Stimulus

I am pretty excited about the recruiting class that Auburn signed yesterday. In fact, as the day wore on, the experience of seeing our Tigers sign an “unexpected” highly rated wide receiver from Texas was….well…..stimulating. You know…like a stimulus.

Now THAT’S a word that is being thrown around a lot these days. Actually, the word stimulus means taking something externally and injecting internally to get a reaction. Our five senses do that for our body all the time.

So taking yesterday’s “stimulating” class of new Auburn Tigers, I decided to write something about stimulus. Or should I say, I decided to write something about the “stimulus package” that is before the Senate right now. I want to point out a few things that are packaged within that $900 Billion Stimulus Bill.

$2 Billion is earmarked for FutureGen, a coal power plant in Illinois that Department of Energy defunded last year because they said it wasn’t efficient.

$246 Million tax break for Hollywood Movie Producers to buy motion picture film.

$650 Million for coupons to buy digital television converters.

$88 Million for the Coast Guard to design a new ship.

$248 Million for new furniture for the Department of Homeland Security Offices.

$448 Million to construct a new office complex for them (see item just above).

$600 Million to buy hybrid vehicles for federal employees.

$125 Million for the Washington D.C. Sewer System.

$150 Million for the Smithsonian Institute.

$1 Billion for the 2010 Census.

$1.4 Billion to study ways of handling rural waste disposal.

$6 Billion to turn Federal Buildings into “Green” Buildings

$110 Million to upgrade the Farm Service Agency’s computer system.

$500 Million for building repairs at the National Institutes of Health in Maryland.

$160 Million for “Paid Volunteers” doing community service.

$100 Million for reducing the hazards of lead-based paint.

You get the idea. There are numerous wasteful provisions, at least in my opinion, of the Senate version of the stimulus bill being debated that, at a minimum, must be questioned as to their “stimulus” of our economy. If you feel the same way, then by all means, let your voice be heard.

Do we need a stimulus bill passed? Everyone agrees….yes. But it doesn’t need to be laden with more pork barrel fat.

Anyway….War Eagle!

WJLaneSR