Jul 20 2009
Fraud & Abuse: Obamanomics Style II
Update: Speaking of how many of us taxpayers could spend money on food if the government just let us keep our tax money, the escalating Porkgate list on Drudge is starting to really piss me off:
RECOVERY.GOV // AWARDED: $2,531,600 FOR ‘HAM, WATER ADDED, COOKED, FROZEN, SLICED, 2-LB’…
RECOVERY.GOV // AWARDED: $1,191,200 FOR ‘2 POUND FROZEN HAM SLICED’…
RECOVERY.GOV // AWARDED: $1,562,568 FOR ‘MOZZARELLA CHEESE’…
RECOVERY.GOV // AWARDED: $5,708,260 FOR ‘PROCESS CHEESE’…
RECOVERY.GOV // AWARDED: $16,784,272 FOR ‘CANNED PORK’…
I count almost $28 million in food purchases here. Now why can’t we taxpayers keep our money and  buy our own damn food????Â
Update: Robert Samuelson wrote the perfect lead in for this post today:
It’s not surprising that the much-ballyhooed “economic stimulus” hasn’t done much stimulating. President Obama and his aides argue that it’s too early to expect startling results. They have a point. A $14 trillion economy won’t revive in a nanosecond. But the defects of the $787 billion package go deeper and won’t be cured by time. The program crafted by Obama and the Democratic Congress wasn’t engineered to maximize its economic impact. It was mostly a political exercise, designed to claim credit for any recovery, shower benefits on favored constituencies and signal support for fashionable causes.
As a result, much of the stimulus’ potential benefit has been squandered. Spending increases and tax cuts are sprinkled in too many places and, all too often, are too delayed to do much good now. Nor do they concentrate on reviving the economy’s most depressed sectors: state and local governments; the housing and auto industries.Â
I have been saying it all year – if the government had just cut taxes so we tax payers could buy hams and furniture (see below), or companies could renovate and hire, we would not be in this deep of a hole. Obama and the Dems screwed up royally. We need more Change (in DC) if we are ever to have Hope again. – end update.
It seems the blogosphere has found the recovery act contract files, which means we will start to get broad and stinging reviews on the wasteful, incoherent, good-old-boy spending that is sending this country into financial bankruptcy all over the place. I want to focus on two states near and dear to my heart – Virginia and West Virginia – to illustrate how bad this pork laden ‘stimulus’ bill really is.
Here are some of the projects awarded so far in WV.
- Project Description :– REHABILITATION OF FOUNDATION DRAINS AT SUTTON LAKE, SUTTON, WV.
Available Funds :$489,959 - RECOVERY PROVIDE BUILDING AND GROUND MAINTENANCE SERVICES FOR STONEWALL JACKSON LAKE, WESTON, WEST VIRGINIA.
Available Funds :$22,876 - RECOVERY PROVIDE GROUND MAINTENANCE SERVICES FOR TYGART LAKE, GRAFTON, WEST VIRGINIA.
Available Funds :$14,403 - RECOVERY. TECHNICAL SUPPORT FOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT CENTER IMPLEMENTATION OF ARRA RECOVERY ACT ACTIVITIES
Available Funds :$5,636,516 - RECOVERY – TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT SUPPORT SERVICES TASK ORDERS
Available Funds :$545,000
Project Location :Â MORGANTOWN, WV - SUPPORT FOR THE OFFICE OF SUPERFUND REMEDIATION AND TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION’S ARRA INFORMATION REPORTING
Available Funds :$34,551
These are the shovel ready jobs? They are spending more money (items 4, 5, 6) on managing and reporting on the recovery act than actually doing something! It is ridiculous – but exactly what you would expect from government and wasteful spending.
You can click on the awards in VA and find some other interesting tidbits. Like the fact most of the awards are in the DC area and of very questionable purpose. For example – do we really need to spend $24 million on the Digital TV call center? What is there to call about? By now everyone is switched over and those who did not make it over are talking to Best Buy to get fixed up.
Why are we spending $138K on Voice Over IP. Hasn’t anyone heard of Magicjack?
Why there $64,000 contracts for nothing? Why $1,698,758 for nothing! Is there anyone watching how our hard earned tax money is being spent?
I look at these and wonder how many laws have been broken, how many political cronies are getting the work, how much of the work is useless or a waste. I look at masses of computer related systems being bought and wonder why these orders are not going through the myriad of standing contract vehicles that exist already.
Sadly, this is just a small sampling of the avalanche of ridiculous spending to come. Remember, most of the money budgeted in February hasn’t even been wasted (er, … spent) yet.
Update: Decided to wander up to Michigan and see what is going on. My first 4 clicks were, sadly again, very illustrative of what is wrong with the failed liberal spending plan. Check it out:
- Recipient Name :GREAT LAKES DOCK AND MATERIALS, L.L.C.
Project Description :undefined
Available Funds :$343,500
Project Location :Â SAULT SAINTE MARIE, MI - Recipient Name :BURNETTE FOODS, INC.
Project Description :undefined
Available Funds :$1,840,158
Project Location :Â ELK RAPIDS, MI - Recipient Name :CHERRY CENTRAL COOPERATIVE, INC.
Project Description :undefined
Available Funds :$46,137
Project Location :Â TRAVERSE CITY, MI - Recipient Name :SOLUTION PLANNING AND CONTRACT ENVIRONMENT INCORPORATED
Project Description :– RECOVERY – HRSA ARRA CENTER FURNITURE
Available Funds :$326,078
Project Location :Â MIDLAND, MI
ARRA stands for the stimulus bill. Well over $2 million dollars spent on ‘undefined’ and $326,078 spent on furniture for the stimulus bill ‘center’.
