Senator Tom Coburn on the Stimulus Bill

Sen. Tom Coburn is an MD (general practitioner) and GOP Senator from Oklahoma. He is recognized as 'the conscience' of the US Senate. He is well respected on both 'sides of the aisle' & probably one of the few senators to actually read these 'bail-out' bills.

This takes a couple of minutes. It's from his speech in the Senate and if this doesn't raise your blood pressure, you'd better check to see if your heart's beating!

Senator Coburn's speech

February 05, 2009

"We are going in exactly the wrong direction". We ought to be standing on the principles that made this country great. There ought to be a review of every program in the Federal Government that is not effective, that is not efficient, that is wasteful or fraudulent, and we ought to get rid of it right now. We ought to say, Gone, to be able to pay for a real stimulus plan that might, in fact, have some impact.

I would be remiss if I didn't remind everybody that next week we are going to hear from the Obama administration wanting another $500 billion. Outside of this, they are going to want another $500 billion to handle the banking system. Still not fixing the real disease-the pneumonia-we are going to treat the fever or treat the cough, but we are not going to treat the real disease. Until we treat the real disease, this is pure waste. It is worse than pure waste. It is morally reprehensible, because it steals the future of the next two generations.

I am going to wind up here and finish, but I wanted to spend some time to make sure the American people know what is in this bill. I think once they know what is in this bill, they are going to reject it out of hand. Let me read for my colleagues some of the things that are in this bill. The biggest earmark in history is in this bill. There is $2 billion in this bill to build a coal plant with zero emissions. That would be great, maybe, if we had the technology, but the greatest brains in the world sitting at MIT say we don't have the technology yet to do that. Why would we build a $2 billion power plant we don't have the technology for that we know will come back and ask for another $2 billion and another $2 billion and another $2 billion when we could build a demonstration project that might cost $150 million or $200 million? There is nothing wrong with having coal-fired plants that don't produce pollution; I am not against that. Even the Washington Post said the technology isn't there. It is a boondoggle. Why would we do that?

We eliminated tonight a $246 million payback for the large movie studios in Hollywood . We are going to spend $88 million to study whether we ought to buy a new ice breaker for the Coast Guard. You know what. The Coast Guard needs a new ice breaker. Why do we need to spend $88 million? They have two ice breakers now that they could retrofit and fix and come up with equivalent to what they needed to and not spend the $1 billion they are going to come back and ask for, for another ice breaker, so why would we spend $88 million doing that?

We are going to spend $448 million to build the Department of Homeland Security a new building. We have $1.3 trillion worth of empty buildings right now, and because it has been blocked in Congress we can't sell them, we can't raze them, we can't do anything, but we are going to spend money on a new building here in Washington . We are going to spend another $248 million for new furniture for that building; a quarter of a billion dollars for new furniture. What about the furniture the Department of Homeland Security has now? These are tough times. Should we be buying new furniture? How about using what we have? That is what a family would do. They would use what they have. They wouldn't go out and spend $248 million on furniture.

How about buying $600 million worth of hybrid vehicles? Do you know what I would say? Right now times are tough; I would rather Americans have new cars than Federal employees have new cars. What is wrong with the cars we have? Dumping $600 million worth of used vehicles on the used vehicle market right now is one of the worst things we could do. Instead, we are going to spend $600 million buying new cars for Federal employees.

There is $400 million in here to prevent STDs. I have a lot of experience on that. I have delivered 4,000 babies. We don't need to spend $400 million on STDs. What we need to do is properly educate about the infection rates and the effectiveness of methods of prevention. That doesn't take a penny more. You can write that on one piece of paper and teach every kid in this country, but we don't need to spend $400 million on it. It is not a priority.

How about $1.4 billion for rural waste disposal programs? That might even be somewhat stimulative. New sewers. That might create jobs. How about $150 million for a Smithsonian museum? Tell me how that helps get us out of a recession. Tell me how that is a priority. Would the average American think that is a priority that we ought to be mortgaging our kids' future to spend another $150 million at the Smithsonian?

How about $1 billion for the 2010 census? So everybody knows, the census is so poorly managed that the census this year is going to cost twice-in 2010 is going to cost twice what it cost 10 years ago, and we wasted $800 million on a contract because it was no-bid that didn't perform. Nobody got fired, no competitive bidding, and we blew $800 million.

We have $75 million for smoking cessation activities, which probably is a great idea, but we just passed a bill-the SCHIP bill-that we need to get 21 million more Americans smoking to be able to pay for that bill. That doesn't make sense.

