Has it been worth it, America?
Related: A Stimulating Pay Raise
State Lied About Stimulus
Slow Stimulus
Here is what they are spending it on here, American taxpayers:
"The state has erected about 66 road signs - paid for with stimulus money - at highway construction sites that are being funded by stimulus money. The cost of the signs? More than $100,000"
Oh, I have SEEN THOSE SIGNS and they ENRAGE ME -- and will even more now!
Yup, TELLING US what a GREAT JOB they are doing STEALING YOUR TAX LOOT!
"For stimulus funds, unlikely destinations; No obvious links to recovery in some grants to Mass." by Jenn Abelson, Globe Staff | November 19, 2009
There’s $1.5 million to fix a remote lighthouse on uninhabited Monomoy Island, off Cape Cod. Security measures to protect the Spirit of Boston party cruise ship from terrorist attacks will cost about $123,000. And the University of Massachusetts at Boston received nearly $95,000 to study pollen samples from the Viking era in Iceland.
That abominable lie is costing you so much, America.
When will you stand up and say no more?
Those are some of the Massachusetts projects being funded with taxpayer money under the federal stimulus law, according to a Boston Globe review of recently filed reports.
Congress approved stimulus funding to jump-start the economy, mostly by creating jobs, but also by paying for existing public services and cutting-edge research. In many cases, the $3.9 billion awarded in Massachusetts is financing precisely such ventures. But millions of dollars are going to investments that seem further afield from the stimulus plan’s mission.
Massachusetts school districts, for instance, bought window blinds, photocopiers, and a cafeteria dishwasher, and the Patrick administration recently came under fire for proposing to use $9 million to build a pedestrian bridge connecting parking lots near Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.
Yeah, that's creating jobs!
Related: Slow Saturday Special: Patrick Pimps Football Footpath For Patriots
Patriots' Kraft Passes Checks to Patrick
Small investment to get the state to pay for the billionaire's bridge, 'eh?
Elsewhere around the country, instances of stimulus money being spent on Taser guns, a riding lawnmower, and even a freezer for fish sperm have sparked criticism that the legislation is a boondoggle. The newly released reports raise more questions about how taxpayer dollars are being allocated.
Little late now, isn't it?
But no, this had to be RUSHED THROUGH with the help of the PRO-STIMULUS PAPERS!!!
I don't forget, scum, and now you are MINIMIZING the LYING about it!!!!!!
“Spending funds with borrowed money for low-priority projects is neither wise nor desirable,’’ said Roger B. Porter, IBM Professor of Business and Government at Harvard University. “Some of this sounds like money in search of a purpose.’’
Yeah, and THOSE WHO OPPOSED this GOVERNMENT THEFT were basically called traitors, remember?
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Passed by Congress in February, the $787 billion package was sold as a critical strategy at a time when the economy was sinking fast. Since then, money has flowed to state and local governments, universities, hospitals, nonprofit organizations, and businesses with the expectation it would save existing jobs and create new ones. The Globe previously reported that the 12,374 jobs claimed so far by Massachusetts recipients of stimulus money is wildly exaggerated, and includes numerous instances of miscounted positions, erroneous figures, or new jobs claimed for work that has not yet begun. Some applicants acknowledged they did not seem to be likely candidates for stimulus money.
Yeah, and ANY DOLLAR connected to those programs was tabbed as SAVING or CREATING a JOB!!! It's called RIGGING the NUMBERS and LYING about it, and don't worry, the pro-looting Globe won't linger on it.
Entertainment Cruises Inc., the owner of the Spirit of Boston, was awarded nearly $1 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to protect the company’s vessels from terrorists in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Norfolk, Va., and Chicago, under a program to increase port security. The $123,000 designated for its Boston boat will pay for an alarm and surveillance system, among other security measures, said Gary Frommelt, vice president of marine operations. “We feel that we’re really a low threat for a terrorist incident,’’ Frommelt said. “But the stimulus was a nice perk.’’
Are you NOT GLAD the government BORROWED all this $$$ in YOUR NAME, taxpayers, so they could do this?