What a crock! I want my tax money back. Hell, I can buy expensive food and furniture too you know.
Good finds – and whenever an entry says “undefined” or “support services” (and you know this as well as I do) what it really means is that some political contributor and/or supporter is on the other end of that exchange and is simply going to take the money and stuff it in their private account, after kicking back the required percentage to the appropriate paymasters. (DNC, Acorn, Conyers, Rangel, Murtha, etc.) After all, that’s “support”, isn’t it?
Boys and girls, that’s how this game is played.
What really enrages me is that this $700+ billion could have done an IMMENSE amount to refurbish the military.
People don’t realize just how much equipment dates back to the Reagan administration – twenty years ago. The AVERAGE tactical jet is old enough to vote (which means that half of them are more than 20 years old). Tanks about the same, ships worse…the Navy has warships pushing 50.
Seven hundred thousand million dollars. How much is that?
It’s enough to replace every single tactical jet in the Air Force inventory with a spanking new F-22.
Or replace EVERY ship in the U.S. Navy.
Or replace EVERY vehicle in the Army…and all small arms as well.
It’s enough to do any of these – and leave enough left over to fund NASA’s return to the Moon.
But no, we had to spend it on Obama and the Dem’s pork plan.
How many Americans will die for Democrat pork?
Another interesting thing … the Obama Administration is going to delay releasing economic numbers until Congress goes into recess next month. Rather than release the numbers in July as is customary, Obama is going to hold the numbers back. The reasoning is that the numbers are much worse than the President was promising and if the numbers were released now, there would be no way Cap and Tax and MediTax would be passed.
So in an attempt to “save” his legislative agenda, he is simply going to prevent the release of the economic data until Congress recesses for the summer.
Crosspatch – Most Transparent Administration EVAH!!!
Compare and contrast:
Mike……some republicans suggested refurbishing equipment coming back from Iraq etc. The idea was scoffed at as you might imagine.
Really – this sounds like a Welfare Bill – like link cards or the WIC program for meat. It is ironic that it is ACTUAL PORK! HA HA!
“Another interesting thing … the Obama Administration is going to delay releasing economic numbers until Congress goes into recess next month. Rather than release the numbers in July as is customary, Obama is going to hold the numbers back.”
Can you EVEN imagine if Bush had done this?
Federal spending is apparently due to hit FOUR TRILLION this year. Last year it was “only” three trillion.
http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2009/07/pelosi-reid-congress-shatters-record.html
TARP Special Investigator Says Bailout Total May Reach $23.7 Trillion
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/07/tarp-special-investigator-says-bailout.html
Something tells me those tea parties are going to start getting bigger. Over 23 Trillion for TARP? Does anyone think that is what the American people thought it would cost?
You maybe want to keep a watch on this CIT thing.
I only know about it because BSkyB shows the Glenn Beck show,
it is on here at 10 PM,
I think that CIT is a bank that provides money for small businesses
and it is in danger of going bankrupt. Obama is not offering bail out for
this one. They have about a million customers. They have found about
three billion in emergency finance from their share holders but that is
not thought to be enough money.
One million small businesses losing their finance sounds like a big deal.
You would think that the president would want to keep those small
businesses going but it looks like he does not.
AJ:
The Department of Agriculture would like you to know that you are way, way wrong on this one.
So tell me – why are you against food banks and soup kitchens? Are you against the idea of feeding the homeless and the hungry (including children) in general?
lacegrl130:
“Another interesting thing … the Obama Administration is going to delay releasing economic numbers until Congress goes into recess next month. Rather than release the numbers in July as is customary, Obama is going to hold the numbers back.â€
Can you EVEN imagine if Bush had done this?
You really, really should have done even a slight bit of research before writing that.
The first CBO mid-session review from Bush was delayed until August 22.
In other words – he DID do that. And amazingly, nobody clutched their pearls and fainted on the couch, unlike you.
Guy – they are called CHARITIES! And if the government wants to limit itself to helping the truly needy and defending the nation I am fine with that.
But we as a nation give individually in amounts that dwarf the rest of the world. We don’t need bureaucrats to be good people.
Liberals do – they need government to do things they would not normally do, which is why they are all for the nanny state. But that is the tragic minority Guy. If you need to hire a caretaker, pay for it yourself. If you need hire a conscience, that is your cross to bear.
Don’t com begging from me because you folks on the left need taking care of!
The one that started this all off was the million dollar ham. Which as it turns out the same company has another delivery contract for 2 million dollars in more hams.
But now here is the kicker. The company is owned by Hormel and the head honcho of that was a major fundraiser / bundler for Obama and is now going to be one of our new Ambassadors as a way of showing thanks.
So, AJ – you’re officially going on the record as being *against* food banks.
Duly noted. Any form of government that helps people, instead of coming from charities, is wrong. (I guess you’ll be calling for the VA to be shut down any day now.)
I assume, then, that you would tell the thousands of hungry children in Michigan to just “suck it up”, since the food banks there are short of money?
Please don’t lecture me about “a conscience” when you clearly don’t have one.
Guy, you’re such an idiot. You do know you are not arguing with me but only with yourself when you try to put words in my mouth.
Which one of you fools is winning Guy????
They can find money for this, but more F-22s are a waste of money?
I’d say that Obama needs to sell disingenuous somewhere else, but the Senate was sadly buying.