Missing In Action: White House Stimulus Sheriff Joe Biden
MICHELLE MALKIN05:34 PM ET 10/10/2012
Remember when President Obama bragged about Joe Biden's fiscal discipline cred in 2009?
"To you, he's Mr. Vice President, but around the White House, we call him the Sheriff," Obama warned government employees. "Because if you're misusing taxpayer money, you'll have to answer to him."
Fast-forward to 2012. Call in the search teams. Since being appointed the nation's stimulus spending cop, Sheriff Joe has taken a permanent donut break. He's AWOL on oversight. In fact, he's been bubble-wrapped, boxed and kept completely out of sight. The garrulous gaffe machine hasn't sat down for a national media interview in five months.
The Democrats' trillion-dollar "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act," however, keeps piling up waste, failure, fraud and debt. Who benefited most? Big government cronies.
According to Investor's Business Daily this week, a new analysis by Ohio State University economics professor Bill Dupor reported that "(m)ore than three-quarters of the jobs created or saved by President Obama's economic stimulus in the first year were in government."
Dupor and another colleague had earlier concluded that the porkulus was a predictable jobs-killer that crowded out nongovernment jobs with make-work public jobs and programs. Indeed, the massive wealth redistribution scheme "destroyed/forestalled roughly one million private sector jobs" by siphoning tax dollars "to offset state revenue shortfalls and Medicaid increases rather than boost private sector employment."…
https://www.investors.com/politics/commentary/gaffe-machine-joe-biden-kept-out-of-sight/
OBAMA PUTS BIDEN IN CHARGE OF STIMULUS FUNDS
By Clemente Lisi February 23, 2009
5:05pm
The gaffe-prone Joe Biden will now be handling more of your money.
President Obama said his vice president would oversee the implementation of the $787 billion economic stimulus package.
Obama made the announcement today before the National Governors Association in Washington, saying Biden will not only ensure that the cash is distributed, but make sure it is “also efficient and effective.”
“The fact that I’m asking my vice president to personally lead this effort shows how important it is for our country and future to get this right,” Obama said.
In his new role as stimulus czar, Biden, 66, would meet regularly with congressional lawmakers, governors and mayors to make certain their efforts in reviving the economy are both effective and swift.
The often-blunt Biden is famous for giving his opinion and being vice president has not stopped him.
In a recent CNBC interview, he was more vocally supportive of “buy American” trade protectionist provisions in the hotly debated economic stimulus bill than was Obama.
During the debate over the stimulus plan, Biden declared there was a “30 percent chance we’re going to get it wrong.”
Those comments prompted Obama to later say, “You know, I don’t remember exactly what Joe was referring to, not surprisingly.”
https://nypost.com/2009/02/23/obama-puts-biden-in-charge-of-stimulus-funds/
'''ARRA, Its Details, With Pros and Cons
What Did ARRA Really Do?'''
BY KIMBERLY AMADEO
Updated July 30, 2019
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was a fiscal stimulus signed by President Barack Obama on February 17, 2009. It ended the Great Recession in July 2009.
Congress passed the bill based on President Obama's plan to put $787 billion into the pockets of American families and small businesses. That would boost demand and instill confidence. It was a necessary follow-up to President George W. Bush's plan, the Troubled Asset Recovery Program. TARP ended the 2008 financial crisis by bailing out large banks.
In 2012, the Congressional Budget Office reported that Congress added to ARRA spending in subsequent budgets. It raised the total cost to $831 billion. The CBO estimated that was how much was added to the budget deficit. Most of the impact occurred by 2011.
ARRA had seven components. Here are the details of each…
https://www.thebalance.com/arra-details-3306299
'''ARRA, Its Details, With Pros and Cons
What Did ARRA Really Do?'''
BY KIMBERLY AMADEO
Updated July 30, 2019
(Cont.)
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Modernize Federal Infrastructure
ARRA also created jobs by funding shovel-ready public works projects.
