hire every unemployed union member in the country, you might to be able to reapply.”
::::::::::
And a few words says it all — organized extortion. And the Big 3 want us to bail them out of the gross incompetence and union-induced complacency. If the government had any guts and was not running on total politics, they would tell the Big 3 to file for bankruptcy, reorganize and clean out the union extortion and control, and become competitive, profitable businesses. If Obama, et al, just bails them out, nothing will change — except the socialists will be happy that they were able to steal taxpayer dollars for their election vote payback.


54 posted on 12/06/2008 6:37:14 PM PST by EagleUSA
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To: EagleUSA

This is a spread the wealth proposal and will do nothing to grow the economy. Obama’s going to take our tax money and give it to someone who will stand around leaning against a shovel. Let us keep our money and spend it the way WE want. Let small businesses keep their money and reinvest it to hire more people and grow the economy.

This will be a dismal failure and will just insure that your children and grandchildren are destined to be even more enslaved to the government than they are at present. They care nothing about your children and grandchildren. They look no further than the next election.


55 posted on 12/06/2008 7:40:04 PM PST by randita
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To: randita

“They look no further than the next election.”

Why is something so obvious so hard to understand by some people?


56 posted on 12/06/2008 8:59:26 PM PST by RWB Patriot ("Let 'em learn the hard way, 'cause teaching them is more trouble than they're worth,")
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To: EagleUSA

“Bank on it.”

yah...right....


57 posted on 12/07/2008 7:13:17 AM PST by Bean Counter (Stout Hearts.....)
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