A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security said it accepted 218 of the eligible 420 grant applications, and owners of US-inspected passenger vessels, such as Entertainment Cruises, were encouraged to apply....
Yup, COME GET YOUR TAX LOOT, says the LYING GOVERNMENT that is WORKING FOR YOU, America!!!!!
David Williams, vice president of policy for Citizens Against Government Waste, a watchdog group in Washington, D.C. “People are scratching their heads because some of this doesn’t make sense. Studying pollen during the Viking Age isn’t going to create a lot of jobs and help the economy.’’
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Related: The Skynet Stimulus
While scientific studies do not usually focus on job creation, such work can boost employment for researchers and assistants. UMass Boston said stimulus money from the National Science Foundation created a job for a graduate assistant to help count pollen grains collected from farms in Iceland and allowed researchers to continue studying the role the arctic environment played in the evolution of civic life during the Viking Age....
Yup, they created ONE JOB -- and they are PROMOTING IT!!!!
You wuz ROBBED, 'murka!!!
Harvard received scores of stimulus grants, many for top-level research, but it also got $100,000 to buy a high-end microscope.
Yup, the RICHEST UNIVERSITY in ALL the COUNTRY got SCORES of GRANTS!!!!
While acknowledging the equipment would not bring new jobs, Harvard spokesman Kevin Casey said the purchase “would have a very obvious economic impact’’ by boosting revenue for the company that made it.
Yeah, that is what this WHOLE THING TURNED OUT TO BE!
Money to WELL-CONNECTED FRIENDS and INTERESTS!
Repairing the Monomoy Point Lighthouse is not directly tied to job creation, either.
Located on a sandy barrier island accessible only by boat, Monomoy is a federal wilderness area that has been unoccupied for decades. The $1.5 million it is receiving will be used to repair the lighthouse, shed, and keeper’s house and open the facility to the public, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service. “We think it’s a great use of recovery funds,’’ said Libby Herland, who manages refuges for the agency in Massachusetts.
(Blog author is stunned at pathetic government pukes and their gibberish, They all deserve the tar, feathers, and swim in the harbor.)
While it may be difficult for taxpayers to get to Monomoy to see their money at work, motorists may have a better view of where other stimulus money is going. The state has erected about 66 road signs - paid for with stimulus money - at highway construction sites that are being funded by stimulus money. The cost of the signs? More than $100,000....
That is NOT MAKING ME MORE APPRECIATIVE, it is JUST GETTING ME ANGRIER!!!!!
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More PERKS around here:
"State ready to fill in Big Dig’s missing links; Bridges to connect city’s green spaces" by Peter DeMarco, Globe Correspondent | November 20, 2009
This week, state environmental officials, flush with $30 million from the federal stimulus package and a renewed political will, took a huge step toward addressing that failure....
More important, the infusion of federal dollars will be combined with another $30.5 million left over in the Central Artery’s coffers to build the other footbridges and paths promised to Bostonians nearly two decades ago, state officials said....
Wait a minute, wait a minute!
We are PAYING OFF INTEREST on that DEBACLE to the TUNE of BILLIONS and the agency is SITTING on $30 million in "LEFT OVER" funds?
The state of Massachusetts citizens are so 'tucking 'too-pid and they don't care!!!!! They just want to live in their little self-righteous bubble as the crap swirls around them outside.
And WHAT DID I TELL YOU about GOVERNMENT PROMISES? Where did ALL THAT TAX LOOT GO over DECADES, 'eh, Bostonian?
While the Big Dig spent $100 million on parks.... it failed to build the all-important links between the parks, the Esplanade, the Greenway, and the Harbor. As a result, the parks have seen little use....
More WASTED MONEY for that PIT!
When the Central Artery/Tunnel Project officially closed on Dec. 31, 2007, most parks and recreation advocates figured the missing links would remain missing for a long time. The recession further sapped any hope of the state’s covering the full $60 million in remaining construction costs. And there was no guarantee that $30.5 million left over from the Central Artery, even though it was earmarked for parks, would not be siphoned off to pay other state debts.
Now, those advocates say they are both shocked and full of joy.