How about $200 million for public computer centers at community colleges? Since when is a community college in my State a recipient of Federal largesse? Is that our responsibility? I mean, did we talk with Dell and Hewlett-Packard and say, How do we make you all do better? Is there not a market force that could make that better? Will we actually buy on a true competitive bid? No, because there is nothing that requires competitive bidding in anything in this bill. There is nothing that requires it. It is one of the things President Obama said he was going to mandate at the Federal Government, but there is no competitive bidding in this bill at all.

We have $10 million to inspect canals in urban areas. Well, that will put 10 or 15 people to work. Is that a priority for us right now?

There is $6 billion to turn Federal buildings into green buildings. That is a priority, versus somebody getting a job outside of Washington , a job that actually produces something, that actually increases wealth?

How about $500 million for State and local fire stations? Where do you find in the Constitution us paying for local fire stations within our realm of prerogatives? None of it is competitively bid-not a grant program.

Next is $1.2 billion for youth activities. Who does that employ? What does that mean?

How about $88 million for renovating the public health service building? You know, if we could sell half of the $1.3 trillion worth of properties we have, we could take care of every Federal building requirement and backlog we have.

Then there's $412 million for CDC buildings and property. We spent billions on a new center and headquarters for CDC. Is that a priority? Building another Government building instead of-if we are going to spend $412 million on building buildings, let's build one that will produce something, one that will give us something.

How about $850 million for that most "efficient" Amtrak that hasn't made any money since 1976 and continues to have $2 billion or $3 billion a year in subsidies?

Here is one of my favorites: $75 million to construct a new "security training" facility for State Department security officers, and we have four other facilities already available to train them. But it is not theirs. They want theirs. By the way, it is going to be in West Virginia. I wonder how that got there. So we are going to build a new training facility that duplicates four others that we already have that could easily do what we need to do. But because we have a stimulus package, we are going to add in oink pork.

How about $200 million in funding for a lease-not buying, but a lease of alternative energy vehicles on military installations?

We are going to bail out the States on Medicaid. Total all of the health programs in this, and we are going to transfer $150 billion out of the private sector and we are going to move it to the Federal Government. You talk about backdooring national health care. Henry Waxman has to be smiling big today. He wants a single-payer Government-run health care system.

We are going to move another $150 billion to the Federal Government from the private sector. We are going to eliminate fees on loans from the Small Business Administration. You know what that does? That pushes productive capital to unproductive projects. It is exactly the wrong thing to do.

Then there is $160 million to the Job Corps Program-but not for jobs and not to put more people in the Job Corps but to construct or repair buildings.

We are going to spend $524 million for information technology upgrades that the Appropriations Committee claims will create 388 jobs. If you do the math on that, that is $1.5 million a job. Don't you love the efficiency of Washington thinking?

We are going to create $79 billion in additional money for the States, a "slush fund", to bail out States and provide millions of dollars for education costs. How many of you think that will ever go away? Once the State education programs get $79 billion over 2 years, do you think that will ever go away? The cry and hue of taking our money away-even though it was a stimulus and supposed to be limited, it will never go away. So we will continue putting that forward until our kids have grandkids of their own.

There is about $47 billion for a variety of energy programs that are primarily focused on renewable energy. I am fine with spending that. But we ought to get something for it. There ought to be metrics. There are no metrics. It is pie in the sky, saying we will throw some money at it.

Let me conclude by saying we are at a seminal moment in our country. We will either start living within the confines of realism and responsibility or we will blow it and we will create the downfall of the greatest Nation that ever lived. This bill is the start of that downfall. To abandon a market-oriented society and transfer it to a Soviet-style, government-centered, bureaucratic-run and mandated program, that is the thing that will put the stake in the heart of freedom in this country. I hope the American people know what is in this bill. I am doing everything I can to make sure they know. But more important, I hope somebody is listening who will treat the "pneumonia" we are faced with today, which is the housing and mortgage markets.

It doesn't matter how much money we spend in this bill. It is doomed to failure unless we fix that problem first. Failing that, we will go down in history as the Congress that undermined the future and vitality of this country.

Let it not be so.

Wishful Thinking

05/02/09

by Randall Hoven

They (the Democrats) are not going to solve these problems with those "solutions," and they know it. All they need to do is convince you that they are solving those problems.

And that's the difference between liberals and conservatives in "public service." Conservatives think solutions should solve problems. Liberals know their "solutions" need only convince you they are solving problems.

This is one of the greatest responses to the requests for bailout money I have seen thus far

This is one of the greatest responses to the requests for bailout money I have seen thus far. As a supplier for the Big 3, this man received a letter from the President of GM North America requesting support for the bailout program. His response is classic and has to make you proud of a local guy who tells it like it is.

