State Bailout Up To $176 Billion
Fiscally irresponsible state governments are in line to receive a whopping $176 billion in federal funds as part of President-elect Barack Obama’s massive “Bailout Redux,” another $700 billion perpetuation of the same forces that have landed America in this mess.
Yo-bama is expected to make the announcement in Philadelphia today, where the nation’s governors have gathered to bitch and moan about being broke, despite the fact that they blew through taxpayer dollars at a record clip over the previous four years.
State spending is up by nearly 200% over the last 20 years, including a 40% increase over the previous four years. States have also increase their debt by 95% over the last decade.
By contrast, federal spending is up 175% over the last two decades, with a 28% increase over the previous two years.
Amazingly, Obama and his allies want to reward this behavior by spending billions of dollars that we frankly don’t have … money which will do nothing but add to our mushrooming national debt while failing to make a dent in the current economic recession.
Incidentally, it hasn’t even been two months since it was first proposed and the state bailout has already grown from $150 billion to $176 billion.
Give it another two months, and we’re sure it’ll be up over $200 billion.
And not surprisingly, Obama and his Congressional allies have no interest in looking at the $131 billion in unfunded mandates the federal government has imposed on states over the last four years.
Why address those concerns when we can just spend our way into oblivion, right?
At some point, America’s leaders have to acknowledge that our economy is heading over a cliff – and that these bailouts are pushing us over, not pulling us back.
If we’re going to incur massive amounts of new debt with countries like China and Japan, the least we can do is put that money where it will actually make a difference – directly in the pockets of taxpayers.
Otherwise, we’re simply encouraging the same sort of bad habits that have landed us in this mess in the first place.
Comments
By Sanford on December 2nd, 2008 at 7:00 pm
The SC Gov came out against the feds infusion of dollars into the state economies.
His reason?
The states got themselves in this mess through mismanagement. Never mind the increasing unemployment rates, the strain on welfare, the shrinking tax bases and foreclosures.
This political posturing doesn’t say much for the gov’s own performance as chief executive of a state.
And when the states line up with their hands out to a willing federal government, I only hope that SC isn’t last in line.
Will the gov’s misplaced “Moral Indignation” kick SC in the butt? Stay tuned.
By Katherine Jenerette on December 3rd, 2008 at 12:16 am
Couldn’t slash Wouldn’t the ‘State Bailout Up To $176 Billion’ be better spent by actually handing it over directly to the people who paid it in the first place through a ‘bail-out-rebate’ check to tax payers?
About 50% would be immediately returned to the General Fund as taxes on the rebate and the rest would be ’spent’ on ‘under-the-Christmas-tree’ gifts like mortgage pay-offs, credit card debt, and nice stuff.
After all, Free Market Forces work best when you have a consumer-driven economic system that actually works best when the consumer actually spends the money they earn. Sending this money to the ‘Top-Tier’ players just encourages more of the same problems we have now.
Put the big-bucks back to the people who provided it in the first place.
Give it back and they will spend.
thats all for now,
Katherine ‘More-Than-Just-a-Pretty-Conservative-Face’ at Ft. Bragg
By Carl on December 3rd, 2008 at 7:29 am
Pretty novel idea Katherine. I wouldn’t mind the Big 3 bailout if instead of giving the money to the companies the government paid for everyone to get new vehicles, or at least half the price. Hell, taxes would be collected on it, it would keep those employed, turn inventory, and generate cashflow for the auto industry. Putting the money in the hands of these companies will surely just be squandered as before.
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