“These are really difficult economic times, and things are dropping right and left, so people have been disappointed about many things,’’ said Vivien Li, executive director of the Boston Harbor Association since 1991. “But this is really good news. I’ve got a big smile on my face.’’
Yeah, YOU would be SMILING TO if YOU were awarded TAX LOOT for s***!!!!
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Or if you are a WELL-CONNECTED BILLIONAIRE!
"Gillette bridge gets OK for $9m" by Noah Bierman, Globe Staff | November 20, 2009
A key regional planning board gave final approval yesterday to Governor Deval Patrick’s plan to spend $9 million in federal stimulus money to build a footbridge over Route 1 near Gillette Stadium.
Yeah, so the cops don't have to stop traffic to let the drunks cross the street 8 times a year! Was it WORTH ONE-MILLION DOLLARS a TRIP, taxpayers?
Think of that when you fans stumble over it, 'kay?
If you can afford to go to the game.
$8 for a f***ing beer?
The elaborate bridge had drawn opposition because it connects two parking lots owned by Robert Kraft, chairman and chief executive officer of the New England Patriots. It bypassed the normal review process given to most regional highway projects that receive federal money.
Oh, KRAFT'S CLOUT even BYPASSED the RULES, huh?
The Patrick administration argued that the bridge is part of a larger effort to spend a portion of the stimulus money on a group of projects that could help create jobs and lure major corporations to the state, ultimately reaping larger economic rewards for the public.
Promises, promises!
And let's face it, they did this for CORPORATION KRAFT, folks!
He's a BILLIONAIRE!!!!
At the state’s request, the Kraft Group spent $2 million on the state’s environmental permitting process for a piece of property across from Gillette, which would benefit from the footbridge. The land is one of a few sites in Massachusetts large enough to handle a headquarters or major research campus, according to Greg Bialecki, the state’s secretary of housing and economic development....
Oh, I SEE! Do this and we will get you the tax loot!!!
“For the last 10 years, the Kraft Group has spent $800 million in private investment’’ in the area, said Dan Krantz, the company’s director of site development. “There’s benefit to all.’’
He's a BILLIONAIRE!
He can AFFORD IT HIMSELF -- especially with the self-serving PAPER PIMPING his TEAM!
The footbridge - approved, 13 to 1, by the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the Boston Region - was part of a slate of projects worth more than $100 million in stimulus funds, including $15 million for road improvements to aid another private venture, the Assembly Square development in Somerville. That project has received a total of $65 million in state support to date.
Anyone tell these guys we are RUNNING DEFICITS?
Mary Pratt, a board member from Hopkinton, was the only dissenting vote on the package of projects. “On principle, no,’’ she said. Patrick’s interest in the project was made clear to the board. Two members of his Cabinet - Bialecki and Transportation Secretary Jeffrey Mullan - addressed the board to explain the bridge’s role in the overall economic development strategy.
Foxborough town officials support the project, but a State House committee overseeing stimulus spending singled it out as inappropriate. “In light of drastic budget cuts to human services, education accounts, and local aid, to name a few, this kind of investment sends the wrong message to our constituencies,’’ said Representative David Linsky, a Natick Democrat who chairs the committee, reading from a letter sent by the committee.
Oh, no. WE GET the MESSAGE LOUD and CLEAR!!!!!
GOVERNMENT serves the WEALTHY, not us!!!!!!
Sort of ODD that the print report left THIS OUT, huh?
"Parking lots owned by Robert Kraft, the chairman and CEO of the New England Patriots who is tied for number 468 on Forbes Magazine's list of the world's billionaires"
And look who DIDN'T GET any $$$$!
Massachusetts has missed an opportunity to tap into as much as $147 million in grant money available under the federal stimulus package because of a deep disagreement between the Patrick administration and residents of Roxbury and Mattapan.
State transportation officials had applied for the grant over the summer to upgrade public transportation from Dudley Square into Mattapan along Blue Hill Avenue, through two of the city’s most impoverished areas, by dedicating a lane of traffic to rapid bus service.
Yeah, THEY ARE WORKING for the WEALTHY!
