(Untitled)

[vixalicious]

Hmm. So I'm looking at this list, and I have to say, I agree with some of that as being wasteful - particularly the stuff for Washington DC, the sewers and the Smithsonian stuff. I really wish Obama and the Democrats would explain some of the ideology behind what they're thinking with some of this stuff. Also, I've yet to see a comprehensive

Comments

I Agree

[anonymous]

I think the government already spends too much money keeping it's national treasures intact for future generation. Not too mention, $75 million for "smoking cessation activities". Let them smoke and die, I say. The $500 million for flood reduction projects is a waste too, I agree. Just look what good they did in 1993 midwest floods and during Hurricane Katrina. Even though the GOP wants to cut money for Homeland Security, at least they haven't cut any money for keeping those d@$% illegal immigrants out of this great country.

We need to spend less money pork barrel projects, like education and health and more money on the War in Iraq and the fight to make Iraq a true democracy, like the U.S.A

(Support Our Troops, It's the American Way)

Re: I Agree

[vixalicious]

Please note that saying I agree with some of those things does not mean I agree with all of them. See those things you list there? Those are the parts I actually agree with. The idea that education and health are pork barrel projects is anaethma to me, and if we'd spent more money on infrastructure, the wastes of Katrina wouldn't have happened, because the levees wouldn't have broken, and those people that lost everything wouldn't be even more dependent.

And those people that are going to die of lung cancer? Yeah, a lot of them aren't insured, so they're going to be either heavily dependent on government programs for treatment, or they're going to default on their hospital bills, and you know what happens when that happens? Yeah, your insurance costs go up. So I'd rather spend $75 mil to keep people healthy than untold millions or billions on the repercussions.

And I've got news for you - the USA is not a true democracy. And Iraq probably never will be either.

[juweldom]

Obama's big on going green, so I recognize those items on there. And there are some I do agree with like the youth programs and jobs. But the furniture for a Homeland Security office? That seems WAYYYY high. And some of that little local stuff doesn't belong in there either.

[vixalicious]

There's a lot of things that are in there, that while I agree with them, I don't feel belong in the stimulus package, which leads to the feeling of 'sneaking something in' to a bill.

[aecamadi]

The only items on there I see and say "bwuh?" are the tax breaks for film purchases for Hollywood filmmakers, construction of a new training facility for State Department people and the price tags on the Homeland Security HQ and the layout to Amtrak, which needs to be redeveloped in a big way because it is a big, bad moneysink.

And maybe some of the other amounts are a bit too high, but none of these programs or matters are things that I wouldn't fund. Most will create jobs, many will create necessary upgrades to infrastructure.

[vixalicious]

To me, it's not that I think most of these programs don't deserve funding, more like it feels like the Democrats are trying to push through their entire agenda in one bill, including parts that have nothing to do with stimulus. It worries me because as a party, they've proven themselves pretty capable of shooting themselves in the foot in the past, and I hate to think we might be going down that path again.