"Dear Employees & Suppliers,"

"Congress and the current Administration will soon determine whether to provide immediate support to the domestic auto industry to help it through one of the most difficult economic times in our nation's history. Your elected officials must hear from all of us now on why this support is critical to our continuing the progress we began prior to the global financial crisis...

As an employee or supplier, you have a lot at stake and continue to be one of our most effective and passionate voices. I know GM can count on you to have your voice heard. Thank you for your urgent action and ongoing support."

"Troy Clarke, President General Motors North America"

Response from: Gregory Knox,

Pres. Knox Machinary Company,

Franklin, Ohio.

Gentlemen:

In response to your request to contact legislators and ask for a bailout for the Big Three automakers please consider the following, and please pass my thoughts on to Troy Clark, President of General Motors North America.

Politicians and Management of the Big 3 are both infected with the same entitlement mentality that has spread like cancerous germs in UAW halls for the last countless decades, and whose plague is now sweeping this nation, awaiting our new "messiah", Pres. Obama, to wave his magic wand and make all our problems go away, while at the same time allowing our once great nation to keep "living the dream"… Believe me folks, The dream is over!

This dream where we can ignore the consumer for years while management myopically focuses on its personal rewards packages at the same time that our factories have been filled with the worlds most overpaid, arrogant, ignorant and laziest entitlement minded "laborers" without paying the price for these atrocities… this dream where you still think the masses will line up to buy our products for ever and ever.

Don't even think about telling me I'm wrong. Don't accuse me of not knowing of what I speak. I have called on Ford, GM, Chrysler, TRW, Delphi, Kelsey Hayes, American Axle and countle ss other automotive OEM's throughout the Midwest during the past 30 years and what I've seen over those years in these union shops can on ly be described as disgusting.

Troy Clarke, President of General Motors North America, states: "There is widespread sentiment throughout this country, and our government, and especially via the news media, that the current crisis is completely the result of bad management which it certainly is not."

You're right Mr. Clarke, it's not JUST management… how about the electricians who walk around the plants like lords in feudal times, making people wait on them for countless hours while they drag ass… so they can come in on the weekend and make double and triple time… for a job they easily could have done within their normal 40 hour work week. How about the line workers who threaten newbies with all kinds of scare tactics… for putting out too many parts on a shift… and for being too productive. (We certainly must not expose those lazy bums who have been getting overpaid for decades fo r their horrific underproduction, must we?!?

Do you folks really not know about this stuff?!? How about this great sentiment abridged from Mr. Clarke's sad plea: "over the last few years… we have closed the quality and efficiency gaps with our competitors.." What the hell has Detroit been doing for the last 40 years?!?

Did we really JUST wake up to the gaps in quality and efficiency between us and them? The K car vs. the Accord? The Pinto vs. the Civic?!? Do I need to go on? What a joke! We are living through the inevitable outcome of the actions of theUnited States auto industry for decades. It's time to pay for your sins, Detroit.

I attended an economic summit last week where brilliant economist, Alan Beaulieu, from the Institute of Trend Research, surprised the crowd when he said he would not have given the banks a penny of "bailout money". "Yes, he said, this would cause short term problems," but despite what people like politicians and corporate magnates would have us believe, the sun would in fact rise the next day… and the following very important thing would happen…where there had been greedy and sloppy banks, new efficient ones would pop up… that is how a free market system works… it does work… if we would only let it work…"

But for some nondescript reason we are now deciding that the rest of the world is right and that capitalism doesn't work - that we need the government to step in and "save us"… Save us my ass, Hell - we're nationalizing… and unfortunately too many of our once fine nation's citizens don't even have a clue that this is what is really happening… But, they sure can tell you the stats on their favorite sports teams… yeah - THAT'S really important, isn't it…

Does it ever occur to ANYONE that the "competition" has been producing vehicles, EXTREMELY PROFITABLY, for decades in this country?... How can that be??? Let's see… Fuel efficient… Listening to customers… Investing in the proper tooling and automation for the long haul…

Not being too complacent or arrogant to listen to Dr. W. Edwards Deming four decades ago when he taught that by adopting appropriate principles of management, organizations could increase quality and simultaneously reduce costs. Ever increased productivity through quality and intelligent planning… Treating vendors like strategic partners, rather than like "the enemy"… Efficient front and back offices… Non union environment… Again, I could go on and on, but I really wouldn't be telling anyone anything they really don't already know down deep in their hearts.