But the proposal immediately met a strong backlash from residents, who were angry that the state did not heed their views on the project’s design, which called for removal of a median on Blue Hill Avenue for the designated bus lane. The median provides a safe respite for pedestrians crossing the wide and busy street and adds an aesthetic appeal, with its trees and planters, to an area otherwise bound by pavement and concrete.
It DOESN'T SURPRISE ME in the least that the STATE is NOT LISTENING!!!
They NEVER DO!
Under intense neighborhood pressure, the state ultimately withdrew the application and lost any chance of competing for a slice of $1.5 billion in grant money made available for transit projects under the stimulus program....
Community leaders say they would rather forgo the chance of getting the money than embrace a project they did not want.... “You cannot cross Blue Hill Avenue without that median,’’ said Michael Kozu, a community advocate who offered advice to the state. “What they were going to do is divide our community, so that people won’t be able to cross.’’
That is why GOVERNMENT and NEWSPAPERS exist!
While the proposal would have made the trip from Dudley Square to Mattapan much quicker, it would have also eliminated certain stops, parking spaces, and left turns, creating inconveniences for drivers, as well as riders.
Yup, the state can NOT DO ANYTHING RIGHT, can they?
WHENEVER they DO ANYTHING the PROBLEM gets WORSE!!!!!!!!
But along Blue Hill Avenue in Mattapan and Roxbury yesterday, riders who had not previously heard of the proposed project were astonished at the missed chance for stimulus cash in their community, where most residents rely on public transit. “That doesn’t make any sense to me,’’ said Mary Hines, a Brockton resident who works in Dudley Square and is a regular bus rider. “Why wouldn’t they go for the money to improve bus services?’’
I love the Globe!
Talking to idiot citizens who didn't have a clue as if they are experts!!!
Yup, stir it up, Glob!
Of course, THIS was a FRONT-PAGE, ABOVE-the-FOLD FEATURE!
Kraft was buried on page B4!
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Governor Deval Patrick, with much fanfare but little public notice, first proposed using the first pool of stimulus money to bring speedy bus service to the corridor by 2012....
Well, who is to blame for that, agenda-setters?
You come in on the backside after the money has already been turned down?
That's the Globe all over: day late and a million a week short!
But a previous lack of communication with the community required officials to spend their time defending their actions, instead of moving the plan ahead. As a result, there was not enought time to woo some residents, neighborhood supporters of the proposal say....
That's assuming they wanted to be "wooed" with lies.
Yeah, poor state government, huh?
Of course, government says it's ALL GOOD!
"Auditors criticize stimulus jobs data" by Ed O’Keefe, Washington Post | November 20, 2009
WASHINGTON - Government auditors raised doubts yesterday about the number of jobs created or saved by the economic stimulus program, but they also said mistakes reported in recent weeks signal the benefits of government transparency.
Then WHY CAN'T WE SEE the TORTURE PHOTOS?
Roughly 10 percent of the recipients of stimulus dollars failed to submit quarterly reports last month, according to a Government Accountability Office report released yesterday. “I think missing reports may drive the job numbers up, and I think there are enough inaccuracies in here to drive the numbers down,’’ said Earl Devaney, who oversees Recovery.gov, the government’s stimulus-tracking website. The Obama administration reported last month that the stimulus has created or saved about 640,000 jobs thus far.
Translation: What the government has been telling you is ALL BULLSHIT!!!!
Some recipients’ failure to report spending data last month “is distressing and must be addressed,’’ Devaney said, adding that Congress should penalize recipients who fail to report.
The doubts expressed by Devaney and Gene Dodaro, GAO acting comptroller general, at yesterday’s House Oversight Committee hearing lend nonpartisan credence to general concerns about stimulus data....
Republicans attacked the jobs figures, referring to the data as “propaganda’’ and “garbage,’’ and called the entire stimulus-reporting process “disgusting.’’
They are RIGHT on THIS ONE!
The administration has struggled to define stimulus job creation because it is difficult to know what role the funding played. “This has never been done before,’’ said Ed DeSeve, White House stimulus adviser.
They seem to have NO PROBLEM PROMOTING the BULLS***, so TAKE YOUR LAME-ASS EXCUSES and STICK 'em where that s*** comes from, 'kay, government hack?!!!!!!!!
