Time to Revolt?

I have said this at least four or five times on this blog, but it bears repeating. If more people really knew what was going on in Washington, D.C. and how Congress was spending our money, we would have another revolution on our hands.

Please take a few minutes to read this report put together by Senator Tom Coburn. The report takes a close look at how the "stimulus" dollars have been used to "stimulate" the economy.

Here is an excerpt from the introduction to the report:

Good jobs for millions of Americans.

Investments in priorities that create sustainable economic growth for the future.

Those were the promises made to uneasy Americans when Congress approved the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or economic stimulus bill, in February.

Nine months later, with over $200 billion of stimulus funding already spent,1 the rolls of the unemployed have grown by millions and, by any measure, more jobs have been lost than created.

Since the stimulus bill was enacted in February, nearly three million Americans have lost their jobs2 and the percentage of people who are without work has risen to 10 percent.3 Many who had been looking to the government for help have already lost hope.

As this and the last report, 100 Stimulus Projects: A Second Opinion,4 suggest, billions of dollars of stimulus funding have been wasted, mismanaged, or directed towards silly and shortsighted projects. Many projects may not produce the types of jobs that most Americans had hoped for or expected.

My five favorite "stimulus" projects from Coburn's report:

5. Water Pipeline to a Money-Losing Golf Course ($2.2 million)

A $2.2 million stimulus grant will help pay for new pipes to pump recycled water to the Sharp Park Golf Course in San Francisco, California. Unfortunately, the golf course may not exist for much longer. The City Council is considering closing the public course over concerns for the California red-legged frog and the San Francisco garter snake that live in the area.

7. Program to Control Home Appliances From a Remote Location ($787,250)

The next time residents of Martha‘s Vineyard feel their house is too cold, they may be out of luck. Fifty homes on Martha‘s Vineyard in Massachusetts will participate in a test program to allow an outside party to control their energy use, ―Big Brother style.

Using a grant for more than $787,000 in ―smart grid funding awarded by the Department of Energy, the initiative will allow participating households to purchase discounted appliances from General Electric (GE) that are capable of communicating with – and being controlled by – an off-site computer system. By hooking up to the off-site computers, electricity managers would be able to turn citizens‘ appliances on or off during different parts of the day, depending on community energy usage.

9. Dinner Cruise Company Gets Terrorism Prevention Money ($943,190)

Few security analysts see the dinner cruise industry as a key vulnerability in our nation‘s efforts to combat terrorism. But, that did not stop the Department of Homeland Security from awarding nearly $1 million to the privately-held Entertainment Cruises, LLC, to step up its security efforts.

The Chicago-based company has 23 vessels in eight cities, including Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., which according to the company, help to provide ―superior dining and entertainment experiences for its guests.‖68 One ship, the Spirit of Boston, which received stimulus funds to pay for an alarm and surveillance system, is a three-deck vessel, boasts ―chic table settings, two dance floors and the ―largest outdoor patio deck on Boston Harbor."

14. Anti-Capitalist, Socially-Conscious Puppet Shows ($100,000)

Each spring, Minnesota is home to a nationally known Mayday parade put on by In The Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre (HOTB), which includes artists that advocate for socially progressive causes such as the elimination of fossil fuels and ―free market fundamentalism.

The theatre derives its name from a quote popularized by Che Guevara, who in a thinly-veiled reference to the United States said, ―I envy you. You North Americans are very lucky. You are fighting the most important fight of all – you live in the heart of the beast. HOTB has received a grant for $25,000 to help preserve one job.

17. Buffalo Residents Paid to Keep Daily Journal of Malt Liquor and Marijuana Use ($389,357)

Researchers at the State University of New York at Buffalo will receive nearly $390,000 to study young adults who drink malt liquor and smoke marijuana.

Malt liquor consumption is an understudied topic, according to the researchers‘ application, making it an obvious choice for economic stimulus funding. The study will reportedly pay 100 Buffalo-area residents $45 each to record their daily malt liquor drinking and marijuana smoking usage through an automated phone hotline.