Pirate's Cove

Remember when Obama said that in front of his little grasshoppers, er, House Democrats, during a speechin Williamsburg in early February? Remember when Obama and the Democrats were telling us that the Generational Theft Act had to be passed RIGHT NOW otherwise Bad Things would happen, that the economy would never recover, so no one had any time to read it, but, we have to pass it now. Umm, er, ah, how’s that working out?

Nearly three months after President Obama approved a $787 billion economic stimulus package, intended to create or save jobs, the federal government has paid out less than 6 percent of the money, largely in the form of social service payments to states.

Is there any reason to excerpt anything else from this NY Times story (apparently, some editor was drunk as a skunk to allow this story to have been printed)? That one paragraph, the first of the story, says it all. Six Percent paid out for a bill that had to be passed now or we are all going to die OMG RUN FOR THE HILLS EVERYBODY PANIC! Maybe this is why Obama took multiple days, and a Valentines date with his wife in Chicago, before bothering to sign it during a photo-op in Denver. Have to have more, though

The stimulus bill has directly injected around $45.6 billion into the economy, mostly to help states cover the costs of Medicaid and unemployment benefits, one-time $250 checks that were mailed to Social Security recipients last week, and income tax cuts that began to take effect this spring.

I’m not going to get into the minutia of the tax cuts absurdity, but, this is all the porkulus has done? As was pointed out, mostly after the monstrous spending package was passed and people could actually attempt to read it, most of the money will be spent late in 2009, 2010 (midterms!!) and 2011. So, what is stimulated? Even the Grey Lady questions Obama’s “150,000 jobs saved or created” talking point.

But the huge program has been a challenge to administer for both a new administration and for states and local governments grappling with their own fiscal problems.

In other words, President Neophyte bit off way more Tofu then he could chew.

“We’re 85 days into a two-year program here — we’re trying to get the money out as quickly as we can, but not too quickly, so we don’t end up really screwing up here,” Mr. Biden said. “Because we’re talking about big dollars here, these are big numbers, this is unprecedented. And in 85 days we’ve gotten tens of billions of dollars out the door, and so far — knock on wood — no real big problems, no real big glitches.”

Except for the one that it was necessary to pass it immediately, without reading, with little debate, because we had to rescue the economy right now, not 2 years down the road.

When the Senate recently held a hearing on the spending of the stimulus money, Ray Scheppach, the executive director of the National Governors Association, told lawmakers that “to one extent this hearing is premature.” He reminded them that most of the stimulus funds “remain in the hands of the federal government.”

To be used as payoffs for groups, states, cities that toe the Obama line, perhaps? Or, is it just shear incompetence, especially since Obama and Geithner still haven’t staffed up Treasury, much less most other departments?

The Obama administration has committed to spending 70 percent of the money, or $550.9 billion, within the first two years. By that benchmark, an administration official said, the government is 8 percent toward its goal.

But, if it needed to be passed so fast so we could get the spending out there or OMG WE’LL BECOME ZIMBABWE, why only 70% in 2 years, and at a trickle pace?

Perhaps the NY Times could have been a little more critical before the Generational Theft Act was passed.