Tag: spending (page 3)

The Detroit News reports this morning that a new stimulus bill was introduced yesterday in DC by Macomb County's own Candice Miller, this one designed to give every man, woman and 16 year old in America anywhere from $5,000 to $7,500 in free cash if they'll buy a new car and provide a gas-guzzling trade-in.  

The bill proposes giving consumers vouchers to buy new, more fuel-efficient vehicles in exchange for turning in vehicles at least eight years old. The program is dubbed the Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save bill, or CARS Act.

Quick aside... that right there is a piece of fine acronyming.  CARS.  Get it?  Sorry... back to your regularly scheduled clip...

...60 percent of vehicles in the United States are old enough to qualify. The bill would award higher vouchers for vehicles assembled in North America -- up to $5,000 -- versus up to $4,000 vouchers for vehicles assembled outside North America, and would not apply at all to vehicles made outside North America. The proposal was endorsed Tuesday by Detroit's Big Three automakers and the United Auto Workers.

Ah, winners and losers and the government that picks them.  But that's a minor complaint, or is it?  If you're one of those squishy economics students who believes a little government stimulus can go a long ways this might not be such a bad idea.  If you'd rather the government stay the heck out of the market no matter the conditions then this will have you seeing red (or green, if you want to take advantage of the program when no one's looking).

If you're Congress and you're spending money like its free then I'll go ahead and say this qualifies as one of your better cash-burning ideas, at least from where I sit here in the state that put the world on wheels.  It's a stimulus that actually lands in consumers pockets (as opposed to the Obama administration's hundreds of millions in bonuses for AIG executives), that helps the Big 3, Michigan companies, but isn't a straight give-away and maybe most importantly, it will directly and could substantially decrease our dependence on terrorist states for fuel.

Call it the national security stimulus plan.  Or call it another example of an out-of-touch federal government spending like drunken sailors.  But call it something.  What do YOU think?

I've come to understand that whenever Obama promises something, it is time to expect the opposite. Nowhere is that more apparent than when it comes to fiscal responsibility. This budget does not deliver whatsoever when it comes to that. I knew it was a joke when he talked about slashing the deficit in half in four years. That's unacceptable. It needs to be balanced. Period. This is going in the opposite direction.

From the AP

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is sending Congress a "hard choices" budget that would boost taxes on the wealthy and curtail Medicare payments to insurance companies and hospitals to make way for a $634 billion down payment on universal health care.

Obama's first budget, which will top $3 trillion, predicts the deficit for this year will soar to a whopping $1.75 trillion, according to administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity before the public unveiling of the budget Thursday. The huge deficit reflects the massive spending being undertaken to battle a severe recession and the worst financial crisis in seven decades.

As part of the effort to end the financial crisis, the administration will propose boosting the deficit by an additional $250 billion this year, enough to support as much as $750 billion in increased spending under the government's financial rescue program. That would more than double the $700 billion bailout effort passed by Congress last October.

While it sounds a little strange, he actually ran for the office with the intent of having it eliminated.  On his website Lennox states "There is nothing for the drain commissioner to do in Cheboygan County except waste taxpayer money."  Several state legislators including Senator Jason Allen and Representative Kevin Elsenheimer are on board with the proposal and hope to introduce legislation to make it happen.

The Board of Commissioners meeting will start at 9:30 am on Wednesday.  For more information you can check out FireDennis.com.