$46 billion for transportation and mass transit projects.
$31 billion to modernize federal buildings.
$6 billion in water projects.
This is the most cost-efficient way to create jobs. One billion dollars spent on public works created 19,975 jobs according to a UMass/Amherst study.
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Increase Alternative Energy Production
This funding jump-started the alternative energy industry in America. It demonstrated that the federal government supported clean energy.
$17 billion in renewable energy tax cuts.
$5 billion to weatherize homes.
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Expand Health Care
This component subsidized the greater health care costs that recessions create. It also began to computerize medical records. That facilitated the exchange of patient medical information, such as tests, among doctors. Computerized medical records facilitated the Affordable Care Act. Here's what ARRA spent on health care:
$24 billion to subsidize 65% of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act premiums for up to nine months for laid-off workers.
$87 billion in matching funds for two years to help states pay for the additional Medicaid needs that occur in a recession.
$10 billion to National Institute for Health.
$17 billion to modernize health information technology systems.
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Improve Education
Here's what ARRA spent on education:
$54 billion for school districts and states to pay for teacher salaries and educational programs.
$21 billion for school facility modernization and construction.
$17 billion to boost Pell Grants by increasing the maximum to $5,350 in 2009 and $5,550 in 2010.
$13 billion for Head Start.
$12 billion for special education programs, including job training for those with disabilities.
Education spending is the second-best way to create jobs, according to the UMass study. One billion in federal spending creates 17,687 jobs.
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Invest in Science Research and Technology
Funding broadband infrastructure in rural areas also helped pave the way for computerized health records needed for the ACA.
$10 billion to modernize science facilities and fund research jobs that investigate disease cures.
$4 billion to increase broadband infrastructure in rural and inner-city areas. That made their businesses more competitive.
$4 billion for physics and science research.
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Help Small Businesses
Small businesses drive 70% of all new jobs. ARRA allocated $54 billion to help small businesses with tax deductions, credits, and loan guarantees. These included:
Increasing the deduction for machinery and equipment, including SUVs, to $240,000.
Allowing a special depreciation deduction for 2008.
Cutting capital gains taxes for small business investors who hold their stock for more than five years.
Tax credits for small businesses that hire long-term unemployed veterans or students.
Increasing the SBA loan guarantee to 90% in the 7(a) loan program.
Eliminate fees on 504 economic development loans.
In the Fiscal Year 2011 budget, an additional $64 billion in stimulus money was allocated to extend many of the ARRA programs. It added tax credits for any new hires, and increase the Small Business Administration loan limits from $3 million to $5 million. (Source: Recovery.gov, now defunct.)
Pros and Cons of ARRA
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act had something for everybody. But it was almost too complicated. Many people were unsure whether they, in fact, received a tax break. Polls showed that many others thought their taxes had increased instead of decreased.
Small businesses complained that loan guarantees and tax deductions didn't help them. That's because the orders just weren't coming in.
Others criticized the focus on education or helping low-income families. Some said that extended unemployment benefits removed the incentive to look for work.
But the success of ARRA is in the numbers. The recession ended in July 2009, five months after Congress passed the Act. Economic growth immediately improved. It expanded 1.5% in the third quarter of 2009 after shrinking 4.4% in Q1 2009. In the first 18 months after ARRA passed, the economy added 2.4 million private sector and 1.7 million government jobs. That was after losing more than 500,000 jobs a month during the recession.
In 2009, the Council of Economic Advisers predicted that ARRA would increase employment by 7 million full-time jobs by the end of 2012. In 2015, the CBO estimated the stimulus had actually created between 2 million and 10.9 million jobs between 2009 and 2012. Most of the increase occurred by 2011.
https://www.thebalance.com/arra-details-3306299
Ron Hart: Where did the stimulus money go?
