Tens of thousands of unsafe or decaying bridges carrying 100 million drivers a day must wait for repairs because states are spending stimulus money on spans that are already in good shape or on easier projects like repaving roads, an Associated Press analysis shows.
President Barack Obama urged Congress last winter to pass his $787 billion stimulus package so some of the economic recovery money could be used to rebuild what he called America’s “crumbling bridges.” Lawmakers said it was a historic chance to chip away at the $65 billion backlog of deficient structures, often neglected until a catastrophe like the Minneapolis bridge that collapsed two years ago this Saturday.
On Tuesday, Greta Van Susteren plays a clip of Vice-President Joe Biden defending the stimulus spending. Then, she interviews Senator Jim Demint (R-SC) for comments.
The bailouts could cost $80,000 for every American citizen.
Neil Barofsky, the inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), delivered his report today to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The total price tag for federal support stemming from the financial crisis could reach $23.7 trillion in the long run, the government’s top bailout watchdog says in a new report to Congress.
The $23.7 trillion figure is admittedly a high-ball number and reflects the total potential gross exposure, but Barofsky in his prepared testimony notes that the TARP — which started as a $700 billion bailout — has expanded well beyond that.
“TARP has evolved into a program of unprecedented scope, scale and complexity. Moreover, TARP does not function in a vacuum but is rather part of the broader government efforts to stabilize the financial system,” the report says.
“The total potential federal government support could reach up to $23.7 trillion,” the report estimates, factoring in commitments from “dozens of programs” implemented throughout the federal government since 2007.
The Obama administration is delaying release of a congressionally mandated report on the nation’s economic conditions, spawning speculation that it is trying to tamp down bad economic news to avoid further complicating the already fraught legislative debate over health care reform.
The report, which is normally published by late July, is being delayed by several weeks, the administration acknowledged on Monday. Officials said the hold-up is not unusual in presidential transition years, noting that Presidents George W. Bush and former President Bill Clinton each published their initial budget updates weeks late.
“Because of the unique circumstances of a transition year, we — like President George W. Bush in 2001 — are releasing the mid-session review a few weeks later than as is usual in non-transition years,” Kenneth S. Baer, communications director for the Office of Management and Budget, said Monday.
Asked about the speculation that the delay is linked to the ongoing health care debate, Baer responded: “I don’t deal in speculation. What I know is that in transition years past both the full budgets and Mid-Session Reviews have come out later than in non-transition years and this year will be no different.”
“The last time the president made grand promises and demanded passage of a bill before it could be reviewed, we ended up with the colossal stimulus failure and unemployment near 10 percent,” said Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC). “Now the president wants Americans to trust him again, but he can’t back up the utopian promises he’s making about a government takeover of health care. He insists his health care plan won’t add to our nation’s deficit despite the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office saying exactly the opposite. And today we learn that the president is refusing to release a critical report on the state of our economy, which contains facts essential to this debate. What is he hiding?”
Republicans lined up Sunday (2009-07-12) in opposition to a second economic-stimulus package, a rare demonstration of unity from an out-of-power political party in search of a rallying cry against President Obama.
Republicans called Obama’s $787 billion spending plan a “flop” and said it hadn’t fulfilled its hype. They criticized the White House for increasing the federal deficit and doing little to combat an unemployment rate that hit 9.5 percent in June.
“The reality is it hasn’t helped yet,” said Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ). “Only about 6.8 percent of the money has actually been spent. What I proposed is, after you complete the contracts that are already committed, the things that are in the pipeline, stop it.”
President Barack Obama said his $787 billion stimulus bill “has worked as intended” as he pushed back against Republican criticism that his recovery program has failed to rescue the economy.
“It has already extended unemployment insurance and health insurance to those who have lost their jobs in this recession,” Obama, who is traveling today in Ghana, said in his weekly Saturday radio and Web address. “It has delivered $43 billion in tax relief to American working families and business.”
Obama spoke after stocks fell for a fourth week on concern that an economic recovery will be delayed. A government report last week showed that employers cut 467,000 jobs in June and the unemployment rate rose to 9.5 percent, the highest since 1983.
We all know about the radical muslim militants around the globe. We know that they routinely wage war against one neighbor after another. We know that they consider our country to be the great satan and Israel to be the little satan.
Some also contend that Russia and China are seeking our destruction. Perhaps, on some level they are.
But we have far greater and more devastating enemies within our own borders. Each day they plot and plan and practice to destroy our once great nation … yes … from within. Some attacks are quietly subtle; others are boldly blatant. Either strategy though, their insidious salvos of change are fired upon we, the people, with such unrestrained vigor that it’s hard to grasp their sheer magnitude and their unrelenting speed.
Many of us fully recognize the threat that is upon us. We’re starting to spread the word; we’re beginning to stand our ground. We are uniting against the ever-obvious plot to destroy the land of the free and the home of the brave. We know … without one iota of doubt … we see it all around us … we feel it in our bones … the showdown draws near.
Alas my friends, for each of us there are 50 others who also recognize the imminent danger, but instead of taking action they sit at home watching TV, playing video games, or surfing the Web. They complain, but they are waiting, perhaps, for someone else to take action.
They see it. They hear it. They know it. They can smell it in the air. But, for whatever reason they are not quite ready to take action yet.
But in this battle … the battle against freedom that is waged upon us, we MUST all recognize that silence IS consent.
We, who have begun to heed the call to duty, MUST inspire the hesitant warriors and the steadfast couch potatoes that NOW is the time to get involved … NOW is the time to take action … NOW is the time to put aside petty differences … NOW is the time for the vast millions of us to speak with ONE voice.
Call your friends … tell your co-workers … knock on doors in your neighborhood … invite them to join you in a patriot rally … invite them to join your local Tea Party protest. We MUST speak now, while we can still hold onto the lingering traces of this freedom.
On Wednesday, 2009-06-05, Representative Marcy Kaptur (D - OH) questioned Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke for about 11 minutes. As she grilled him regarding the lack of transparency regarding the financial rescues for these bankers (being arranged by the Fed), she stated that “very privileged and powerful bankers have hurt our country deeply.”
September 03 1913 Alan Ladd 1916 Memphis Slim 1934 Freddie King 1936 Elizabeth Dawn 1940 Pauline Collins 1940 Rachel Welch 1942 Al Jardine 1950 Nicky Horne 1965 Charlie Sheen
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Posted by LukeAmerica2020 on Sunday, August 2nd, 2009 at 12:00 pm 
