How foolish of you? When you heard that the government was planning on spending billions upon billions of dollars on “shovel-ready” projects, you assumed that meant construction projects. You couldn’t have been more wrong.
The “public face” of the stimulus effort has been a worker in a hard hat, employed on a federally backed infrastructure project, The Associated Press reported nationally. But reviews of spending in New Mexico and around the country show that the phrase “shovel-ready” to describe the focus of stimulus projects probably has been overused.
In fact, in New Mexico and around the country, social spending, not construction, is in line to be the biggest winner in the ambitious federal effort to spark a sluggish economy.
Less than 10 percent of New Mexico’s estimated $3 billion in stimulus money is slated to be used for highway construction. Only 12 percent will be spent repairing dams, building water treatment systems and undertaking other capital projects.
Nearly half of New Mexico’s stimulus dollars — about 46 percent — will be spent on Medicaid and education.
Turns out that shovel-ready has nothing to do with reinvesting in America’s ailing infrastructure. Instead, the term shovel-ready refers to the main instrument American taxpayers will need to dig themselves out from under the pile of, shall we call it manure, being relabeled as a stimulus package.
If this is what the Obama Administration calls stimulus….
Obama has claimed as many as 150,000 jobs saved or created by his stimulus plan so far, even as government reports have shown the economy has lost more than 1.6 million jobs since Congress approved funding for the program in February.
I wonder what a total economic collapse would like? This is worth repeating “150,000 jobs saved or created while losing 1.6 million jobs from the economy.” I hope you’re paying attention to that careful talking point coming out of the administration. You know, the one that uses the phrase “jobs saved or created.” It is a careful spin that is being repeated by state level administrators of the biggest economic scam ever played on the American people:
Anaya defended the effectiveness of appropriating stimulus dollars to education, Medicaid and other social programs, saying the influx of federal dollars is already saving jobs statewide.
Jobless rate climbs ever higher and everyone in government is pretending they are saving jobs. Well, they may be saving government jobs and programs, but the private sector, despite numerous bailouts and so-called stimulus packages is going to hell in a handbasket.
Education is a means to an end. However, as it stands today, no matter how well we educate out children, something we’ve been failing at for years, they’re not going to be able to find jobs upon graduation. Don’t believe me? Go ask a recent graduate about how their job hunt is coming along. To make matters worse, they are going to be saddle with paying off this debt with higher taxes for years to come.
Since last year, I’ve predicted that the worse is yet to come. I predicted a 10% unemployment rate, and at 9.4% we’re almost there. And, I stand by my prediction that the fourth quarter of this year and first quarter of 2010 will be the worse yet. Consider the absurdity of this job creation plan:
President Barack Obama promised Monday to deliver more than 600,000 jobs through his $787 billion stimulus plan this summer, with federal agencies pumping billions into public works projects, schools and summer youth programs.
Summer youth programs…hmm. Summer youth programs will not feed hungry unemployed families going into the cold, harsh winter months. Summer youth programs will not open the capital markets for the small mom and pop businesses on main street that are shuttering their doors everyday at an alarming rate. Summer youth programs will accomplish very little beyond this summer.
The situation is getting worse by the minute.