Wednesday, December 09, 2009

Stimulus Checkup - 100 Ridiculous Projects Funded by the American Recovery Act

Inquiring minds are interested in projects that Put America To Work. Please consider this Stimulus Checkup courtesy of Senator John McCain and Senator Tom Coburn. http://mccain.senate.gov/public/index.c ... a0841cefe0

Good jobs for millions of Americans.

Investments in priorities that create sustainable economic growth for the future. Those were the promises made to uneasy Americans when Congress approved the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or economic stimulus bill, in February.

Nine months later, with over $200 billion of stimulus funding already spent,1 the rolls of the unemployed have grown by millions and, by any measure, more jobs have been lost than created.

Since the stimulus bill was enacted in February, nearly three million Americans have lost their jobs and the percentage of people who are without work has risen to 10 percent. Many who had been looking to the government for help have already lost hope.

As this and the last report, 100 Stimulus Projects: A Second Opinion, suggests billions of dollars of stimulus funding have been wasted, mismanaged, or directed towards silly and shortsighted projects. Many projects may not produce the types of jobs that most Americans had hoped for or expected.

Some of the close to seven billion dollars in projects in Stimulus Checkup create few jobs; benefit private interests over the public good; or make improvements where they are not necessary. Some send money to companies facing fraud charges. Others take millions of dollars to do work local officials and experts admit are not needed or will not help.

Stimulus money has been, or will be, spent on dinner cruises, golf courses, puppet shows and stimulus road signs. Many Americans will question whether investing $787 billion in these projects are the highest national priorities.
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In the previous report, one hundred questionable projects were identified that did not appear to hold out promise for helping the economy grow. The Administration was quick to review these projects and to its credit addressed a number of them. In the months that followed, many more questionable stimulus projects costing millions and even billions of dollars were identified. This follow-up, Stimulus Checkup, takes a closer look at 100 more projects that raise questions about how stimulus money has been used so far.

Sincerely,
Tom Coburn, M.D.
U.S. Senator

John McCain
U.S. Senator

100 Ridiculous Projects Sample

1. “Almost Emptyâ€