Article

2009-11-19 Economy

Rep. Darrell Issa: Counterpoint: Fake job numbers vital to stimulus propaganda

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Posted by Fred 2009-11-19 00:00|| || Front Page|| [4 views ] Top

#1 It's a big, huge, honking money trail. How about someone follow it and see where the money really went?

Posted by Jumbo Slinerong5015 2009-11-19 05:28|| 2009-11-19 05:28|| Front Page Top

#2 The problem is that the data in the system are self-reported. In other words, there was no "quality assurance" review. In such a system errors are to be expected. In fact, I wouldn't trust any data in the system (even those that seem right such as in an actual Congression district). Apparently they spend $27 million to redesign the web site, but forgot the most important element: real data.

Posted by Spot">Spot 2009-11-19 08:37|| 2009-11-19 08:37|| Front Page Top

#3 "And with a plan of this scale comes enormous responsibility to get it right.

When the Administration claimed it has gone through all the data with a fine tooth comb it appears they have been very selective in their scrutiny. All of the erroneous data uncovered is in support of the Administrations economic policies to create or save jobs. Its curious that none of the bad data has gone the other direction to indicate blatant wasteful spending. Obviously, their primary effort has been to control perceptions regarding the allocation of funds. That way if shit hits the fan its they simply blame the little people for recording errors. Anyone see a pattern her?

Posted by DepotGuy 2009-11-19 10:08|| 2009-11-19 10:08|| Front Page Top

#4 It's a big, huge, honking money trail. How about someone follow it and see where the money really went?

A little case study: there's $6.6B in stim $$$ for education-related projects in California, $4.7B has been "paid out": roughly $3.2B for "stabilization" ie filling the holes in the state's operating budget, and a little over $1B for special ed and programs for disadvantaged schoolkids.

This leaves about $400m paid out, and another $1.9B made available but not paid out. Seeking answers about the missing billions, I asked my congressman's staff, who didn't have any idea where the money was but guessed that the money resided with the state, and referred me to the state legislature.

My state assemblyman had no clue re the missing $1.9B or the mysterious $400m actually paid out. (I was routed to the assemblyman's budget expert, who realized that I knew much more than he about the matter and cheerfully signed off with "Let me know what you find out, huh?")

No one in the state government bureaucracy in Sacramento had any idea about any of the funds, let alone the $2.3B not accounted for, and referred me to local officials. The school district CFOs I called couldn't help.

Ditto for all but one of the half dozen governor's office economic development and executive staff members. No one had any idea regarding how much money was allocated, for what purpose and with what restrictions, and how much was spent and how much remaining-- let alone any idea as to where the missing education-related $1.9B went.

Finally, after three weeks of calls and emails and online sleuthing, I chanced on the only person in this entire process who had a competent explanation: a staffer at Gov. Schwarzenegger's Recovery Act Task Force who said Ahnuld redirected $1.9B in education-related stimulus money to CA correctional facilities.

As to the $400m, I'm pretty sure that was allocated to the "School Impovement Program", which, according to one webpage, buried deep within a .pdf file accessible only via one obscure pop-out page at the national arra.gov site, supposedly allocated $377M to California school renovation projects like ours. Eureka!

But no. The school district that owns the property asserts that such funds can't be used for underutilized "surplus" schools.

This is Katrina. Multi-level governmental ignorance, incompetence, arrogance, secrecy, and utterly zero accountability, with undisclosed shell games, buck-passing, and a massive diversion of $2B from education to non-educational purposes, in this case, to gain cover for a massively failing criminal justice approach.

The cronies and public employee unions receiving the funds-- or merely blocking them from being spent at all-- have not created and aren't creating any jobs.

This is decadence. We are truly becoming a banana republic.

Posted by lex 2009-11-19 10:23|| 2009-11-19 10:23|| Front Page Top

#5 Seriously impressive work, lex. Who needs the New York Times (or the LA Times, in this case)!

Posted by trailing wife">trailing wife 2009-11-19 11:09|| 2009-11-19 11:09|| Front Page Top

#6 The picture's wrong, insted of Donald Duck it needs Obama's piture in the same pose of screaming franticly "Employment is UP"

Posted by Redneck Jim 2009-11-19 13:36|| 2009-11-19 13:36|| Front Page Top

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