5. November 2009 by Democratic Party News - The News of the Democratic Party.

- The White House last week announced more than 640,000 jobs were created or saved by spending $159 billion in stimulus funds, but economists question the figure, saying it is impossible to calculate jobs that are saved. ABC News calculated each job cost taxpayers $160,000.

- More than half the jobs were in education, not the private sector, as promised by the Obama administration. Just 80,000 jobs were in construction.

- Nearly 690,000 cars were sold during Cash for Clunkers, but just 125,000 were purchased as a result of the program, leading analysts at Edmunds Auto Observer to calculate each car purchase cost taxpayers $24,000.

- According to Brookings Institution, 85 percent of recent home sales would have happened regardless of the first-time homebuyer tax credit, which means the cost of each $8,000 rebate for taxpayers is $43,000.

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5. November 2009 by Democratic Party News - The News of the Democratic Party.

The First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit aimed at boosting home sales allows low- and middle-income earners to claim a credit of up to $8,000 for a first-time home purchase. The $13.8 billion plan was part of the stimulus package passed in February and so far the Internal Revenue Service has processed 1.5 million claims. Lawmakers are considering a plan to extend the program, set to expire at the end of the month, through March. An audit found widespread mistakes and outright fraud including:

- The First-Time Homebuyer Credit IRS form did not verify eligibility and no documentation was required to substantiate home purchase;

- $139 million in credits were awarded to people for more than 19,000 homes that were still on the market;

- Checks given to 582 taxpayers under 18 who claimed $4 million in first-time homebuyer credits. The youngest buyers were 4 years old;

- Through July 25, the audit identified 3,238 people claiming $21 million in First-Time Homebuyer Credits on returns filed with special tax identification numbers used mostly by resident aliens, who are not eligible for the benefit;

- Nearly 74,000 First-Time Homebuyer Credits totaling almost $504 million were claimed by taxpayers who had indications of prior home ownership within three years;

- The IRS has not decided whether to examine 70,005 questionable claims worth $479 million that were handed checks prior to the initiation of special pre-refund examination filters.

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5. November 2009 by Democratic Party News - The News of the Democratic Party.

The $787 billion stimulus bill was passed in February and was promised as a job saver and economy booster. Here is where some of the money went:

- $300,000 for a GPS-equipped helicopter to hunt for radioactive rabbit droppings at the Hanford nuclear reservation in Washington state.

- $30 million for a spring training baseball complex for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies.

- $11 million for Microsoft to build a bridge connecting its two headquarter campuses in Redmond, Wash., which are separated by a highway.

- $430,000 to repair a bridge in Iowa County, Wis., that carries 10 or fewer cars per day.

- $800,000 for the John Murtha Airport in Johnstown, Pa., serving about 20 passengers per day, to build a backup runway.

- $219,000 for Syracuse University to study the sex lives of freshmen women.

- $2.3 million for the U.S. Forest Service to rear large numbers of arthropods, including the Asian longhorned beetle, the nun moth and the woolly adelgid.

- $3.4 million for a 13-foot tunnel for turtles and other wildlife attempting to cross U.S. 27 in Lake Jackson, Fla.

- $1.15 million to install a guardrail for a persistently dry lake bed in Guymon, Okla.

- $9.38 million to renovate a century-old train depot in Lancaster County, Pa., that has not been used for three decades.

- $2.5 million in stimulus checks sent to the deceased.

- $6 million for a snow-making facility in Duluth, Minn.

- $173,834 to weatherize eight pickup trucks in Madison County, Ill.

- $20,000 for a fish sperm freezer at the Gavins Point National Fish Hatchery in South Dakota.

- $380,000 to spay and neuter pets in Wichita, Kan.

- $300 apiece for thousands of signs at road construction sites across the country announcing that the projects are funded by stimulus money.

- $1.5 million for a fence to block would-be jumpers from leaping off the All-American Bridge in Akron, Ohio.

- $1 million to study the health effects of environmentally friendly public housing on 300 people in Chicago.

- $356,000 for Indiana University to study childhood comprehension of foreign accents compared with native speech.

- $983,952 for street beautification in Ann Arbor, Mich., including decorative lighting, trees, benches and bike paths.

- $148,438 for Washington State University to analyze the use of marijuana in conjunction with medications like morphine.

- $462,000 to purchase 22 concrete toilets for use in the Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri

- $3.1 million to transform a canal barge into a floating museum that will travel the Erie Canal in New York state.

- $1.3 million on government arts jobs in Maine, including $30,000 for basket makers, $20,000 for storytelling and $12,500 for a music festival.

- $71,000 for a hybrid car to be used by student drivers in Colchester, Vt., as well as a plug-in hybrid for town workers decked out with a sign touting the vehicle’s energy efficiency.

- $1 million for Portland, Ore., to replace 100 aging bike lockers and build a garage that would house 250 bicycles.

Sources: News reports, Office of the Senate Minority Leader, Office of Sen. Tom

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