By RON HART | Orange County Register
March 26, 2013 at 4:12 pm
“Republicans are job creationists. We know the rich create jobs. Democrats believe that jobs just EVOLVE from millions of years of stimulus packages.” – Daily Show Senior Debt Correspondent Wyatt Cenac
Remember when Obama got his trillion-odd dollars of “stimulus money” which he and the Democrats breathlessly said we needed for “shovel ready” jobs to re-build roads and infrastructure? Please e-mail me if anything of the sort got built in your town. Nothing got built in the cities where I spend time.
Roads are bad in Atlanta. I recently drove though Buckhead with its bone-jarring potholes. Folks have to have SUVs there to survive the roads, some with potholes so big that you can bass fish in them after a good rain.
When the stimulus bill (or as lobbyists for graft-grabbing special interests called it, “The Show”) was proposed, it was made to sound urgent. Politicians said it would bring “rigor” to the economy. It turns out it also brought mortis.
So where did all that sweet stimulus money go? Of the money spent in swing state Wisconsin, 80 percent went to public sector unions – those with already locked-in jobs. In fact, right-to-work states got $266 less per person in stimulus money than heavily unionized states. Where Democrats had a vast majority of representatives, their states got $460 per person more.
When Obama signed the stimulus bill in 2009, he promised it would provide “help for those hardest hit by our economic crisis.” Clearly, it did not. The states hurt the most, the ones with more foreclosures, unemployment and bankruptcy, got less money than richer states closer to power. Washington, D.C. got the most stimulus money: $7,602 per capita.
The stimulus was a huge political slush fund with little accountability. Obama credits the passage of his stimulus bill to people having no idea how Democrats were going to spend the money.
Obama, Pelosi and Reid still maintain that doling out all the stimulus money saved jobs. It did – theirs. As recently as the State of the Union speech, they actually begged for more stimulus money – $155 billion more. That is like burning down the hotel you got to stay in for free, then disputing your mini-bar charge.
In the same State of the Union speech Obama said that spending would not cost tax payers a dime. As is tradition, Bernie Madoff was absent from the floor of Congress during Obama’s speech to ensure continuity of government, should anything like an attack occur.
Rich Democrat donors also got payback. The farcical “green” energy company Solyndra defaulted on more than half a billion dollars of our money, while Obama mega-donor George Kaiser finagled his interest ahead of ours. Other beneficiaries of Obama’s largesse for dubious deals include Larry Page and Sergey Brin (if you Google them you will find they founded Google) for Tesla Motors, NRG Solar owners Warren Buffet and Steve Cohen, and Siga Tech owner Ronald Pearlman. All told, more than 75 percent of stimulus grants and money for such “businesses” found their way to big Obama supporters.
Even creepy crony capitalist of the century Al Gore got his snout in the trough. His investment in Fisker Automotive scored a $528 million loan guarantee. Can you imagine the risks you could take if you were given $528 million that you were not personally on the hook for? Of course all these businesses are tanking or have tanked already.
Al Gore said the stimulus plan worked. He also thinks his Weight Watchers plan is working.
We are almost $17 trillion in debt, and that does not include the Obamas’ upcoming vacations or the 50th birthday party we are apparently throwing for Michelle, for which Beyoncé and Adele have been hired to sing.
In the Senate’s disingenuous budget (its first in four years), most of what is called “savings” comes from the winding down of wars which Bush laid out before he left office. On the bright side, we won’t have to invade Afghanistan for a while. I think Russia’s turn is next.
For all their self-aggrandizing rhetoric about “helping the needy” with stimulus money, the reality is that Democrats simply helped themselves. This was only a surprise if you were not paying attention. The next time Democrats give a speech about “shovel ready jobs,” get your shovel ready. It will get deep.
https://www.ocregister.com/2013/03/26/ron-hart-where-did-the-stimulus-money-go/
Did you try this one?
Fox News Live: Closing arguments begin in Senate impeachment trial
https://youtu.be/43JCzVkjNgA