Read the following article and ask yourself ..Just where does this type of spending creat jobs or helps?Last week, the House passed the then-$819 billion stimulus bill — without a single Republican vote. GOP senators vowed to oppose it as well, calling it a colossal waste of money, packed with pork and non-essential spending.

NBC broke down some of the bigger numbers in the bill, for example: $275 billion in tax relief, $90 billion for infrastructure, $79 billion for school funding, etc. Sounds good, right? But in the fine print, there's a lot of proposed spending that may raise a few eyebrows. In an interview with President Barack Obama, CBS' Katie Couric called him on some of the more unusual proposals:

- $6.2 billion for home weatherization

- $50 million for port modernization and water and wastewater infrastructure needs in Guam

-$100 million for children to learn green construction

Obama defended the weatherization spending by emphasizing the long-term effects:


"We're going to weatherize homes, that immediately puts people back to work and we're going to train people who are out of work, including young people, to do the weatherization. As a consequence of weatherization, our energy bills go down and we reduce our dependence on foreign oil. What would be a more effective stimulus package than that?"

Fair enough. But what about the $800 million for Amtrak? Or the $150 million for the Smithsonian Institute? And there's more: So much more, in fact, that the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, has set up a website that allows users to comb through the more than 900-page-long bill. You decide: Economic stimulus or wasteful spending?

- $198 million for U.S. military benefits for Filipinos who fought for the U.S. during WWII

- $75 million for "smoking cessation activities"

- $87 million for the "design of a new polar icebreaker"

- $335 million for HIV/STD screening

- $600 million to buy hybrid vehicles for federal employees

All projects worthy of money, to be sure, but are they worthy of being part of an economic stimulus plan that's now expected to cost U.S. taxpayers $900 billion?

However, both sides have signaled a willingness to concede. In an interview with CNN, Obama said he would consider cutting items that "may not really stimulate the economy right now." And in the spirit of bipartisanship, Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) are working together to compile a list of recommended cuts, with a goal of reducing the bill by $200 billion.

But as the economy continues to shrink and layoffs pile up by the tens of thousands, the nation may not have the patience for cross-party squabbling and finger-pointing. At the White House today, Obama summed it up:


No plan is perfect, and we should work to make it stronger ... Let's not make the perfect the enemy of the essential. Let's show people all over our country who are looking for leadership in this difficult time that we are equal to the task."

I need a woman to stimulate my package.

GOLD!

everybody thinks obama is going to be so great
this just goes to show how dumb and how eager his followers are to make the rich richer and poor poorer.

we are gonna have to pay for this load of crap!!

We're already paying for Bush's.

I most like the clause that prohibits any funding for infrastructure improvements at institutions that offer religious instruction on campus....lol...That includes the three military acadamies and any other school that has religious instruction on campus...lol...so, if you go to a college that has a chapel on the campus, you are screwed.... ...land the liberals strike again....with stupidity as usual

Something tells me there was a lot left out of this article about what money would be used for. Where was this article from, anyway?

It does not matter what the money is spent on. It is only a game, to make us all think of how to spend it. A misdirection, designed to hide the fact that we all are going to pay for it.


Last night I was flipping through radio stations, and heard someone giving good advice with regards to how to make a kid do what you want.

The advice was: -"If, for instance, you want the kid to eat an fruit, do not ask him if he wants to eat one, instead, misdirect him into choosing between on and the same, by asking him if he wants to eat an apple or an orange."

So, if you need the people to approve the spending, make them argue about what it should be spent on.

wonder if that would include schools that teach evolution?
it's not provable and you have to beleive in it. doesn't that make it a religion?

after spending 8 years with spend money bush. after he wasted billions of dollars on wars Iraq. giving tax breaks to his oil buddies. put us in the mess were in now. i for one i,m proud to be a liberal. we cant do any worse.

son you need to read your Constitution...start with Article 1 Section 8...which reads...

The Congress shall have the Power to collect taxes...

The Congress shall have the Power to Declare War...

And then the President can approve or disapprove.

Gio, what party was in charge of the House for 6 of the 8 years that Bush was there?

my point...for the LAST FUGGIN' TIME...is...stop laying everything at the feet of President Bush...he can't go at anything alone...as for the war...if the Congress had voted NO...there would be nothing to have the last say on...***beep***...this is a recording...as for Obama...when the " spending :"...bill fails...he gets the blame along with the Dems...cuz the Republicans voted against it...every last one of em' !!...this guy is in so far over his head its scary...for instance...the Healthcare bill he signed tonight was the Dem version...the one Bush vetoed twice was because...the Dems wanted to take out the provision where you would have to prove the you were a US citizen...well Obama signed the one where you now need NO proof...so illegals can now SIGN UP !...OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...for the 50's.........

Regarding the bill that was signed for extending kid's health insurance: Passed with a vote of 290-135. Forty Republicans joined in approval.

Liberals I'm sure...it was the wrong bill to sign...we owe illegals NOTHING !!

Sooo...you would rather the have the children of illegals using the emergency rooms without insurance? Because they do! That costs a whole lot more money. Preventative care is cheaper in the long run too.

Don't worry, Gio, lots of illegals went home when our economy got bad. There's no jobs for them here now.

Btw, I'm not saying that I approve of illegals. But..they are here.

40 Republicans joined in approval.

do you realize how many hospitals in So Cal have closed because of the influx of illegals...it's actually quite simple...without proof that you were born here...No Shoes ...No Service !

The hospitals won't turn them away and you it. The doctors took an oath. They help people. Now they will have insurance so the hospitals won't lose money.

This happens with every bill they propose in congress, people try to piggyback onto the bill every special interest that they have.

The truth of the matter is we need the stimulus and quick if we are going to stave off a depression here in this country. Hopefully they will trim the fat and put it through soon.