I keep hearing the GOP guys on TV whining about cutting taxes. With the deficit soaring is that really a good idea? Why isn't the battle about "cutting spending"?
Lets do a poll about cutting taxes. Then we can look at cutting spending in the next thread....
How about we cut
$7 Million in Stimulus Funds Spent on a Bridge to No Benefits
(Feb. 4, 2010) $7 million in taxpayer stimulus funds are being used to build a bridge in Thedford, Neb.. The purpose of the bridge? Helping 168 residents avoid a 30 second wait at a local train crossing. But according to Mike Hodges, a local business owner, crossing the bridge won’t even help residents avoid the current 30 second wait time — it will actually take longer to cross the new roundabout bridge. Will the bridge at least create jobs? Not for Thedford. Town Chairman Judy Taylor complained that the bridge contract was awarded to a Colorado company that is using their own workers. In fact, not one full-time job will be created through the construction of this $7 million bridge. CNN closed their segment by saying this about the bridge: “No economic benefit, no full time jobs, and a lot of taxpayer dollars used to cross the road.”
$50,000 in Stimulus Funds for New Tennis Courts
(Jan. 11, 2010) Bozeman, Montana is spending $49,410 to install new rubber-tiled tennis courts at the cityÂ’s Bogert Park. The tennis courts are being funded out of the $621,000 Bozeman has received in federal stimulus dollars. Brian Schweitzer, governor of Montana, believes this is a waste of government funds. And while the residents of Bozeman will be able to play tennis on brand new courts come June, they still wonÂ’t have any new jobs to show for the project. Game, Set, Match.
$25,000 in Stimulus Funds for Free Concerts
(Dec. 3, 2009) The Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra is receiving $25,000 in federal stimulus funds to provide five free concerts in the Sacramento area. The concerts will run from Dec. 3-7 and will include such programs as Bohuslav Martinu’s “Kitchen Revue,” where audiences can imagine the “life of a pot, a lid, a broom and a dishrag.”
While free community concerts are certainly admirable, it’s unclear how they produce jobs during a recession. According to Marc Feldman, executive director of the Sacramento Philharmonic, this money will give 10 of his musicians (whose jobs do not appear to be in any danger), “a good long week of work.”
$4 Million in Stimulus Funds to Build Bike Trail to Taco Bell
(Oct. 23, 2009) -The Federal Highway Administration (FHA) spent $4 Million in stimulus funds to build a bike trail to Taco Bell. Apparently, the FHA felt it was necessary to allocate $4 million in federal stimulus dollars to build a 2.66 mile bike trail in Massachusetts. The planned corridor will provide a new path connecting the Manhan Bike Trail to the Northampton and Norwottuck Trails. Once the new trail is completed, the Manhan bikers will finally have access to the Taco Bell in Northampton.
$ 2 Million of Stimulus Funds Spent on Center for Dance
(Sept. 17, 2009) – The Minneapolis City Council recently voted to use federal stimulus funds to convert a vacant 99-year-old theater into a center of dance instead of funding a solar-energy-panel manufacturing plant that would have created 7 times as many jobs. The center of dance project will cost 2 million stimulus dollars and only create 48 permanent jobs according to the City. Interestingly, in the Spring Newsletter, the theatre estimated that completing the project would actually only create 26 full and part-time permanent jobs. At only 26 jobs, each permanent jobwould cost $76,923 to create.
The solar-energy-panel manufacturing plant that was in competition for the stimulus funds received less than 300 thousand dollars, compared to the dance centerÂ’s 2 million. Yet, the plant would have created more than 360 jobs by 2011. Because of the insufficient funds the Council appropriated to the plant, their chief executive officer indicated the plant could not be opened in Minneapolis.
et al.
Source:
Stop the Pork!