Stimulating Sophistry
Obama's Stimulus Stiffs Kids
"State lags badly on stimulus spending; Few roadwork projects approved Patrick defends deliberate approach" by Casey Ross, Globe Staff | October 3, 2009
Massachusetts is almost dead last among states in spending federal economic stimulus money for transportation projects, prompting a powerful congressman to sharply rebuke Governor Deval Patrick for not quickly deploying nearly a half-billion dollars to create jobs for struggling families.
Glob lied to me again, huh?
US Representative James L. Oberstar, chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, told Patrick that Massachusetts ranks 49th in the nation in putting highway stimulus money to work, committing only 23 percent of its funds so far. “I strongly urge you to refocus your efforts . . . and use the available funds to create and sustain family-wage jobs,’’ Oberstar, a Minnesota Democrat, wrote in a letter he sent to the governor Thursday. “These jobs are critical to Massachusetts and the nation’s long-term economic growth.’’
Seven months after receiving $437 million in federal highway funds, Massachusetts had only about $99 million in construction work underway as of Aug. 31, according to the most recently available data. By contrast, New Hampshire had 78 percent and Maine 67 percent. The two states ranked third and fourth, respectively, in a congressional ranking of how quickly the 50 states and the District of Columbia have spent highway funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
(Blog editor just shaking his head. Only in Massachusetts)
Aides to Patrick questioned the fairness of the congressional report, saying it ignores the administration’s effort to concentrate funds on larger projects that generate spinoff work and stimulate the creation of permanent jobs.
BULLCRAP!
It is going to FAVORED DEVELOPERS INFRASTRUCTURE!
“It’s regrettable that folks, including the congressman, are looking at statistics and raw data as opposed to taking a look at what states are doing to make the stimulus work for them,’’ said Massachusetts Transportation Secretary James Aloisi. Oberstar did not return a request for comment. Aloisi said the administration is looking for highway projects that will allow developers to move forward with new shopping malls, offices, and other private complexes. For example, the state in July provided $15 million of the stimulus funds for an access road in Somerville that will feed the Assembly on the Mystic project, a 66-acre mixed-use development that will include an Ikea superstore....
Told you.
Related: Hollywood's State Funding: The Sequel
But finding projects that fit the state’s goals has proved to be difficult and time consuming. In addition to the work in Somerville, only one other proposal has been funded, a $70 million interchange for Route 24 that will help a business park in Fall River expand.
And here our roads are pot-holed PoS out here!
Aloisi said the state expects to announce funding for similar projects in the next few months, but is still assessing which are ready to begin. And the credit crisis has made it difficult for many developers to borrow money in order to commence construction....
And IF THEY are having trouble, it is NO WONDER there are NO LOANS for you, 'murkn s***-eaters!
When you look up looting incompetence on the web it says see Massachusetts' government.
The findings are based on reports states must file with Congress every month to show how they are spending federal highway money. In a separate report filed with the Federal Highway Administration, Massachusetts indicated that in August it had funded about two dozen road projects employing 525 workers with a total payroll of $866,000.
In Maine, work is proceeding more briskly, with 100 percent of its funds allocated for projects already underway or soon to begin....
I can see why you moved there, Bonnie.
The poor grade in the report is a blow to Patrick as he prepares for reelection next year. He campaigned in 2006 promising to create jobs and reiterated that vow when Congress passed the stimulus bill early this year, saying the money would be quickly used to prime the state’s economy.
SCREW HIM and the POLITICS, Globe!
Hey, guv, DON'T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU in the ass on the way out, 'kay?
The transportation funds are a particularly important boost for Massachusetts, as the state does not have nearly enough money to fix all of its battered roads and bridges....
Yeah, you know where all the TAX LOOT is going?
Governor Guts State Services
Pigs at the State Trough
A Slow Saturday Special: Statehouse Slush Fund
Biotech Giveaway Was Borrowed Money
Massachusetts Residents Taken For a Ride
UBS Picks Up Pike
Slow Saturday Special: Day at the Movies
The Hollywood Heist of Massachusetts
Why Massachusetts Needed to Raise Taxes
How many more times I gotta post 'em?
Some congressional Democrats sprang to the governor’s defense yesterday. Senator John F. Kerry released a statement calling Patrick’s approach “strategic and wise.’’ “The governor is being responsible with tax dollars and looking for investments that give our economy the biggest bang for the buck,’’ Kerry said.What an embarrassment that this guy is now our senior senator.
But a leading Republican in the state Legislature said the congressional knock on the Patrick administration is deserved. “In the beginning, a lot of promises were made but nothing has really materialized,’’ said state Senate Minority Leader Richard Tisei. “It doesn’t seem like the state of Massachusetts is doing anything well right now from an operational standpoint. Everything that comes up is another blunder.’’
That is the UNDERSTATEMENT of the DECADE!!!
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Here is what is SO VITAL they are spending money on it:
"Bicyclists get storage cage at T station
Cyclists who want to pedal to the Forest Hills MBTA station will be able to store their bikes in a new bike cage, Boston’s first such facility, transportation officials said yesterday. The installation of the Forest Hills cage and another put in last year at Alewife station in Cambridge are just the beginning, officials said. The MBTA plans to use $4.8 million in federal stimulus funds to build 10 additional cages and as many as 50 covered bike racks at the transit system’s stations.
Talk about WASTING TAX LOOT on AGENDA-PUSHING BULLS***!
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Related: Morning Bike Accident in Boston
The End of Boston's Bike Program
