Posted by
Patrick Henry on Wednesday, September 08, 2010 10:19:07 PM
Today, in Cleveland, Ohio, Barack Obama came out swinging at Republicans and
offering a new plan for economic recovery. With the exception of the fact that he
clearly doesn't know that John Boehner is not George W. Bush, and that his droll
poor-boy hometown imagery has grown threadbare, he gave a good speech. Never
mind that he couldn't fill all the seats and had to go out and recruit students to make
it look as though anyone wanted to hear what he had to say.
But before you play taps for the stubborn recession, take a minute to understand
that what Obama rolled out is basically "Porkulus, Jr." His package is worth about
$200 billion, most of which he claims "is paid for" and just about all of which we've
heard before.
He wants another $50 billion for "infrastructure." Now remember, he put almost
$230 million for "infrastructure" in the original $862 trillion Porkulus. This was
supposed to be for "shovel ready" projects and instant job creation. Yet today, the
bulk of that "infrastructure" money lies unspent, with few of the "shovel ready"
projects actually shoveling anything but paper. Republicans, if they have half a
brain, will refuse to even discuss the idea until and unless that original $230 billion
is exhausted and dirt is being cut. This is nothing more than doubling down on a
strategy that has already failed. It's DOA!
Then Obama wants $8 billion to create an "infrastructure bank," which is nothing
but Demo-code for "union slush fund." Thanks to Obama and Democrats, the
original Porkulus infrastructure money was restricted to projects that required
laborers to join a union in order to get a job, thereby shutting out the majority of
the workforce and all non-union contractors. Republicans should tell Obama to
stick his union slush fund infrastructure bank where the sun doesn't shine.
The rest of this appalling boondoggle amounts to almost $100 billion in tax
credits and small business loans to "stimulate" hiring. Sounds good, right? But
wait til you read the fine print. These credits are only for the kinds of businesses
favored by the Obama administration, and can only be spent for a narrow set of
items that administration specifies. For example, the credit can be obtained if a
farmer builds a single building. But if that building is used for more than one purpose,
it doesn't qualify. So to get the full credit, the farmer has to build two buildings, one
of which is unneccessary. The proposal also specifies that funds may be used for
"off-the-shelf software." With more and more businesses using custom software to
enhance speed, ease of application and security, the rule is plain foolish. The point
is not simply to pick at legalese idiocy, but that Obama wants to micromanage even
small businesses, making certain that they do what he wants, buy what he wants
them to buy and invest as he wants them to.
Then there's the $30 billion for distribution to "community banks" to make loans
to small businesses. But Obama will have total control over which banks get the
money (can you smell cronyism and political payoff yet?) and how businesses may
spend it. This will be paid for by closing "tax loopholes" for the energy industry.
In other words, this is wealth redistribution, taking from companies out of current
favor and giving money collected from them as extra taxes to others hand-picked
by Obama and his administration.
The upshot is that Porkulus, Jr. reeks as bad as its mother, the original Porkulus. It
is riddled with union payoffs and opportunities for Obama to reward his faithful
unchecked. It stinks to high heaven, and Republicans should say "no," going to
filibuster in the Senate if need be. Tomorrow we'll look at the politics of Porkulus,
Jr.