Wasn’t the Stimulus Supposed to Create Jobs?
September 3, 2012 at 8:44 am in News by Tea Party Patriots 18 Comments
On Friday, it was reported by The Washington Times that the Chairman of the House Committee on Education & the Workforce is probing stimulus money spent not on creating jobs… but on ads touting the stimulus. The ads were placed on MSNBC to talk about the components of the stimulus that consist of green jobs. From the article:
The letter, signed by Reps. John Kline of Minnesota, chairman of the committee, and Phil Roe of Tennessee, who chairs the panel’s subcommittee on health, employment, labor and pension issues, seeks all documents and communications concerning the public relations contract, as well as a list of dates, attendees and topics for any meetings between Labor officials and the public relations firm concerning the “public relations strategy.”
The Tea Party Patriots often level harsh criticism at the congressional Republicans, and rightly so. However, praise should be given where it’s due, and both Rep. Kline and Rep. Roe deserve credit for holding the Administration and the federal bureaucracy accountable. While the stimulus failed to create enough jobs to make itself actually worth the nearly-trillion dollars spent on it, the money should have at least gone to companies with the intent to create jobs. Unfortunately, this was not the case with this set of funds:
But spending reports showed that no jobs were created through the contract. The Washington Times first reported on the contract earlier this month, quoting one taxpayer watchdog who questioned not only the lack of jobs but why the commercials aired only on MSNBC, considered the most liberal of the major cable news outlets.
To be fair, the Labor Department claims it tried to put the ads on CNN and public television to get to a larger audience, but that shouldn’t really matter – the stimulus was for jobs, not for making the Administration look good or to market the stimulus.
In an earlier statement to The Times, Labor Department officials said there was nothing political about the placement of the ads. They said research showed the advertisements would reach the target demographic of business owners and managers interested in hiring “green-trained” employees through a programming list that initially also included shows hosted by CNN’s Larry King and public television’s Jim Lehrer.
Public television was eliminated because advertising rates were too high, officials said, and Mr. King’s show was dropped because MSNBC, since renamed NBCNews.com, held the potential to reach more viewers.
Unfortunately, public relations spending is not new in this Administration. The Times reports that public relations dollars were spent under President Bush as well:
The use of tax dollars on media and advertising services also came under scrutiny from Democratic lawmakers during the George W. Bush administration. In 2006, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) study requested by Democrats found more than $1.6 billion in public relations and media spending by the Bush administration during a two-year span.
While one wishes Congress would do better oversight with federal spending – $500 million is not a large amount of money compared to the estimated $125.4 billion in improper payments the federal government made in 2010, or the inefficient spending often found in the Defense Department – every dollar investigated is a dollar that will hopefully not be spent badly in the future. This should be another lesson to those who think large government spending will effectively create jobs, rather than help the politically well-connected employed at the expense of the rest of us. Again, kudos to Representatives Kline and Roe.
If anybody was actually being held accountable, they would be forced to return our money. It’s our money they took in taxes that they illegally spent.
Someone would also go to jail. What they did was illegal. They stole tax money to use for an illegal purpose. It’s clear. There’s no mistake.
Will any of this happen?
No, they aren’t really being held accountable.
Green jobs, like Solyndra, nothing but vile, contemptible crab will ever come from obuma regime.
As long as there is no consequences for bad actions then their bad actions will continue to go on. All involved need to be held accountable. The ballot box is where we must send another clear message.
Gee, a tenth of a tenth of ten percent would have saved my home….
Sorry it depends on the subject matter of the ad. Personally I don’t think the government should be in the business of effecting public opinion or educating people on government but many people think it is important.
Ever ad has an intention if if that intention is a personal one regardless of the reason it should not be valid. If the ads talk about changes to broadcast tv, or the upcoming census fine. If the ad is about how to help 9/11 or Katrina victims OK. But if the ad is about policy that is borderline. If the ad mentions one politician or political party that is way over the line.
There are 35 million people in the States??? So, if they wanted to stimulate the economy…why not give everyone 1 million dollars each and let them spend, spend, spend? The bill would have been only 35 million and I would bet the economy would be off the charts.
simplistic, I know…but I think my plan makes more sense and has more merit than what they actually did.
Dear 3bagmom – your math is not correct. If you give 35 million people a million dollars each, it doe not equal $35 million, it equals $35,000,000,000,000.00. Just thought you should know.
