Stop Corporate Welfare!

Can you stand it! The US and other governments are feeding billions in our money to prop up companies in the financial market and other arenas who have failed to manage their risk. Now in addition to ridiculous fees we are charged, the government is stiff arming us to "donate to the cause". Where will it end? Nobody knows, but the journey will be chronicled here.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Ron Paul on how we got here

Found here on Youtube Ron Paul speaks on how we got into this mess and what we are doing wrong trying to get out of it.
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Some sense, 11% or less, in a weekend of stimulus eliminations

Congretional Democrats, believe it or not, with a few Republicans (rumored to be Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, both of Maine, and Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania) this weekend have managed to trim a bit of fat from the "stimulus" bill which is approaching $1 Trillion ($1,000,000,000,000). The detailed list is in this article on CNN. The numbers don't look as large without all the 0s so I've taken the liberty of modifying the list and providing a total which doesn't show up in the article:

$1 billion

$1,000,000,000

for Energy Loan Guarantees

$1 billion

$1,000,000,000

for Head Start/Early Start

$1.2 billion

$1,200,000,000

for retrofitting Project 8 housing

$1.25 billion

$1,250,000,000

for project based rental

$16 billion

$16,000,000,000

for school construction

$2 billion

$2,000,000,000

for broadband

$2 billion

$2,000,000,000

for Health Information Technology Grants

$2.25 billion

$2,250,000,000

for Neighborhood Stabilization

$3.5 billion

$3,500,000,000

for energy-efficient federal buildings (original bill $7 billion)

$3.5 billion

$3,500,000,000

for higher education construction

$4.5 billion

$4,500,000,000

for General Services Administration

$40 billion

$40,000,000,000

for state fiscal stabilization (includes $7.50 billion of state incentive grants)

$5.8 billion

$5,800,000,000

for Health Prevention Activity

$10 million

$10,000,000

state and local law enforcement

$100 million

$100,000,000

for distance learning

$100 million

$100,000,000

for Farm Service Agency modernization

$100 million

$100,000,000

for National Institute of Standards and Technology

$100 million

$100,000,000

for science

$100 million

$100,000,000

from FBI construction (original bill $400 million)

$100 million

$100,000,000

from law enforcement wireless (original bill $200 million)

$100 million

$100,000,000

from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (original bill $427 million)

$122 million

$122,000,000

for Coast Guard Cutters, modifies use

$122 million

$122,000,000

for Coast Guard polar icebreaker/cutters

$140 million

$140,000,000

for BYRNE Competitive grant program

$165 million

$165,000,000

for Forest Service capital improvement

$20 million

$20,000,000

for working capital fund

$200 million

$200,000,000

for National Science Foundation

$200 million

$200,000,000

from Environmental Protection Agency Superfund (original bill $800 million)

$200 million

$200,000,000

Transportation Security Administration

$25 million

$25,000,000

for Fish and Wildlife

$25 million

$25,000,000

for Marshalls Construction

$300 million

$300,000,000

for BYRNE Formula grant program

$300 million

$300,000,000

for federal prisons

$300 million

$300,000,000

from federal fleet of hybrid vehicles (original bill $600 million)

$50 million

$50,000,000

for aeronautics

$50 million

$50,000,000

for aquaculture

$50 million

$50,000,000

for Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service

$50 million

$50,000,000

for Cross Agency Support

$50 million

$50,000,000

for detention trustee

$50 million

$50,000,000

for exploration

$50 million

$50,000,000

for NASA

$50 million

$50,000,000

from Department of Homeland Security

$55 million

$55,000,000

for historic preservation

$55 million

$55,000,000

for historic preservation

$600 million

$600,000,000

for Title I (No Child Left Behind)

$65 million

$65,000,000

for watershed rehabilitation

$75 million

$75,000,000

from Smithsonian (original bill $150 million)

$89 million

$89,000,000

General Services Administration operations

$90 million

$90,000,000

for State and Private Wildlife Fire Management

$98 million

$98,000,000

for school nutrition

Grand Total cut is $88.36 billion, or 11% of the supposed $800 billion bill
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Thursday, February 5, 2009

Libertarian Stimulus

Not sure how the carbon tax ideas got into Libertarian ideology, but they have a good perspective on economic stimulus that is detailed in this comentary.

Jeffrey A. Miron is senior lecturer in economics at Harvard University
When libertarians question the merit of President Obama's stimulus package, a frequent rejoinder is, "Well, we have to do something." This is hardly a persuasive response. If the cure is worse than the disease, it is better to live with the disease.

In any case, libertarians do not argue for doing nothing; rather, they advocate eliminating or adjusting policies that are bad for the economy independent of the recession.

It is tempting to believe that every problem has a solution, but the reality is not so nice. It is possible, even likely, that the best we can do is fix things we know how to fix, and then get out of the way. This may not ameliorate the current situation, but it avoids making things worse. In economics as in medicine -- first, do no harm.
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