I have six children, so I am not unfamiliar with the concept of wanting someone to bail you out of a mess that you have gotten yourself into - my children do this on a weekly, if not daily basis, as I did when I was their age. I do for them what my parents did for me (one of their greatest gifts, by the way) - I make them stand on their own two feet and accept the consequences of their actions and work through it. Radical concept, huh… Am I there for them in the wings? Of course - but only until such time as they need to be fully on their own as adults.

I don't want to oversimplify a complex situation, but there certainly are unmistakable parallels here between the proper role of parenting and government. Detroit and the United States need to pay for their sins. Bad news people - it's coming whether we like it or not. The newly elected Messiah really doesn't have a magic wand big enough to "make it all go away." I laughed as I heard Obama "reeling it back in" almost immediately after the final vote count was tallied…"we really might not do it in a year…or in four…" Where the Hell was that kind of talk when he was RUNNING for office.

Stop trying to put off the inevitable folks … That house in Florida really isn't worth $750,000… People who jump across a border really don't deserve free health care benefits…That job driving that forklift for the Big 3 really isn't worth $85,000 a year… We really shouldn't allow Wal-Mart to stock their shelves with products acquired from a country that unfairly manipulates their currency and has the most atrocious human rights infractions on the face of the globe…

That couple whose combined income is less than $50,000 really shouldn't be living in that $485,000 home…Let the market correct itself folks - it will. Yes it will be painful, but it's gonna' be painful either way, and the bright side of my proposal is that on the other side of it all, is a nation that appreciates what it has…and doesn't live beyond its means…and gets back to basics…and redevelops the patriotic work ethic that made it the greatest nation in the history of the world…and probably turns back to God.

Sorry - don't cut my head off, I'm just the messenger sharing with you the "bad news". I hope you take it to heart.

Gregory J. Knox,

President Knox Machinery, Inc.

Government Can't Say How Much of $700 Billion Bank Bailout Will Be Spent

The federal government can't give a straight answer to the following questions: How much of the $700 billion in bank bailout money will be spent on the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), and how much will be left over?

Obama Wants to Control the Banks

This is outrageous!

There's a reason he refuses to accept repayment of TARP money.

Boortz on Incentives

INCENTIVES ARE A BAD THING, IF YOU ARE GOVERNMENT

Neal Boortz

03/30/09

Chrysler .. $4 billion bailout recipient .. is raising some eyebrows. Why? Because the company is spending an average of $5,600 per vehicle in incentives to get people to buy. And now, Chrysler sales are increasing .. and people are upset because they believe that bailout money is being used to offer larger incentives to buyers.

Apparently Chrysler has always been one to give steep incentives, but those deals have only increased from a year ago. According to the Detroit News, "In February, Chrysler spent an average of $5,608 per vehicle on incentives, according to Edmunds.com. That compares with $3,681 from General Motors Corp.; $3,384 at Ford Motor Co.; $2,572 at Nissan Motor Co.; $1,682 at Toyota Motor Corp.; and $1,249 from Honda Motor Co."

So now, people are questioning the spending levels of Chrysler, asking whether taxpayer money is being used to subsidize incentives that other auto companies that didn't receive a bailout can't offer. In other words, is the government bailout giving Chrysler an edge in the market place.

So ... let's recap. You can't use bailout money to reward extraordinary employee performance, and you can't use bailout money to encourage people to buy your product. Oh ... wait! I get it! The only acceptable thing you can use this bailout money for is building electric cars.

The more government gets involved in our businesses and marketplace, the more screwed up things are going to become. Capitalism is under assault. The left, with full cooperation of the media, has done a wonderful job of convincing the American people that it was capitalism, not government, which failed here. The people are wrong - but not educated to the point that they can see it. A big thanks to the wonderful voters for putting the Democrats - and this Obama guy - in charge.

An Open Letter to President Obama - # 2

An Open Letter to President Obama - # 2

Mr. President, I really did not think I would be writing to you again so soon. Following is a link to my first letter in case you did not get a chance to read it. I really did not expect a reply but it would have been nice.

Shame on you Sir, for not renouncing your attorney general, Eric Holder, for calling us a "Nation of Cowards" in regard to race relations. You should slap him silly for having the nerve to suggest such a thing. Its time to get over it. We ARE NOT a racist nation. Sure there are individuals who have a problem but we ARE NOT a racist country. This deserves no special praise but look how far we have come in such a short time. We have two black former Secretary's of State, a black former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a black attorney general (the one who calls us cowards) , a black chairman of the RNC, a black President, black CEO's in charge of major corporations, black senators and congressmen, as well as black neighbors, friends and co-workers.