Gar L, you have a valid practice. Accuracy is a very good thing. But no spend spend spend would not help much because Americans tend to spend they money at corporate runs super mega stores (that only provide entry level, minimum wage, no benefits, part time jobs) on products made in other countries. Those numbers in the other direction could POSSIBLY CONTRIBUTE to spending ourselves to a better economic situation but, 3bagmom, as a 5bagmom1incomefam i know that a good healthy budget is what keeps us aloft.
i did have to grin at the joke though
were all out about a buck and a half each,dont cry so hard!
Forcing people to pay for ideas that they oppose is sinful and tyrannical. Thomas Jefferson said essentially that.
I oppose socialistic spending by our government on ANY sort of corporate welfare, “green” or otherwise. It doesn’t work, it distorts the economy, it wastes my tax money and it’s unconstitutional.
So, using my tax dollars, even one of them, to propagandize the public about the supposed benefits of these unconstitutional and economically unsound programs is- sinful and tyrannical.
Craig, I am submitting this to you again, since you seem to be very supportive of the US Constitution:
Please help me to understand why all the members of the different Tea Parties are not livid over the Republican voter suppression laws. At last count, there were 11 states and 4 pending. Aren’t you all about protecting the US constitution? Come on, show some backbone. Live up to your ideals. This is about as anti-US constitution as you can get!!!
Texas, Ohio and part of Florida’s have been shot down by the Federal courts as unconstitutional. There are still 8 more out there. When are you going to join in? I have been speaking out from the beginning. Stand up for the US Constitution! Platitudes don’t make changes.
In addition, John Boehner, Speaker of the House has referred to you as “knuckle draggers”. Most of the Republican Party seems to view you this way, as well (not to mention the Dems). They are referring to you as primitive primates as in troglodytes (cave dwellers). I advise you to start your own real party with your own candidates. The GOP is just using you to increase their base, but they think you are stupid. If you doubt this, then research it.
Well Wake Up, there are just so many things to get livid about…
It’s pretty unrealistic to expect anyone but “progressives” to get upset about laws that merely try to ensure that people trying to vote are actually people who are allowed to vote.
I don’t care what the Court’s say about requiring that voters have a photo ID being a terrible burden. It just isn’t.
If you are in a situation where you can’t get to the nearest State DMV office and get a photo ID, then you certainly can’t get to the grocery store, or the doctor, and you’re going to die before the election anyway.
The federal Courts don’t really care much about the Constitution, or they would have stopped all your “progressive” programs long ago.
I am a lifelong libertarian. Republicans and Democrats have been abusing me for many years. Why would my feelings be hurt now?
Both Republicans and Democrats would like to bring lots of Tea Party people into their camp, but neither are offering much that Tea Parties stand for, other than platitudes.
Come on, Craig, you and I both know what the suppression is all about.
only when they are put in Jail they will be held accountable and then others will think twice before they waste and steal the American tax payers money!
The nonpartisan CBO (Congressional Budget Office) reported that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act aka: The Stimulus, created about 3.3 million jobs and the economy would have been in a much worse state had this not happened.
Paul Ryan supported the concept when G.W. Bush requested a stimulus package from congress in 2002. Recently, Ryan admitted to requesting stimulus money for two energy conservation projects, stating that it would create jobs, I believe, this was in 2009.
He then lied about this by denying it until The Wallstreet Journal and Boston Globe obtained the request letters. As for accountability, evidence shows that at least one of the Wisconsin companies got the money. I guess he is a “closet” liberal.
Wake Up, the CBO is just wrong.
If the government would have stayed home like it’s supposed to, and not passed TARP and ARRA, and done all the other resource robbing things they did, the housing market would have cleared itself, GM would have filed a Chapter 11 reorganization bankruptcy, and our financial system would have cleared itself of bad institutions and bad practices.
See, I can predict even better than the CBO. Under my projection, 8.6 million jobs would have been created, and without adding $5 trillion to our debt.
Without TARP and ARRA and the ‘bailout’ of GM (GM should have just been allowed to file a Chapter 11 reorganization bankruptcy), plus all the other resource misallocating programs the government came up with, the private free economy would have cleared all the bad investments and eliminated all the bad companies, and 8.6 million new jobs would have been created. And without adding $5 trillion to the debt.
You are not paying attention.