18. February 2010 by Democratic Party News - The News of the Democratic Party.

One year ago today, President Barack Obama signed into law the first major legislation of his presidency, the Congressional Democrats’ so-called “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.”

Obama and our fellow Democrats in Washington made many bold claims about what this $862 billion bill would do for America’s ailing economy.

Let’s see how their promises measure up to reality.

Obama Promised Unemployment Would Not Rise Above 8 Percent With $862 Billion Stimulus. (Christina Romer and Jared Bernstein, “The Job Impact Of The American Recovery And Reinvestment Plan,” 1/9/09)

REALITY: Unemployment Currently At 10 Percent. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 2/4/10)

Obama Promised His Stimulus Would Create 3.5 Million Jobs By End Of 2010. (President Barack Obama, Remarks At The Signing Of The American Recovery And Reinvestment Act, Denver, CO, 2/17/09)

REALITY: Since Obama Signed Stimulus Last February, America Has Lost 2.8 Million Jobs. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 2/4/10)

Biden Promised Stimulus Would Create Construction Jobs. “Road projects, energy projects and construction projects are being started as soon as they pass review, contracts are competitively bid and reporting systems are in place.” (Joe Biden, “What You Might Not Know About The Recovery,” The New York Times, 7/26/09)

REALITY: Since Obama Signed The Stimulus Last February, 712,000 Construction Jobs Have Been Lost. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 2/4/10)

Obama Claims Stimulus Created Manufacturing Jobs. “That’s right — the Recovery Act, also known as the stimulus bill. Economists on the left and the right say this bill has helped save jobs and avert disaster. But you don’t have to take their word for it — Talk to the window manufacturer in Philadelphia who said he used to be skeptical about the Recovery Act, until he had to add two more work shifts just because of the business it created.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks In State Of The Union Address, Washington, DC, 1/27/10)

REALITY: Since Obama Signed The Stimulus Last February, 847,000 Manufacturing Jobs Have Been Lost. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 2/4/10)

Obama Claims Stimulus Created Teaching Jobs. “Because of the steps we took, there are about two million Americans working right now who would otherwise be unemployed — 300,000 are teachers and other education workers.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks In State Of The Union Address, Washington, DC, 1/27/10)

REALITY: Since Obama Signed The Stimulus Last February, 55,000 Education Jobs Have Been Lost. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 2/4/10)

Obama Promised Recovery Act “Will Create Good Jobs That Pay Well And Can’t Be Shipped Overseas.” (The White House, “Remarks By The President And The Vice President On The American Recovery And Reinvestment Act,” 4/13/09)

REALITY: Recently Distributed Stimulus Funds Going To Foreign Corporations Creating Jobs Overseas. “Nearly half of the $2.4 billion in federal grant money awarded Wednesday to stimulate the U.S. economy and boost the production of hybrid and electric vehicles went to six companies with ties to places as far away as Russia, China, South Korea and France. … But because so few American companies have the necessary technology, much of the money will initially go toward manufacturing electric vehicle batteries overseas.” (Jerry Seper, “Obama Sends Stimulus Aid To Foreign Firms,” The Washington Times, 8/6/09)

Obama Promised Stimulus Would Have “Responsibility and Accountability.” “‘What I will need from [U.S. Mayors] is unprecedented responsibility and accountability on all of our parts,’ Obama said. ‘The American people are watching.’” (Michael D. Shear, “Obama To Watch Cities’ Stimulus Spending,” The Washington Post, 2/21/09)

REALITY: GAO Says Transparency, Oversight Lacking When Keeping Track of Stimulus’ Effectiveness. “The Government Accountability Office said in a report that increased transparency and better oversight is needed to track stimulus money being sent to state and local governments. — ‘Questions remained about how to count jobs and measure performance under Recovery Act-funded programs,’ the report said.” (Rich Edson and Joanna Ossinger, “GAO: More Transparency Needed To Track Stimulus Money,” Fox Business, 7/7/09)

Barack Obama and his big-spending Democrat allies in the U.S. Congress, led by Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, have proven, their claims notwithstanding, that their kind of “Stimulus” will only run America’s economy into the ground.

And this massive transfer of wealth to the Democrats’ public sector union allies in local and state governments was just the beginning of Obamanomics — soak the private sector to feed the never-ending growth of government.

In fact, as the Obama Democrats moved on from their bloated “Stimulus” Bill to take over the American auto industry, implement Cap-and-Trade energy taxes, and socialize private health care, they made it obvious to everyone not on their gravy train that they care not a whit for the millions of unemployed who simply want a chance to earn an honest living in the free marketplace.

Americans know that the Obama has no intention of doing what will really create new jobs — reducing the punishing tax rates on American small business and investors to spur job growth and vitalize our economy.

So faced with the reality of the voters’ backlash in New Jersey and Virginia, then Massachusetts and soon the entire country, they are cloaking their next spending boondoggle as a “jobs bill.”

Sorry, but the American people have had enough of your “Stimulus” — they demand an end to the childish double talk and irresponsible wealth transfers. But no one expects the Obama-Pelosi-Reid Democrats to listen.

Posted in Federal Debt, Stimulus, Corruption And Lies, WakeUp America, President Obama | No Comments »

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.

Posted in Stimulus, President Obama, The Democratic Party, Politics | No Comments »

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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