This will draw the wrath of many, but blacks comprise less than 15% of the population. Do the math. An overwhelming majority have acted in a completely non racist way. Politically speaking, the only time race comes up is when the left brings it up and it is always as a pejorative toward the right.

Shame on you Sir, for supporting caps on executive pay. Companies compete for top talent just as professional sports teams do. If you want to propose change why not support pay for performance? Set realistic performance levels and pay on that basis. Large and small businesses do it all the time. It is not perfect but at least it has a basis in logic. And while you are at it, please include congressional pay. At the current level of congressional performance they would be working for nothing or owe us money.

Shame on you Sir, for supporting and signing a massively bloated Stimulus Bill which was rammed through congress without allowing time for it to be read and/or debated. What happened to your campaign pledge to post all legislation on a web site for at least five days so "we the people" could study and digest it. To make matters worse, the copies you sent to our representatives to review were not in a format which allowed them to quickly search for key words and phrases. This resulted in several toxic provisions remaining in the bill which allegedly were negotiated out before the vote. One example: the healthcare provision, which in effect, will (down the road) allow the government to decide (pay for or not pay for) which treatment older patients are entitled to. If the government deems it not cost effective to treat your ailment... you die. The compassion overwhelms me.

Still on the Stimulus Bill... did it ever occur to anyone to CUT spending. You promised to go over the budget line by line to eliminate waste. Have you been too busy to do that? Maybe you could assign the task to an underling. I am retired and I have time if you are looking for a volunteer.

Shame on you Sir, for not taking Russian Prime Minister Putin's warning to heart. He said:

"The US should take a lesson from the pages of Russian history and not exercise “excessive intervention in economic activity and blind faith in the state’s omnipotence”. “In the twentieth century, the Soviet Union made the state’s role absolute,” Putin said during a speech at the opening ceremony of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “In the long run, this made the Soviet economy totally uncompetitive. This lesson cost us dearly. I am sure nobody wants to see it repeated.” Putin said, “Nor should we turn a blind eye to the fact that the spirit of free enterprise, including the principle of personal responsibility of businesspeople, investors, and shareholders for their decisions, is being eroded in the last few months. There is no reason to believe that we can achieve better results by shifting responsibility onto the state.”

Mr. President, how can you not take this seriously and learn from it?

Shame on you Sir, for only giving lip-service to bipartisanship. You have talked a good game but when given the perfect opportunity (the Stimulus Bill) you effectively shut out all opportunity to bring us together. 46% of the country does not agree with you. We do not want to be a Socialistic country. As someone said, "One man's bipartisanship is another's capitulation". We do not want to be bipartisan in any matters involving our trend toward socialism. We will not capitulate on this.

Shame on you Sir, for supporting and recommending that we can solve the credit crisis by encouraging the use of more credit. Its like giving an alcoholic another drink while demanding that he quit. You complained about "predatory" lending practices such as A.R.M.'s with low teaser rates that then reset much higher a few years later. In your just released Mortgage Stabilization Plan, mortgage rates would be reduced for homeowners who have seen their payments rise to more than 38% of their monthly income. But those reductions last just five years, after which they begin to reset to higher rates. In short, your plan is just drawing out the artificially low rates a bit longer. Isn't that exactly what you have been critical of?

Shame on you Sir, for continuing to prop up the failing auto industry. Auto companies are dying and nothing you do can bring them back. Prepare a nice eulogy and thank the unions for killing our beloved patient. Rest in peace. I am sure you know in states that heavily rely on unions, few if any are fiscally successful like Michigan, California, New York, Pennsylvania, etc. Right to work states consistently show greater job growth than non right to work states. There is a message here.

Shame on you Sir, for continuing to blame past administrations for the current problems you face. While you were running for president you said you could make it better. OK, go ahead, we are waiting. You keep saying it is worse than you thought, and it could still get even worse. That just tells me you were unaware and out of touch when you were running for president. You are president now. Your actions from January 20, 2009 on will make things better or worse. It seems your actions now are continuing the bad times you are just now becoming aware of.

Shame on you Sir, for betraying the future your two beautiful little girls will face. They need positive role models to look up to. You certainly are that in some ways. If you become the president that puts us over the edge on the road to socialism, the president that takes away our individual freedom and responsibility, or the president that bankrupts this country beyond repair, they will be making excuses for you for the rest of their lives.

I will close for now with a quote from our mutual favorite president.

You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away men's initiative and independence.
You cannot help men permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves.

---Abraham Lincoln

Actually, Ronald Reagan is my favorite but I was trying to bond.

Respectfully,

Steve Mishket

stevemishket@comcast.net

02/20/09