MEET THE NEW STIMULUS, SAME AS THE OLD STIMULUS

This weekend, a small group of Senators emerged from two days of negotiations to announce they had developed a compromise “stimulus” package that would eliminate wasteful spending and deliver on the original promise of the legislation. Unfortunately, not only is this not true, but the bill actually got bigger, with a final price tag $19 Billion more than the discredited House version; and it still does not contain any real stimulus. Here are the facts:

SAME OLD SPENDING

  • I Can’t Help Myself: The House passed “Stimulus” bill cost $820 Billion. The Senate compromise is currently $827 Billion. Senators have compromised to only spend $7 Billion more than the House version.
  • Can’t Buy Me Love: According to the Washington Post, the new plan would add additional debt costs of $350 Billion over ten years.
  • Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Senate ‘compromise’ is equal in size to the entire Australian economy, and is enough money to send every current high school junior and senior to a 4-year private university and still have a spare $150 Billion. In comparison, the last three Omnibus Spending Bills were $515 Billion (FY’08), $464 Billion (FY’07) and $388 Billion (FY’06).
  • Ain’t No Mountain High Enough: The Senate ‘compromise’ would raise the government’s commitment to solving the financial crisis to $9.7 trillion, enough to pay off more than 90 percent of the nation’s home mortgages.

SAME OLD LIBERAL AGENDA

  • Hooked on a Feeling: Inside both massive “stimulus” bills are profoundly controversial and far-reaching health care provisions that would set the country on a path toward more fiscal irresponsibility, unfunded entitlement liabilities and less control by families over their personal health care decisions.
  • If I Had a Million Dollars: The Senate ‘compromise’ actually increases Energy program funding from $28 Billion in the House version, to $40 Billion, well more than double the annual budget of the Department of Energy of $23 Billion.
  • Losing My Religion: The House bill and the Senate compromise deliberately censors religious speech and worship on school campuses by prohibiting use of any “stimulus” funds for facilities that are 1) used for sectarian instruction, religious worship, or a school of divinity; or 2) in which a substantial portion of the functions of the facilities are subsumed in a religious mission.
  • Money For Nothing: If the House bill were enacted, the total 10-year extra welfare cost would likely be $787 billion in new welfare spending.

SAME OLD SONG AND DANCE

  • Taxman: The Senate bill still does not contain any tax cuts that will create rapid growth in wages and business incomes. The DeMint amendment would have provided more than 2 million small businesses with lower tax rates, while not raising any taxes on any Americans.
  • Money, Money, Money: The DeMint amendment would have created 4.8 million jobs from 2009 to 2012, provided more disposable income for families, averaging $1,300 in 2009 and rising to $4,500 by 2013.
  • Change, Change, Change: The Senate compromise “stimulus” bill continues the failed policies of the past, by adding yet another government bailout that will not provide any GDP growth, add fewer jobs and create no investment.
  • You Can’t Always Get What You Want: The CBO has said that this plan will actually result in a slight decrease in GDP, through a massive buildup of public debt which will crowd out private borrowers.

TWICE THE JOBS AT HALF THE PRICE

Check out Heritage ideas for how to provide twice the jobs at half the price.

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